Zach Lowe ranked the Charlotte Hornets second among seven NBA teams without a playoff series win in the 2020s.
Only the Orlando Magic rank ahead of the Charlotte Hornets among the seven NBA teams without a playoff series win in the 2020s. That is Zach Lowe's order, laid out with Law Murray on the Sept. 10 episode of The Zach Lowe Show. Behind Charlotte came the Washington Wizards, Portland Trail Blazers, New Orleans Pelicans, Chicago Bulls, and Sacramento Kings.
In 72 games last season, LaMelo Ball averaged 20.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 7.1 assists. Charlotte traded him to the Minnesota Timberwolves in June.
"They're super deep. They're going to have guys who played last year ... that are just not in the rotation," Lowe said. "Coby White for LaMelo? Probably a step back offensively, but I don't know how much a step back it's going to be."
Zach Lowe Sees Upside in Hornets
Charlotte started 4-14 through late November, won nine in a row between January and February, and finished 44-38 and ninth in the Eastern Conference with the league's fifth-ranked offense. Ball's layup with 4.7 seconds left in overtime beat the Miami Heat 127-126 in the first play-in game April 14. Three nights later, Orlando led by 22 after one quarter and won 121-90. That was a 10th straight season without a playoff berth. No other team in the league has gone longer.
"They're kind of penciled in as 11th in the East, and that's probably appropriate," Lowe explained. "Defensively, it's going to be a bit of a challenge for them ... just pure upside, and someone on the Cavs or Pistons is injured, who knows?"
The franchise last won a playoff series in 2002. Charlotte's most recent postseason appearance was 2016, a seven-game first-round loss to Miami.
Hornets Reshaped Roster After LaMelo Ball Trade
Charlotte sent Ball and Josh Green to Minnesota on June 25 for Naz Reid, an unprotected 2033 first-round pick, three first-round swaps, and three second-round picks, in a deal first reported by ESPN's Shams Charania. Reid averaged 13.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.2 assists last season, his seventh with the Timberwolves.
White re-signed on a three-year, $74 million contract. Before the Feb. 4 deadline trade that brought him from the Chicago Bulls, he averaged 18.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 4.7 assists.
Three days after the Ball agreement, Charlotte agreed to send Miles Bridges to the Phoenix Suns for Grayson Allen, Royce O'Neale, and a 2033 Phoenix first-round pick. Bridges was entering the last year of his contract at $22.8 million. Charlotte released footage of general manager Jeff Peterson from the trade discussions.
"If we trade LaMelo, we're probably trading Miles," Peterson said.
Hannes Steinbach went 14th in the June draft and Christian Anderson 18th.
Brandon Miller, Kon Knueppel Lead Charlotte's Core
Brandon Miller is eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason. He led the Hornets at 20.2 points per game last season. Charlotte took Kon Knueppel fourth in the 2025 draft, and he averaged 18.5 points as a rookie before finishing behind Cooper Flagg in Rookie of the Year voting.
Peterson, quoted in ESPN's team preview, said the organization's "goal isn't to get to the play-in or even the playoffs for one year."
The Brooklyn Nets open Charlotte's season at Spectrum Center on Oct. 21. Tip-off is 7:30 p.m. ET.
