Charlotte Hornets
The 2024-25 Charlotte Hornets can be defined by being riddled with injuries and continuing their terrible lottery luck with the No. 4 pick in the draft.
What did we learn?
The Hornets were not a Young Surprise Team.
Injuries never gave them anything close to a fighting chance.
Games played:
LaMelo Ball: 47 games
Brandon Miller: 27 games
Mark Williams: 44 games
The Hornets young trio played just 6 games together this season. They have played only 18 games together ever (the last two seasons combined).
The Hornets even lost their first two guys off the bench before we made it to Thanksgiving.
Tre Mann played just 13 games and Grant Williams only 16 before tearing his ACL. Tre Mann actually set a Hornets franchise-record for most points scored off the bench in the first five games of the season before a back injury kept him out for the remainder of the year.
It turned into a lost season pretty quickly.
From Nov. 23 to Jan. 5, the Hornets won one game. ONE. A record of 1-18 over that six-week stretch that included an 8-game losing streak and a 10-game losing streak.
LaMelo played like he was still at Chino Hills, a level of chuck-ball that would make George Costanza blush. But we can’t blame him.
The Hornets were 16-31 with LaMelo and 3-32 without.
Friend of the blog Miles Bridges put together a crazy run in early March as the team’s newfound (and only) No. 1 scoring option. Bridges had four 30-point games in two weeks, but it was a game-saving block to seal a 17-point comeback win vs. Brooklyn that had Eric Collins losing his freakin’ mind the most.
Seth Curry led the league in 3-point percentage at 45.6 percent. He barely qualified, but it counts all the same. It was fun to hear his dad, color commentator Dell Curry, talk about how Seth would drive the two of them to the game.
And during one game where Seth was on fire, Dell yelled out, “If I had known he was going to play like this, I would have driven him to the game!”
Sometimes when you’re stuck in the abyss, it’s all about the little things.
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Additional Notes
It’s important to note that results aside (which should be tossed in the ocean anyway given the circumstances), this team has so much more direction and purpose under first-year and first-time head coach Charles Lee. He has the players full respect and they sure fought later into the season than they ever did under Steve Clifford. Lee at the helm just makes so much more sense.
Also in his first year as the Hornets new GM, Jeff Peterson showed he’s not afraid to be bold and daring with the rescinded Mark Williams to the Lakers for Dalton Knecht and a 1st Rd. pick in 2031.
The No. 6 pick in last year’s draft, Tidjane Salaun, didn’t live up to his stellar preseason. But the Frenchman is just 19 years old and showed a pretty good knack for rebounding the ball.
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Did our preseason Over/Under prediction hit?
Sound the Young Surprise Team alarm! Over 30.5 wins.
Hornets 2024-25 record: (19-63)
Not quite. But we’ll be back.
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What’s Next?
The No. 4 pick in the draft. Probably whoever the Sixers don’t take at No. 3 between Ace Bailey and V.J. Edgecombe.
Seth Curry, Taj Gibson and Wendell Moore Jr. are all unrestricted free agents and Tre Mann is restricted. For the vibes, we could honestly see the Hornets bringing back all of them.
Get LaMelo, Brandon Miller and Mark Williams on the court together.
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Favorite Hornets Highlight of the 2024-25 Season:
The Hornets didn’t listen to our advice of signing Ashley ShahAhmadi to a lifetime contract (which they surely regret), but hopefully they listen this time and give Eric Collins and Dell Curry anything they want.
