The start of a new Charlotte Hornets season is here, and everything you need to know about this year's squad can be found here. Be sure to read our storylines to watch and bold predictions below with the full roster and schedule below. Go ahead and bookmark this page while you're at it!
Storylines
Life without LaMelo: The big news of the offseason, of course, was the Hornets' decision to ship LaMelo Ball to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Naz Reid and draft capital, including an unprotected 2033 first-round pick. It felt like a premature move by Jeff Peterson, especially after the Hornets just played their best stretch of basketball in years. Can the Hornets be just as good without him?
Beginning the year banged up: Kon Knueppel (hamstring) and Coby White (calf) are still day-to-day. There's a chance they will be ready to suit up for the opener, but don't be surprised if the Hornets play it safe here, with this being 40% of their starting unit.
Can Brandon Miller carry a franchise?: With LaMelo out, the attention fully shifts to Brandon Miller. Sure, Kon Knueppel is going to be a massive part of the puzzle as well, but this feels like Miller's team. He and the Hornets just agreed to a new five-year, $209M contract extension earlier this week, which is certainly deserved.
Three-man battle at center: Moussa Diabaté is almost certainly going to begin the season as the starter, but first-round draft pick Hannes Steinbach could take that role over much sooner than you think. The organization is extremely high on him and believes he can be their man in the middle for the foreseeable future. His offensive upside trounces what Diabaté can bring on that end, and who knows? Maybe Diabaté can be even more effective off the bench. Second-year man Ryan Kalkbrenner isn't going away either. I'd anticipate Charles Lee using him more situationally, with the bulk of the minutes going to Diabaté/Steinbach.
Bold Predictions
Naz Reid makes the All-Star Game: This is something that a few folks have thrown out there, and you know, what...I can see it happening. Of course, Miller and Knueppel have a much better chance, but that's what makes this a "bold" prediction. Reid has been one of the better Sixth Men in the league over the last few years and will finally have a chance to be a full-time starter who has a much larger role in the offense.
The Hornets are buyers at the trade deadline: This team is much deeper than the one that made the Play-In a year ago, but because of the departure of LaMelo Ball, most are assuming the Hornets are content playing the long game, meaning they will tumble down the standings this season. I don't see that happening. They'll hover around .500 for much of the year and be in a competitive spot by the time the trade deadline comes. Make a big splash? Probably not, but I think there's a good chance we'll see them add to the roster to help their postseason chances rather than wave the white flag.
Roster
Here is your opening night Charlotte Hornets roster, along with two-way players.
#00 Royce O’Neale — F | 6’6”, 226 lbs | Age: 33 | Exp: 9 (Baylor)
#0 Naz Reid — F/C | 6’9”, 264 lbs | Age: 27 | Exp: 7 (LSU)
#2 Grant Williams — F | 6’7”, 236 lbs | Age: 27 | Exp: 7 (Tennessee)
#3 Coby White — G | 6’5”, 210 lbs | Age: 26 | Exp: 7 (North Carolina)
#4 Sion James — G | 6’5”, 220 lbs | Age: 23 | Exp: 1 (Duke)
#5 Christian Anderson — G | 6’1”, 165 lbs | Age: 20 | Exp: R (Texas Tech)
#7 Kon Knueppel — G/F | 6’6”, 215 lbs | Age: 21 | Exp: 1 (Duke)
#8 Grayson Allen — G | 6’4”, 198 lbs | Age: 31 | Exp: 8 (Duke)
#11 Ryan Kalkbrenner — C | 7’1”, 256 lbs | Age: 24 | Exp: 1 (Creighton)
#14 Moussa Diabaté — F | 6’10”, 210 lbs | Age: 24 | Exp: 4 (Michigan)
#17 Dennis Schröder — G | 6’1”, 175 lbs | Age: 33 | Exp: 13 (Germany)
#22 Hannes Steinbach — F | 6’10”, 248 lbs | Age: 20 | Exp: R (Washington)
#24 Brandon Miller — F | 6’7”, 200 lbs | Age: 23 | Exp: 3 (Alabama)
#31 Tidjane Salaün — F | 6’10”, 207 lbs | Age: 21 | Exp: 2 (France)
#33 Liam McNeeley — F | 6’8”, 210 lbs | Age: 21 | Exp: 1 (UConn)
Two-Way Contracts
- #16 PJ Hall — C | 6'9", 245 lbs | Age: 24 | Exp: 2 (Clemson)
- Michael Ajayi — G | 6'7", 235 lbs | Age: 23 | Exp: R (Butler)
- Kylan Boswell — G | 6'1", 200 lbs | Age 21 | Exp: R (Illinois)
Depth Chart (when healthy)
PG: Coby White, Dennis Schroder, Christian Anderson
SG: Kon Knueppel, Grayson Allen, Sion James
SF: Brandon Miller, Royce O'Neale, Liam McNeeley
PF: Naz Reid, Grant Williams, Tidjane Salaün
C: Moussa Diabaté, Hannes Steinbach, Ryan Kalkbrenner
Key Dates
- Oct. 20: Start of regular season
- Nov. 27: Emirates NBA Cup 2026 | Group Play concludes
- Dec. 4-5: Emirates NBA Cup 2026 | Knockout Rounds | Quarterfinals
- Dec. 8 and/or Dec. 9: Emirates NBA Cup 2026 | Knockout Rounds | Semifinals
- Dec. 11: Emirates NBA Cup 2026 | Championship | Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
- Jan. 5: 10-day contracts may now be signed
- Jan. 10: All NBA contracts are guaranteed for the remainder of the season
- Feb. 11: NBA Trade Deadline
- Feb. 19-21: NBA All-Star 2027 | Phoenix, AZ
- Feb. 19-24: NBA All-Star break
- March 1: Playoff Eligibility Waiver Deadline
- April 11: 2026-27 Regular Season ends (All 30 teams play)
- April 12: Rosters set for NBA Playoffs 2027 (3 p.m. ET)
- April 13-16: SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament
- April 17: NBA Playoffs 2026 begin
Schedule
Oct. 21st at Brooklyn, 7:30 pm
Oct. 23rd vs. Atlanta, 7:00 pm
Oct. 24th vs. Miami, 6:00 pm
Oct. 26th vs. Washington, 7:00 pm
Oct. 28th at Detroit, 7:00 pm
Oct. 30th at Washington, 7:00 pm
Oct. 31st vs. Philadelphia, 6:00 pm
Nov. 2nd vs. Detroit, 7:30 pm
Nov. 4th at Brooklyn, 7:30 pm
Nov. 6th vs. Boston, 7:00 pm
Nov. 9th vs. Cleveland, 7:00 pm
Nov. 12th at Phoenix, 9:00 pm
Nov. 15th at LA Clippers, 4:30 pm
Nov. 17th at LA Lakers, 10:00 pm
Nov. 20th at Atlanta, 7:00 pm
Nov. 23rd vs. Memphis, 7:00 pm
Nov. 25th vs. Chicago, 7:00 pm
Nov. 28th vs. Brooklyn, 6:00 pm
Nov. 30th vs. Washington, 7:00 pm
Dec. 2nd at Boston, 7:30 pm
Dec. 12th at Washington, 7:00 pm
Dec. 14th vs. Toronto, 7:00 pm
Dec. 16th vs. LA Clippers, 7:00 pm
Dec. 18th vs. Oklahoma City, 7:00 pm
Dec. 19th vs. Portland, 6:00 pm
Dec. 21st vs. Philadelphia, 7:00 pm
Dec. 23rd at Orlando, 7:00 pm
Dec. 26th at Atlanta, 3:30 pm
Dec. 27th at Miami, 6:00 pm
Dec. 31st vs. San Antonio, 1:00 pm
Jan. 2nd vs. Cleveland, 1:00 pm
Jan. 3rd at Milwaukee, 5:30 pm
Jan. 5th vs. Atlanta, 7:00 pm
Jan. 7th vs. Denver, 7:00 pm
Jan. 9th at Portland, 10:00 pm
Jan. 10th at Sacramento, 9:00 pm
Jan. 13th at Golden State, 10:00 pm
Jan. 14th at Utah, 9:00 pm
Jan. 16th at Denver, 9:00 pm
Jan. 19th at Dallas, 8:00 pm
Jan. 22nd vs. Houston, 7:00 pm
Jan. 23rd at Boston, 7:00 pm
Jan. 25th vs. Orlando, 7:00 pm
Jan. 27th at San Antonio, 8:00 pm
Jan. 29th at Minnesota, 9:30 pm
Jan. 31st vs. LA Lakers, 7:00 pm
Feb. 2nd at Miami, 7:30 pm
Feb. 4th vs. Boston, 7:30 pm
Feb. 5th vs. Golden State, 7:00 pm
Feb. 7th at Toronto, 6:00 pm
Feb. 9th at New York, 7:30 pm
Feb. 11th vs. Milwaukee, 7:00 pm
Feb. 13th vs. Dallas, 3:00 pm
Feb. 15th vs. Minnesota, 12:00 pm
Feb. 17th vs. Toronto, 7:00 pm
Feb. 25th at Orlando, 7:00 pm
Feb. 26th at Houston, 8:30 pm
Feb. 28th vs. Sacramento, 7:00 pm
Mar. 3rd at Philadelphia, 7:00 pm
Mar. 6th at Chicago, 5:00 pm
Mar. 8th at Indiana, 7:00 pm
Mar. 10th vs. New Orleans, 7:00 pm
Mar. 11th vs. Indiana, 7:00 pm
Mar. 13th vs. Phoenix, 6:00 pm
Mar. 16th at Oklahoma City, 8:00 pm
Mar. 18th at New Orleans, 8:00 pm
Mar. 20th at Detroit, 8:00 pm
Mar. 22nd at Memphis, 8:00 pm
Mar. 24th vs. Detroit, 7:00 pm
Mar. 26th vs. New York, 7:00 pm
Mar. 28th vs. Utah, 6:00 pm
Mar. 30th vs. Miami, 7:00 pm
Apr. 1st at New York, 7:30 pm
Apr. 2nd at Milwaukee, 8:00 pm
Apr. 4th at Cleveland, 3:00 pm
Apr. 6th vs. Indiana, 7:00 pm
Apr. 7th at Chicago, 8:00 pm
Apr. 9th vs. Brooklyn, 7:00 pm
Apr. 11th at Philadelphia, 6:00 pm
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