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Analyzing the Hornets' glaring weakness that needs addressing

Originally posted on Charlotte Hornets on SI
By Matt Alquiza | Last updated Sep 24, 2025 11:00 AM ET

Everything about the game of basketball in 2025 is about maximizing efficiency.

The main goal of an NBA offense is to space the floor and attack opposing defenses in the paint and around the three-point arc, specifically the corners. The distance from the short corner, 22 feet, is almost two feet shorter than the 23 feet, nine inches the top of the arc sits from the rim.

In a league that maximizes efficiency, that one foot and nine inches is often the difference between a good shot and a great one.

When looking at the best teams in the league at knocking down corner threes, your eyes are drawn to a bevy of heavyweights. In the top 10 reside: the Bucks, the Nuggets, the Cavaliers, the Thunder, the Clippers, the Wolves, and the Lakers. It is not a coincidence that the league's best teams are elite at knocking down the game's most efficient shot.

On the other side of the spectrum, those that can't knock down corner threes can't win games.

The bottom six teams in corner three point accuracy include Brooklyn, Washington, Portland, Orlando (the outlier of the bunch) Memphis, and, as you probably guessed, the Charlotte Hornets.

There are two major reasons that Charlotte sits in the bottom six.

1. A lack of shooting talent.

Charlotte's two primary shooters that can combine both accuracy and volume, LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller, spent the majority of their time above the break, not in the corners. Josh Green and Seth Curry were the Hornets' dedicated corner spacers, and although the pair hit their fair share of jumpers from the game's most efficient spot, they were the only two Charlotteans that did it with any regularity.

2. A lack of rim pressure

What came first, the chicken or the egg?

Who creates space for the other, an elite three-point shooter for a driver, or an elite driver for a three-point shooter?

Unfortunately the 2024-25 Hornets had neither, but they really struggled at getting to the cup off the bounce. The lone meaningful Charlotte guard with an above average rim attempt frequency was Tre Mann...who only played a handful of games in purple and teal.

Charles Lee ran out a perimeter-heavy attack last season, and although he came from a Celtics franchise who plays similarly, he likely deployed that attack because very few of his guards could create a paint touch off the dribble.

The moves Charlotte made this summer, specifically the additions of Mann (re-sign), Collin Sexton, Kon Knueppel, and Liam McNeeley will assist on both fronts. Sexton and Mann are adept drivers, and Knueppel and McNeeley are knockdown shooters.

In order for the Hornets to take the leap many are projecting, they need to up their efficiency from the corners.