Charlotte Hornets' Youth Continues to Lead Franchise Turnaround

On Tuesday night, the Charlotte Hornets secured the team's first postseason victory in nearly a decace, and the first Play-In victory in franchise history.

With the win, Charlotte is one game away from reaching the NBA Playoffs for the first time since 2016, when Kemba Walker starred for the Hornets.

LaMelo Ball and company took down the Miami Heat 127-126 in overtime, and will meet either Orlando or Philadelphia for the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference. The victory continues what has been a remarkable rebuild for Charlotte, who won 19 games in 2024-25, and 44 games in 2025-26.

The team's success this season hasn't come out of nowhere, though. The Hornets were Summer League champions heading into the 2025-26 campaign, and, in the past few weeks, the Greensboro Swarm, Charlotte's G League affiliate, claimed a G League title.

While the aforementioned titles don't always correlate with success during the NBA regular season and postseason, Charlotte's situation is different. Both the Summer League and G League squads include multiple rookies and other young players, some who have had a hand in the team's turnaround, and others who could in the future.

The most obvious names on that list are rookies Kon Knueppel, Ryan Kalkbrenner and Sion James, who have been regular members of Charles Lee's rotation during the 2025-26 campaign.

Knueppel, one of two frontrunners for the Rookie of the Year award, averaged 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists while shooting 47.5% from the field and 42.5% from 3-point range on 7.9 attempts per game.

Knueppel led the NBA in 3-point makes for the 2025-26 season, setting the NBA single-season rookie record and Hornets' single-season franchise record.

Kalkbrenner and James haven't produced the same statistical output, put Kalkbrenner averaged more than 21 minutes per game across 69 appearances and 31 starts, while James tallied more than 22 minutes per game in 82 appearances and 19 starts.

Knueppel had a lackluster performance against the Heat in the first game of the Play-In Tournament, but still played 34 minutes, while Kalkbrenner and James each saw 13 minutes on the floor in their first postseason action.

Like Knueppel, Hornets' rookie Liam McNeeley was also a first-round pick in 2025. While the 20-year-old wing hasn't gotten much time in the NBA, McNeeley was a key part of the team's Summer League and G League titles.