Charlotte's Summer League title offers early validation of Hornets’ rebuilding blueprint

There hasn't been much to celebrate in recent years when it comes to the Charlotte Hornets.

The franchise hasn't made the playoffs since 2016, with two lopsided losses in the Play-In tournament being the only postseason basketball played in the Queen City since they lost a game seven to the Miami Heat in their last playoff run.

However, the light at the end of the tunnel continues to brighten after that period of extended darkness.

The glimmers of hope started when Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall purchased the franchise from Michael Jordan. The new majority owners have been fully focused transorming the Hornets into a premier franchise in the NBA, and in order to do so, they've had to completely reshape everything about the Hornets from Greensboro to Charlotte.

We saw the first fruits when the Swarm made the G-League playoffs for the first time in franchise history. In the midst of their historical campaign, the Swarm fed the senior Hornets a bevy of players including KJ Simpson, Nick Smith Jr., Tidjane Salaün, and Jaylen Sims, that noticeably improved after spending time with DJ Bakker's outfit in Greensboro. The connectivity between the two squads paid dividends in the regular season, and it continued to pay out in Las Vegas at Summer League.

Led by a swath of Swarm alum and a quartet of rookies, the Charlotte Hornets took home their first ever Summer League championship in the wee hours of Monday morning on the east coast.

This author is aware that a Summer League trophy traditionally does not portend future success, nor is it meaningful in the overall long-term direction of an NBA franchise in most cases, but this one feels different.

For years, Charlotte has been mired in the dregs of the Association. A laughing stock, if you will.

But, by all accounts, things are starting to trend in the right direction in Charlotte.

The front office is drafting well, with early returns looking promising on all six players this new regime has selected. They are making shrewd moves on the fringes of the roster, turning bench players into a treasure trove of assets and current contributors. The league is taking notice of what's going on in Charlotte, and the buzz around the Hornets is finally positive.

That's why this Summer League matters.

It's another baby step in the overall long-term process of re-shaping Hornets DNA. Instead of laying down in Vegas after three contributors, Salaün, Liam McNeeley, and Sion James, went down with injuries, Charlotte doubled and tripled down on their identity and ran roughshod on their way to a championship.

They played with all-out, relentless effort on both ends of the court, zapping opposing teams of their will with non-stop pressure. They shared the ball on offense, racking up assists on their made buckets like they hit the jackpot on a slot machine. They were obsessed with daily improvement up and down the Summer League roster, embodying every iota of the message that Charles Lee preached all season even in the midst of the Hornets' longest losing streaks in the doldrums of 2025.

Organizational change starts at top, but its most immediate effects are felt when it comes from the bottom up. Schnall and Plotkin have made the investments that were first felt in Greensboro, that trickled across the country to Vegas, and that eventually, if not in 2026, will make their way into the Charlotte Hornets' locker room on their way to a legitimate run in the Eastern Conference.

The overall culmination of what the Hornets are building likely won't come this year, but you'll continue to see the saplings of the overall bouquet growing in Charlotte. An increase from 19 wins, a higher level of competition from night-to-night, a better net rating on both sides of the floor, etc., should be the expectation in 2025-26.

The future is bright in Charlotte, and we may have received a small sneak peak of it during the trophy ceremony in Vegas.

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