Mar 31, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Charlotte Hornets head coach Charles Lee looks at the scoreboard during the second half against the Utah Jazz at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Initial reactions to the Charlotte Hornets losing out on a top-three pick in the NBA draft

Originally posted on Charlotte Hornets on SI
By Schuyler Callihan | Last updated May 12, 2025 9:09 PM ET

The Charlotte Hornets walked away from the 2025 NBA Draft lottery upset, frustrated, and disappointed that they did not land the No. 1 pick in this year's draft. They are, however, fortunate to have not experienced a big slide down the board and instead, drop one spot in the draft order.

Here's what our staff has to say about the lottery results.

Schuyler Callihan

The lottery needs to be fixed. A team like the Dallas Mavericks should have zero chance of landing the No. 1 overall pick. I'm sorry. As for Charlotte, well, it's certainly a kick in the pants, but they at least avoided the nightmare of falling to seventh. As I've said several times before, if there's a draft you were to fall in, this is it. This is a deep class and even at No. 4, the Hornets could still land a quality talent, and who knows? It could be the second-best player in the class when it's all said and done.

Matt Alquiza

Get ready to learn Ace Bailey, VJ Edgecombe, and Kon Knueppel, folks. Charlotte, with the fourth, will have their share of talented, but flawed prospects to choose from. Additionally, the commercial break after finding out Charlotte was in the top four was enthralling. Debate the lottery system all you want. It is incredible theatre.

Zachary Roberts

Sadly, this is not as bad as I expected. Dipping to fourth certainly the worst outcome, but surviving the initial wave and then getting the worst outcome is really brutal. And you’ll never be able to convince me that a fair league has Dallas and San Antonio picking first and second and only one of the three worst teams picking in the top four. On one hand, the top four was the minimum this team needed to get to avoid a disaster. But there’s something painful about avoiding that only to get ripped off in another way.

Austin Leake

The worst the Hornets could’ve gotten was 7th, and they got the fourth pick. Still not in the top three, but could be much worse. The four worst teams weren’t rewarded, while a team that had no business getting the 1st pick got it. As well, the Hornets have the Mavericks' 2027 first-round pick, which just makes it even worse.