Dec 19, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (1) drives to the basket as Washington Wizards guard Bilal Coulibaly (0) defends in the second quarter at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

NBA writer expects significantly better Charlotte Hornets record in 2025-26

Originally posted on Charlotte Hornets on SI
By Zach Roberts | Last updated Aug 14, 2025 10:20 AM ET

The Charlotte Hornets won 19 games last year, so getting worse naturally seems far-fetched. Combine that with the fact that, on paper, this is a much better roster heading into 2025-26, and it's easy to expect the Hornets to get better.

How much better? According to Bleacher Report's Andy Bailey, they'll be almost twice as good.

B/R analyst expects Hornets to fly past over/under win total

The Charlotte Hornets have an over/under line of 27.5 wins. The last time they reached that was 2022-23, and they've been getting worse ever since. That might finally change, as Andy Bailey predicts that Charlotte will go 35-47. For impressive comparison, he predicted the Boston Celtics to go 38-44.

"The Charlotte Hornets' preseason expectations almost always outpace their eventual record," Bailey said. "History and LaMelo Ball's general lack of availability throughout his career make it risky to peg them as a clear over."

Bailey noted that the Hornets have enough players on the perimeter in a "softer" Eastern Conference to actually be competitive this year, which would be a major step in the right direction.

"Ball's style of play, with all its one-legged running threes and no-look dimes, isn't for everyone, but he's wildly productive (24.3 points, 7.9 assists and 3.7 threes over the last three seasons)," Bailey admitted.

And for once, Ball isn't alone. He'll have shooting help and other playmakers available in the form of Brandon Miller, Kon Knueppel, and Liam McNeeley.

There is one small caveat, though. "The center position is a big question mark, and two of the above (Knueppel and McNeeley) are rookies, but there's enough raw talent here to cruise past that over-under," the analyst concluded.

The Hornets have two things going for them to achieve this sort of record, or at least be better than last year. First, the roster is overall stronger than it was a year ago. Mark Williams and Jusuf Nurkic have essentially been swapped for Pat Connaughton, Kon Knueppel, Collin Sexton, Liam McNeeley, Ryan Kalkbrenner, and Spencer Dinwiddie.

That's a much better talent base to work with than Charlotte had last year when they cycled 10-day contracts to play meaningful NBA minutes. Second, they should be healthier. Williams is gone, but Miller should not miss more than half the season with an injury. Ball is a question mark, but you have to believe he will one day be healthy. Why not this year?

All of that suggests that 19 wins is a low bar. According to Bailey, it suggests that 27.5 wins is a pretty low bar, too.