Jul 14, 2025; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard Kon Knueppel (7) controls the ball against the Dallas Mavericks during the second half of a NBA basketball game at the Thomas & Mack Center. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images

Playoffs in the meaningless Summer League mean everything for the Hornets

Originally posted on Charlotte Hornets on SI
By Zach Roberts | Last updated Jul 18, 2025 10:47 AM ET

Making the playoffs in Summer League means very little. Even winning it all means very little, because while it does come with a ring and a historical note that they won whatever year's Summer League, it's all about development for players.

It is similar to the G-League in that sense, but it's a league that consists of six games at most. It's pretty insignificant to basketball, as the main goal of every single team is to develop players, specifically rookies who need to get their first taste of NBA-adjacent action.

But making the playoffs, no matter how far they go, means a lot for the Charlotte Hornets. Perhaps that's a sad indictment of the organization, but this is a huge win. They've been criticized at length for being an unserious organization that doesn't have a winning culture. Winning in Summer League is a tiny step, but it's one in the right direction.

Whether the Hornets win or lose next time out or win or lose in the final championship game isn't all that important overall, but it would similarly mark a legitimate turn for the organization that's long been the laughingstock of the NBA.

Plus, just making it here is an impressive accomplishment in its own right. The Hornets needed not only to win but to win by enough to improve their average margin of defeat last night. They were on the outside looking in despite being unbeaten because they'd only barely won some of their games. To win a must-win game and to do it by enough points to get into the playoffs here is something one never would've expected from anything Hornets-related in the past.

It's also a big win for the scouting department and player development. Everyone who's played has looked solid at times, for the most part, but Kon Knueppel and Liam McNeeley in particular look like genuine future NBA players. This is an area Charlotte has historically struggled in, so it's really nice to see a big step forward this summer.

It may be a little while before all this translates to winning at the NBA level, but it is so crucial to acknowledge the baby steps the Hornets are taking. Add those up, and eventually, Charlotte will have traveled far and totally shed the labels and descriptors that plagued them for most of the last decade.