Charlotte Hornets guards LaMelo Ball (2), Terry Rozier (3) and forward P.J. Washington (25). Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Schedule release shows continued trend of Hornets not playing on Christmas Day

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Darryn Albert | Last updated 8/15/22

The NBA Christmas gods continue to frown down on one particular team.

The league’s Christmas Day schedule for 2022 (featuring five games and ten teams) was revealed this week. Here is the full list of games:

Sources: NBA’s 2022 Christmas Day schedule:

Bucks at Celtics
76ers at Knicks
Suns at Nuggets
Lakers at Mavericks
Grizzlies at Warriors

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 14, 2022

After the announcement, an insane fact, originally shared by Reddit user “_iiisaac_”, went viral. With the Memphis Grizzlies playing on Christmas Day for the very first time in franchise history, the Charlotte Hornets now become the only NBA team to have never gotten a Christmas game.

The Charlotte Hornets are now the only team in the league to have never played in a Christmas Day game.

(via _iiisaac_/Reddit) pic.twitter.com/vk1lveXHDM

— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) August 15, 2022

While hard to believe, the fact actually makes sense. The Hornets are the NBA’s youngest franchise, having begun as the Charlotte Bobcats in 2004. The franchise that formerly played as the Charlotte Hornets from 1988 to 2002 never played on Christmas in those years either (though they did get multiple Christmas games after becoming the New Orleans Pelicans).

The tides may soon turn for the Hornets though, especially now that they have 20-year-old LaMelo Ball as their headliner. But they should probably focus on winning (since they still have just three total playoff appearances in 18 seasons and none in the Ball era) and on the other changes they are going through at the moment first before worrying about getting Christmas games.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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