How unfinished business has the Hornets primed for NBA play-in game against Miami
If anyone within this crop of Charlotte Hornets can appreciate the postseason and is aware of the benefits, it’s Coby White.
White has experience in the NBA’s play-in tournament and the actual playoffs itself, which should come in handy when the ninth-seeded Hornets host No. 10 Miami at Spectrum Center on Tuesday night in a win-or-the-season-is-over scenario.
“Playing in those meaningful games and being at home, it’s special,” White said. “I got to play my fair share of playing at the crib, so it’s special. It’s going to be a great environment. I’m just excited. And I wasn’t here for everything that happened, but these guys earned that.
“I feel like they earned the right to play at home in the postseason in front of our fans.”
Hard to argue with that given the context.
Even after struggling out of the gate with a 4-14 start, which was partially due to having to overcome Brandon Miller’s shoulder injury in the second game of the season, Charlotte stockpiled a 44-38 mark.
The Hornets’ impressive turnaround
Leading the NBA in offensive rating since Jan. 1 and finishing with a top 10 net rating are just two of the many things that stick out during the Hornets’ impressive turnaround. So, too, is this: from opening night in October through New Year’s Eve, the Hornets were fifth in the NBA in made 3-pointers and out of the top 10 in 3-point percentage.
Since?
Call it quite the reversal. Charlotte finished the season No. 1 in shots sank from beyond the arc and second overall in 3-point percentage.
“It means a lot,” LaMelo Ball said. “We stayed with it, trusted ourselves and knew what we really had.”
Beginning with Kon Knueppel. In teaming the Duke product with Ball, the Hornets formed a considerable tandem. Knueppel (273) and Ball (272) finished the season ranked first and second, respectively, in total 3-pointers made, becoming just the second duo in NBA history to accomplish the feat.
“Yeah, I think it’s great,” Ball said. “Just having players that shoot that well and the way we run, I feel like we’re real dangerous. So, it’s great.”
Charles Lee is the philosophical architect of it all.
The growth that’s sprouted from the Hornets’ resurgence is a direct result of their coach’s imprints on how they do things offensively and defensively. And he’s instilled a mentality of unfinished business.
Complacency is not an option.
“There’s no ceiling on this group,” Lee said. “When you have a group as talented as we are, as competitive as we are, there’s a lot that we can accomplish. But you’ve just got to take it one game, one day at a time.”
‘We earned the respect’ of the NBA
Being part of the shift excites White.
“I’m just super proud of these guys,” White said. “It shows their character, first and foremost, the guys in that locker room. You don’t see that in the NBA. If a team starts off that way, most of the time, you just throw it in. You try to get the draft pick, you try to make a trade, whatever it may be. But you got to also give credit to the front office, for ownership standing by this team and giving these guys an opportunity.
“Also shout out to coaching staff for not giving up on the guys and continue to push them each and every day to get better, continue to push them to build great habits. It’s not just one person. It takes a unit, it takes a team. From the medical staff, the training staff, weight room staff, front office, players, coaching staff — everybody’s bought into one thing. And when you’ve got that, you start to see the better results.”
In turn, so do others around the NBA. There’s no hiding now.
“We earned the respect or notoriety of the league,” Lee said. “I think that the last couple of years haven’t gone the way that I think we wanted or that we would have hoped. And this year, the progress that we’ve made as individual players but also as a collective group and organization is definitely just raising people’s attention level to the Hornets.”
This story was originally published April 14, 2026 at 6:00 AM with the headline "How unfinished business has the Hornets primed for NBA play-in game against Miami."
