2024–25 Charlotte Hornets season explained

Team:	Charlotte Hornets
End Year:	2025
Wins:	6
Losses:	15
Division:	Southeast
Division Place:	4
Conf Place:	13
Coach:	Charles Lee
Gm:	Jeff Peterson
President:	Fred Whitfield
Owner:	Gabe Plotkin & Rick Schnall
Arena:	Spectrum Center
Bbr Team:	CHO
Television:	FanDuel Sports Network SouthFanDuel Sports Network Southeast
Radio:	WFNZ

The 2024–25 Charlotte Hornets season is the 35th season for the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). This also became the second season where Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall would take on majority ownership of the Hornets franchise after buying majority shares from Michael Jordan during the month of August 2023. On April 3, 2024, the Hornets announced that Steve Clifford would step down as head coach at the end of the 2023–24 season and move into a front-office advisory role.^[1] On May 9, 2024, the Hornets hired Charles Lee as their new head coach.^[2]

Draft

See main article: 2024 NBA draft.

Round	Pick	Player	Position(s)	Nationality	College / club
1	6	Tidjane Salaün	PF		Cholet Basket
2	42	KJ Simpson	PG	United States	Colorado

The Hornets entered the draft (which was two days instead of one like it had been since the NBA draft was shortened down to two rounds back in 1989) with one first-round pick and one second-round pick.^{[3] [4]} On the first night of the draft, the Hornets would select the French power forward Tidjane Salaün from the Cholet Basket in the recently rebranded LNB Élite as the 6th pick. Then, on the second day of the draft, the Hornets would select point guard KJ Simpson from the University of Colorado.

Standings

Conference

Game log

Preseason

During the preseason, the Hornets would play their final games under what was previously named Bally Sports South and Bally Sports Southeast. Bally Sports would rebrand itself to the FanDuel Sports Network before the start of the regular season.^{[5] [6]} |- style="background:#fcc"| 1| October 6| New York| | LaMelo Ball (18)| Nick Richards (9)| LaMelo Ball (7)| Spectrum Center
10,486| 0–1|- style="background:#cfc"| 2| October 8| Miami| | LaMelo Ball (24)| Moussa Diabaté (10)| Ball, Mann (4)| Spectrum Center
10,093| 1–1|- style="background:#cfc"| 3| October 10| @ Memphis| | Brandon Miller (22)| Nick Richards (11)| Vasilije Micić (4)| FedExForum
13,411| 2–1|- style="background:#fcc"| 4| October 15| @ New York| | Brandon Miller (26)| Tidjane Salaün (8)| LaMelo Ball (7)| Madison Square Garden
19,355| 2–2|- style="background:#fcc"| 5| October 17| @ Indiana| | Brandon Miller (20)| Tidjane Salaün (14)| KJ Simpson (5)| Gainbridge Fieldhouse
11,835| 2–3

Regular season

|- style="background:#cfc| 1| October 23| @ Houston| | LaMelo Ball (34)| Miles Bridges (9)| LaMelo Ball (11)| Toyota Center
18,055| 1–0|- style="background:#fcc| 2| October 25| @ Atlanta| | LaMelo Ball (34)| Nick Richards (13)| Grant Williams (6)| State Farm Arena
14,433| 1–1|- style="background:#fcc| 3| October 26| Miami| | LaMelo Ball (27)| Nick Richards (12)| LaMelo Ball (7)| Spectrum Center
19,102| 1–2|- style="background:#cfc| 4| October 30| Toronto| | Tre Mann (27)| Nick Richards (14)| LaMelo Ball (6)| Spectrum Center
13,113| 2–2|- style="background:#fcc| 5| November 1| Boston| | LaMelo Ball (31)| Bridges, Diabaté, G. Williams (7)| Tre Mann (5)| Spectrum Center
18,557| 2–3|- style="background:#fcc| 6| November 2| Boston| | LaMelo Ball (36)| Miles Bridges (8)| Ball, Miller (6)| Spectrum Center
19,253| 2–4|- style="background:#fcc| 7| November 4| @ Minnesota| | LaMelo Ball (19)| Miles Bridges (6)| Tre Mann (6)| Target Center
18,978| 2–5|- style="background:#cfc| 8| November 6| Detroit| | Miles Bridges (27)| Bridges, G. Williams (7)| LaMelo Ball (8)| Spectrum Center
13,247| 3–5|- style="background:#cfc| 9| November 8| Indiana| | LaMelo Ball (31)| Moussa Diabaté (15)| Ball, Miller (6)| Spectrum Center
17,024| 4–5|- style="background:#fcc| 10| November 10| @ Philadelphia| | LaMelo Ball (38)| Moussa Diabaté (11)| LaMello Ball (8)| Wells Fargo Center
19,764| 4–6|- style="background:#fcc| 11| November 12| @ Orlando| | LaMelo Ball (35)| Moussa Diabaté (15)| Ball, Miller (7)| Kia Center
17,541| 4–7|- style="background:#cfc| 12| November 16| Milwaukee| | LaMelo Ball (26)| Moussa Diabaté (14)| LaMelo Ball (6)| Spectrum Center
19,145| 5–7|- style="background:#fcc| 13| November 17| @ Cleveland| | LaMelo Ball (31)| Grant Williams (9)| LaMelo Ball (12)| Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
19,432| 5–8|- style="background:#fcc"| 14| November 19| @ Brooklyn| | Brandon Miller (29)| Tidjane Salaün (8)| Tre Mann (6)| Barclays Center
18,117| 5–9|- style="background:#cfc"| 15| November 21| Detroit| | Brandon Miller (38)| Moussa Diabaté (16)| LaMelo Ball (9)| Spectrum Center
14,671| 6–9|- style="background:#fcc"| 16| November 23| @ Milwaukee| | LaMelo Ball (50)| Diabaté, Miller (11)| LaMelo Ball (10)| Fiserv Forum
17,341| 6–10|- style="background:#fcc| 17| November 25| Orlando| | LaMelo Ball (44)| Brandon Miller (10)| LaMelo Ball (7)| Spectrum Center
14,898| 6–11|- style="background:#fcc"| 18| November 27| Miami| | LaMelo Ball (32)| Moussa Diabaté (11)| LaMelo Ball (7)| Spectrum Center
17,710| 6–12|- style="background:#fcc"| 19| November 29| New York| | Brandon Miller (20)| Moussa Diabaté (11)| Vasilije Micić (8)| Spectrum Center
19,313| 6–13|- style="background:#fcc| 20| November 30| Atlanta| | Brandon Miller (32)| Diabaté, Micić, Miller (8)| Martin, Micić (5)| Spectrum Center
17,969| 6–14|- style="background:#fcc| 21| December 3| Philadelphia| | Brandon Miller (34)| Nick Richards (14)| KJ Simpson (9)| Spectrum Center
14,956| 6–15|- style="background:#"| 22| December 5| @ New York| |||| Madison Square Garden
| |- style="background:#| 23| December 7 | Cleveland| | | | | Spectrum Center
| |- style="background:#| 24| December 8| @ Indiana| | | | | Gainbridge Fieldhouse
| |- style="background:#| 25| December 13| @ Chicago| | | | | United Center
| |- style="background:#| 26| December 16| Philadelphia| | | | | Spectrum Center
| |- style="background:#| 27| December 19| @ Washington| | | | | Capital One Arena| |- style="background:#| 28| December 20| @ Philadelphia| | | | | Wells Fargo Center
| |- style="background:#| 29| December 23| Houston| | | | | Spectrum Center
| |- style="background:#| 30| December 26| @ Washington| | | | | Capital One Arena| |- style="background:#| 31| December 28 | Oklahoma City| | | | | Spectrum Center
| |- style="background:#| 32| December 30| Chicago| | | | | Spectrum Center
| |- style="background:#| 33| January 3| @ Detroit| | | | | Little Caesars Arena
| |- style="background:#| 34| January 5| @ Cleveland| | | | | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
| |- style="background:#| 35| January 7 | Phoenix| | | | | Spectrum Center
| |- style="background:#| 36| January 9| @ L.A. Lakers| | | | | Crypto.com Arena
| |- style="background:#| 37| January 11| @ L.A. Clippers| | | | | Intuit Dome
| |- style="background:#| 38| January 12| @ Phoenix| | | | | Footprint Center
| |- style="background:#| 39| January 15| @ Utah| | | | | Delta Center
| |- style="background:#| 40| January 17 | @ Chicago| | | | | United Center
| |- style="background:#| 41| January 20| Dallas| | | | | Spectrum Center| |- style="background:#| 42| January 22| @ Memphis| | | | | FedExForum
| |- style="background:#| 43| January 24| Portland| | | | | Spectrum Center
| |- style="background:#| 44| January 25 | New Orleans| | | | | Spectrum Center
| |- style="background:#| 45| January 27| L.A. Lakers| | | | | Spectrum Center
| |- style="background:#"| 46| January 29| Brooklyn| |||| Spectrum Center
| |- style="background:#| 47| January 31| L.A. Clippers| | | | | Spectrum Center
| |- style="background:#| 48| February 1 | Denver| | | | | Spectrum Center
| |- style="background:#| 49| February 3| Washington| | | | | Spectrum Center| |- style="background:#| 50| February 5| Milwaukee| | | | | Spectrum Center
| |- style="background:#| 51| February 7 | San Antonio| | | | | Spectrum Center
| |- style="background:#| 52| February 9 | @ Detroit| | | | | Little Caesars Arena
| |- style="background:#"| 53| February 10| @ Brooklyn| |||| Barclays Center
| |- style="background:#| 54| February 12 | @ Orlando| | | | | Kia Center
| |- style="background:#| 55| February 20| @ Denver| | | | | Ball Arena
| |- style="background:#| 56| February 22| @ Portland| | | | | Moda Center
| |- style="background:#| 57| February 24| @ Sacramento| | | | | Golden 1 Center
| |- style="background:#| 58| February 25| @ Golden State| | | | | Chase Center
| |- style="background:#| 59| February 27| @ Dallas| | | | | American Airlines Center| |- style="background:#| 60| March 1| Washington| | | | | Spectrum Center| |- style="background:#| 61| March 3| Golden State| | | | | Spectrum Center
| |- style="background:#| 62| March 5| Minnesota| | | | | Spectrum Center
| |- style="background:#| 63| March 7| Cleveland| | | | | Spectrum Center
| |- style="background:#"| 64| March 8| Brooklyn| |||| Spectrum Center
| |- style="background:#"| 65| March 10| @ Miami| |||| Kaseya Center
| |- style="background:#| 66| March 12| @ Atlanta| | | | | State Farm Arena
| |- style="background:#| 67| March 14| @ San Antonio| | | | | Frost Bank Center
| |- style="background:#| 68| March 18| Atlanta| | | | | Spectrum Center
| |- style="background:#"| 69| March 20| New York| |||| Spectrum Center
| |- style="background:#| 70| March 21| @ Oklahoma City| | | | | Paycom Center
| |- style="background:#"| 71| March 23| @ Miami| |||| Kaseya Center
| |- style="background:#| 72| March 25| Orlando| | | | | Spectrum Center
| |- style="background:#| 73| March 28| @ Toronto| | | | | Scotiabank Arena
| |- style="background:#| 74| March 30| @ New Orleans| | | | | Spectrum Center
| |- style="background:#| 75| March 31| Utah| | | | | Spectrum Center
| |- style="background:#| 76| April 2| @ Indiana| | | | | Gainbridge Fieldhouse
| |- style="background:#| 77| April 4| Sacramento| | | | | Spectrum Center
| |- style="background:#| 78| April 6| Chicago| | | | | Spectrum Center
| |- style="background:#| 79| April 8| Memphis| | | | | Spectrum Center
| |- style="background:#| 80| April 9| @ Toronto| | | | | Scotiabank Arena
| |- style="background:#| 81| April 11| @ Boston| | | | | TD Garden
| |- style="background:#| 82| April 13| @ Boston| | | | | TD Garden
|

NBA Cup

See main article: 2024 NBA Cup. The groups were revealed during the tournament announcement on July 12, 2024.^{[7] [8]}

East Group A

Transactions

See main article: article and List of 2024–25 NBA season transactions.

Trades

July 6, 2024^[9]	To Charlotte Hornets Devonte' Graham 2025 NOP second-round pick	To San Antonio Spurs Cash considerations
July 6, 2024^[10]	Six-team trade
	To Charlotte Hornets Josh Green (from Dallas) Reggie Jackson (from Denver) 2029 DEN second-round pick (from Denver) 2030 DEN second-round pick (from Denver)	To Dallas Mavericks Klay Thompson (from Golden State) 2025 GSW second-round pick (from Golden State)
	To Denver Nuggets Cash considerations (from Charlotte)	To Golden State Warriors Kyle Anderson (from Minnesota) Buddy Hield (from Philadelphia)
	To Minnesota Timberwolves 2025 DEN second-round pick (from Golden State via Charlotte) 2031 second-round pick swap (from Golden State) Cash considerations (from Golden State)	To Philadelphia 76ers 2031 DAL second-round pick (from Golden State via Dallas)
October 2, 2024^[11]	Three-team trade
	To Charlotte Hornets Charlie Brown Jr. (from New York) DaQuan Jeffries (from New York) Duane Washington Jr. (from New York) 2025 MIN second-round pick (from Minnesota) 2026 GSW second-round pick (from New York) 2031 NYK second-round pick(from New York) Cash considerations (from New York)	To New York Knicks Karl-Anthony Towns (from Minnesota) Draft rights to James Nnaji (2023 No. 31) (from Charlotte)
	To Minnesota Timberwolves Keita Bates-Diop (from New York) Donte DiVincenzo (from New York) Julius Randle (from New York) 2025 DET first-round pick (from New York)

Free agency

Re-signed

Date	Player	Ref.
July 14	Miles Bridges	^[12]
July 15	Seth Curry	^[13]

Subtractions

Date	Player	Reason left	New team	Ref.
July 3	Marques Bolden	Waived		^[15]
July 6	Dāvis Bertāns	Waived	BC Dubai	^[16]
	Bryce McGowens		Portland Trail Blazers
	Aleksej Pokuševski		KK Partizan
	Devonte' Graham		Portland Trail Blazers
July 23	Reggie Jackson	Waived	Philadelphia 76ers	^[17]

Notes and References

1. Web site: April 3, 2024 . Steve Clifford To Step Down As Hornets Head Coach After The Season . April 3, 2024 . NBA.com.
2. Web site: Charlotte Hornets Name Charles Lee Head Coach. NBA.com. May 9, 2024. May 9, 2024.
3. Web site: 2024 NBA Draft Order: Picks 1-58. NBA.com. May 14, 2024. May 30, 2024.
4. Web site: Quinn. Sam. 2024 NBA Draft order: Complete list of picks as Atlanta Hawks win No. 1 selection in Lottery. CBS Sports. May 13, 2024. June 5, 2024.
5. Web site: Steinberg . Brian . 2024-10-18 . FanDuel Takes Over Naming Rights to Diamond Sports RSNs . 2024-10-19 . Variety . en-US.
6. Web site: 2024-10-18 . Diamond Sports branded as FanDuel in new deal . 2024-10-19 . ESPN.com . en.
7. Web site: NBA unveils new logo and game dates for Emirates NBA Cup 2024. NBA.com. July 12, 2024. July 11, 2024.
8. Web site: Emirates NBA Cup 2024: Group Draw Results. NBA.com. July 13, 2024. July 12, 2024.
9. Web site: Charlotte Hornets Acquire Second-Round Pick And Devonte’ Graham From San Antonio Spurs. NBA.com. July 6, 2024. July 8, 2024.
10. Web site: Charlotte Hornets Acquire Josh Green, Reggie Jackson And Two Second-Round Picks In Six-Team Trade. NBA.com. July 6, 2024. July 8, 2024.
11. Web site: Hornets Acquire Three Picks, Three Players In Three-Team Trade . October 2, 2024 . October 2, 2024 . NBA.com . en.
12. Web site: Charlotte Hornets Re-Sign Miles Bridges. NBA.com. July 14, 2024. July 14, 2023.
13. Web site: Hornets Re-Sign Seth Curry. NBA.com. July 15, 2024. July 15, 2024.
14. Web site: Hornets Sign Taj Gibson. NBA.com. July 13, 2024. July 13, 2024.
15. Charlotte Hornets PR. OFFICIAL: The @hornets have waived center Marques Bolden. Bolden, who signed a two-way contract with the team last season, averaged 4.1 points and 3.6 rebounds in nine appearances with Charlotte.. 1808521332860076247. HornetsPR. July 3, 2024. July 24, 2024.
16. Web site: Charlotte Hornets Waive Davis Bertans, Bryce McGowens And Aleksej Pokusevski. NBA.com. July 6, 2024. July 8, 2024.
17. Web site: Hornets Waive Reggie Jackson. NBA.com. July 23, 2024. July 24, 2024.