2024–25 Charlotte Hornets season

2024–25 Charlotte Hornets season
Head coach	Charles Lee
General manager	Jeff Peterson
President	Fred Whitfield
Owner(s)	Gabe Plotkin & Rick Schnall
Arena	Spectrum Center
Results
Record	8–27 (.229)
Place	Division: 4th (Southeast) Conference: 13th (Eastern)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	FanDuel Sports Network South · FanDuel Sports Network Southeast
Radio	WFNZ
< 2023–24 2025–26 >

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]

Round	Pick	Player	Position(s)	Nationality	College / club
1	6	Tidjane Salaün	PF	France	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.

Charlotte Hornets roster

• v
• t
• e

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From G 1 Ball, LaMelo  6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2001-08-22 SPIRE Academy (OH) F 0 Bridges, Miles 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1998-03-21 Michigan State G 30 Curry, Seth 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1990-08-23 Duke C 14 Diabaté, Moussa (TW) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 2002-01-21 Michigan F/C 67 Gibson, Taj 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 232 lb (105 kg) 1985-06-24 USC G/F 10 Green, Josh 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 2000-11-16 Arizona G/F 3 Jeffries, DaQuan 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 222 lb (101 kg) 1997-08-30 Tulsa G 23 Mann, Tre  6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 178 lb (81 kg) 2001-02-03 Florida F 11 Martin, Cody  6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1995-09-28 Nevada G 22 Micić, Vasilije 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 188 lb (85 kg) 1994-01-13 Serbia G/F 24 Miller, Brandon  6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 2002-11-22 Alabama C 4 Richards, Nick 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1997-11-29 Kentucky F 31 Salaün, Tidjane 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 207 lb (94 kg) 2005-08-10 France G 25 Simpson, KJ (TW) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 189 lb (86 kg) 2002-08-08 Colorado G 8 Smith, Nick Jr. 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2004-04-18 Arkansas F 2 Williams, Grant  6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 236 lb (107 kg) 1998-11-30 Tennessee C 5 Williams, Mark 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 2001-12-16 Duke G 21 Wong, Isaiah (TW) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2001-01-28 Miami (FL)

Head coach Charles Lee Assistant coach(es) D.J. Bakker Jermaine Bucknor Ryan Frazier Matt Hill Chris Jent Josh Longstaff Blaine Mueller Zach Peterson Lamar Skeeter Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended (GL) On assignment to G League affiliate (TW) Two-way affiliate player Injured Roster Last transaction: January 2, 2025

Southeast Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div	GP
Orlando Magic	22	16	.579	–	13‍–‍5	9‍–‍11	5–1	38
Atlanta Hawks	19	18	.514	2.5	10‍–‍7	9‍–‍11	4–2	37
Miami Heat	18	17	.514	2.5	10‍–‍7	8‍–‍10	4–3	35
Charlotte Hornets	8	27	.229	12.5	6‍–‍13	2‍–‍14	0–8	35
Washington Wizards	6	28	.176	14.0	5‍–‍15	1‍–‍13	4–3	34

Eastern Conference
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB	GP
1	Cleveland Cavaliers *	31	4	.886	–	35
2	Boston Celtics *	27	10	.730	5.0	37
3	New York Knicks	24	13	.649	8.0	37
4	Orlando Magic *	22	16	.579	10.5	38
5	Milwaukee Bucks	18	16	.529	12.5	34
6	Indiana Pacers	19	18	.514	13.0	37
7	Atlanta Hawks	19	18	.514	13.0	37
8	Miami Heat	18	17	.514	13.0	35
9	Detroit Pistons	18	18	.500	13.5	36
10	Chicago Bulls	17	19	.472	14.5	36
11	Philadelphia 76ers	14	20	.412	16.5	34
12	Brooklyn Nets	13	23	.361	18.5	36
13	Charlotte Hornets	8	27	.229	23.0	35
14	Toronto Raptors	8	28	.222	23.5	36
15	Washington Wizards	6	28	.176	24.5	34

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]

2024 preseason game log Total: 2–3 (Home: 1–1; Road: 1–2)
Preseason: 2–3 (home: 1–1; road: 1–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 October 6 New York L 109–111 LaMelo Ball (18) Nick Richards (9) LaMelo Ball (7) Spectrum Center 10,486 0–1 2 October 8 Miami W 111–108 LaMelo Ball (24) Moussa Diabaté (10) Ball, Mann (4) Spectrum Center 10,093 1–1 3 October 10 @ Memphis W 119–94 Brandon Miller (22) Nick Richards (11) Vasilije Micić (4) FedExForum 13,411 2–1 4 October 15 @ New York L 105–111 Brandon Miller (26) Tidjane Salaün (8) LaMelo Ball (7) Madison Square Garden 19,355 2–2 5 October 17 @ Indiana L 116–121 (OT) Brandon Miller (20) Tidjane Salaün (14) KJ Simpson (5) Gainbridge Fieldhouse 11,835 2–3
2024–25 preseason schedule

2024–25 game log Total: 8–27 (Home: 6–13; Road: 2–14)
October: 2–2 (home: 1–1; road: 1–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 October 23 @ Houston W 110–105 LaMelo Ball (34) Miles Bridges (9) LaMelo Ball (11) Toyota Center 18,055 1–0 2 October 25 @ Atlanta L 120–125 LaMelo Ball (34) Nick Richards (13) Grant Williams (6) State Farm Arena 14,433 1–1 3 October 26 Miami L 106–114 LaMelo Ball (27) Nick Richards (12) LaMelo Ball (7) Spectrum Center 19,102 1–2 4 October 30 Toronto W 138–133 Tre Mann (27) Nick Richards (14) LaMelo Ball (6) Spectrum Center 13,113 2–2
November: 4–12 (home: 4–6; road: 0–6) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 5 November 1 Boston L 109–124 LaMelo Ball (31) Bridges, Diabaté, G. Williams (7) Tre Mann (5) Spectrum Center 18,557 2–3 6 November 2 Boston L 103–113 LaMelo Ball (36) Miles Bridges (8) Ball, Miller (6) Spectrum Center 19,253 2–4 7 November 4 @ Minnesota L 93–114 LaMelo Ball (19) Miles Bridges (6) Tre Mann (6) Target Center 18,978 2–5 8 November 6 Detroit W 108–107 Miles Bridges (27) Bridges, G. Williams (7) LaMelo Ball (8) Spectrum Center 13,247 3–5 9 November 8 Indiana W 103–83 LaMelo Ball (31) Moussa Diabaté (15) Ball, Miller (6) Spectrum Center 17,024 4–5 10 November 10 @ Philadelphia L 105–107 (OT) LaMelo Ball (38) Moussa Diabaté (11) LaMello Ball (8) Wells Fargo Center 19,764 4–6 11 November 12 @ Orlando L 89–114 LaMelo Ball (35) Moussa Diabaté (15) Ball, Miller (7) Kia Center 17,541 4–7 12 November 16 Milwaukee W 115–114 LaMelo Ball (26) Moussa Diabaté (14) LaMelo Ball (6) Spectrum Center 19,145 5–7 13 November 17 @ Cleveland L 114–128 LaMelo Ball (31) Grant Williams (9) LaMelo Ball (12) Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse 19,432 5–8 14 November 19 @ Brooklyn L 115–116 Brandon Miller (29) Tidjane Salaün (8) Tre Mann (6) Barclays Center 18,117 5–9 15 November 21 Detroit W 123–121 Brandon Miller (38) Moussa Diabaté (16) LaMelo Ball (9) Spectrum Center 14,671 6–9 16 November 23 @ Milwaukee L 119–125 LaMelo Ball (50) Diabaté, Miller (11) LaMelo Ball (10) Fiserv Forum 17,341 6–10 17 November 25 Orlando L 84–95 LaMelo Ball (44) Brandon Miller (10) LaMelo Ball (7) Spectrum Center 14,898 6–11 18 November 27 Miami L 94–98 LaMelo Ball (32) Moussa Diabaté (11) LaMelo Ball (7) Spectrum Center 17,710 6–12 19 November 29 New York L 98–99 Brandon Miller (20) Moussa Diabaté (11) Vasilije Micić (8) Spectrum Center 19,313 6–13 20 November 30 Atlanta L 104–107 Brandon Miller (32) Diabaté, Micić, Miller (8) Martin, Micić (5) Spectrum Center 17,969 6–14
December: 1–11 (home: 0–6; road: 1–5) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 21 December 3 Philadelphia L 104–110 Brandon Miller (34) Nick Richards (14) KJ Simpson (9) Spectrum Center 14,956 6–15 22 December 5 @ New York L 101–125 Brandon Miller (26) Nick Richards (8) Vasilije Micić (12) Madison Square Garden 19,812 6–16 23 December 7 Cleveland L 102–116 Brandon Miller (25) Cody Martin (9) Vasilije Micić (7) Spectrum Center 18,832 6–17 24 December 8 @ Indiana W 113–109 Brandon Miller (26) Nick Richards (14) Vasilije Micić (9) Gainbridge Fieldhouse 17,274 7–17 25 December 13 @ Chicago L 95–109 Brandon Miller (21) Bridges, M. Williams (9) Vasilije Micić (5) United Center 19,543 7–18 26 December 16 Philadelphia L 108–121 Miles Bridges (24) Miles Bridges (6) LaMelo Ball (11) Spectrum Center 14,677 7–19 27 December 19 @ Washington L 114–123 LaMelo Ball (34) Bridges, M. Williams (8) LaMelo Ball (13) Capital One Arena 15,256 7–20 28 December 20 @ Philadelphia L 98–108 Vasilije Micić (20) Tidjane Salaün (8) Tidjane Salaün (5) Wells Fargo Center 20,291 7–21 29 December 23 Houston L 101–114 Miles Bridges (24) Mark Williams (9) LaMelo Ball (8) Spectrum Center 19,134 7–22 30 December 26 @ Washington L 110–113 LaMelo Ball (31) Miles Bridges (14) Brandon Miller (9) Capital One Arena 17,193 7–23 31 December 28 Oklahoma City L 94–106 Miles Bridges (19) Bridges, M. Williams (10) Miles Bridges (6) Spectrum Center 19,325 7–24 32 December 30 Chicago L 108–115 (OT) Miles Bridges (31) Bridges, M. Williams (12) Miles Bridges (8) Spectrum Center 19,197 7–25
January: 1–2 (home: 1–0; road: 0–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 33 January 3 @ Detroit L 94–98 Miles Bridges (20) Bridges, M. Williams (9) Bridges, Micić, Richards (5) Little Caesars Arena 18,866 7–26 34 January 5 @ Cleveland L 105–115 Ball, Miller (24) Salaün, M. Williams (9) Cody Martin (5) Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse 19,432 7–27 35 January 7 Phoenix W 115–104 LaMelo Ball (32) Nick Richards (12) LaMelo Ball (7) Spectrum Center 16,647 8–27 36 January 9 @ L.A. Lakers Crypto.com Arena 37 January 11 @ L.A. Clippers Intuit Dome 38 January 12 @ Phoenix Footprint Center 39 January 15 @ Utah Delta Center 40 January 17 @ Chicago United Center 41 January 20 Dallas Spectrum Center 42 January 22 @ Memphis FedExForum 43 January 24 Portland Spectrum Center 44 January 25 New Orleans Spectrum Center 45 January 27 L.A. Lakers Spectrum Center 46 January 29 Brooklyn Spectrum Center 47 January 31 L.A. Clippers Spectrum Center
February : 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 48 February 1 Denver Spectrum Center 49 February 3 Washington Spectrum Center 50 February 5 Milwaukee Spectrum Center 51 February 7 San Antonio Spectrum Center 52 February 9 @ Detroit Little Caesars Arena 53 February 10 @ Brooklyn Barclays Center 54 February 12 @ Orlando Kia Center 55 February 20 @ Denver Ball Arena 56 February 22 @ Portland Moda Center 57 February 24 @ Sacramento Golden 1 Center 58 February 25 @ Golden State Chase Center 59 February 27 @ Dallas American Airlines Center
March : 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 60 March 1 Washington Spectrum Center 61 March 3 Golden State Spectrum Center 62 March 5 Minnesota Spectrum Center 63 March 7 Cleveland Spectrum Center 64 March 8 Brooklyn Spectrum Center 65 March 10 @ Miami Kaseya Center 66 March 12 @ Atlanta State Farm Arena 67 March 14 @ San Antonio Frost Bank Center 68 March 18 Atlanta Spectrum Center 69 March 20 New York Spectrum Center 70 March 21 @ Oklahoma City Paycom Center 71 March 23 @ Miami Kaseya Center 72 March 25 Orlando Spectrum Center 73 March 28 @ Toronto Scotiabank Arena 74 March 30 @ New Orleans Spectrum Center 75 March 31 Utah Spectrum Center
April : 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 76 April 2 @ Indiana Gainbridge Fieldhouse 77 April 4 Sacramento Spectrum Center 78 April 6 Chicago Spectrum Center 79 April 8 Memphis Spectrum Center 80 April 9 @ Toronto Scotiabank Arena 81 April 11 @ Boston TD Garden 82 April 13 @ Boston TD Garden
2024–25 season schedule

The groups were revealed during the tournament announcement on July 12, 2024.^[7][8]

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Qualification
1	New York Knicks	4	4	0	455	425	+30	Advance to knockout stage
2	Orlando Magic	4	3	1	441	396	+45
3	Philadelphia 76ers	4	2	2	408	411	−3
4	Brooklyn Nets	4	1	3	436	475	−39
5	Charlotte Hornets	4	0	4	406	439	−33

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)

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

Date	Player	Former team	Ref.
July 13	Taj Gibson	Detroit Pistons	[14]

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	[9]
July 23	Reggie Jackson	Waived	Philadelphia 76ers	[17]