Charlotte Hornets Betting Guide: Latest Lineups, Injuries, & Key Stats

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Charlotte Hornets Stadium

The Charlotte Hornets were established as an expansion team in 1988, but moved to New Orleans in 2002. After operating as the New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans, the Charlotte Bobcats expansion franchise was formed in 2004 before reclaiming the Hornets name in 2014.

They did not qualify for the playoffs this year and have the longest current playoff drought in the NBA. 

The Hornets hired Charles Lee to the head coach position and held the sixth overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, which they used to select Tidjane Salaun, a 6'9 forward from France.  

Hornets Draft Odds: Who Will The Hornets Take With The Sixth Pick?

How Are The Charlotte Hornets Doing This Year?

Here's a look at how the season has gone in Buzz City. We are also tracking the Hornets odds to make the playoffs, win the Southeast Division, and other awards all season. 

🏀 2024-25 Record19-56
🏀 NBA Rank28 of 30
🏀 Eastern Conference Rank9 of 15
🏀 Southeast Division Rank4 of 5
🏀 ESPN BPI Power Index29 of 30 (0)
Rankings Last Verified:April 14, 2025

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Charlotte Hornets Offense

The Charlotte Hornets offense goes as star point guard LaMelo Ball goes. He only played in 47 games this season and is officially out for the rest of the season to deal with wrist and ankle injuries. 

Forward Miles Bridges took on some of the offensive load with players out with injury, ranking third in scoring and second on the team in rebounds. 

Here's a look at the Hornets offensive stats and rankings, per ESPN:

🏀 Points Per Game105.6 (28th)
🏀 Point Differential-8 (29th)
🏀 Assists Per Game24.5 (26th)
🏀 Field Goal %42.9% (30th)
🏀 3PT %34.1% (28th)
🏀 Free Throw %78.6% (16th)
🏀 Offensive Rebounds Per Game12.4 (6th)
🏀 ESPN Offensive BPI-7.6 (30th)
Rankings Last Verified:April 14, 2025

It has not been a good season for the Hornets as they have dealt with a plethora of injuries and ailments. Significantly, injuries have taken out their two best players and 60% of their starting lineup.  

The Hornets offense struggles from three-point range, as they rank 28th in three-point percentage and gain just under 46% of their points from the paint. While the Hornets offense does struggle in many areas, they have found success on the boards, giving themselves second chances. 

The problem, as you'll see below, is that they don't force many turnovers on defense.

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Charlotte Hornets Defense

The Hornets defense ranks in the lower third in most major defensive stat categories:

🏀 Points Per Game Allowed113.6 (15th)
🏀 Defensive REBs Per Game33.9 (19th)
🏀 Steals Per Game6.5 (25th)
🏀 Blocks Per Game4.6 (22nd)
🏀 ESPN Defensive BPI-2.7 (25th)
Rankings Last Verified:April 14, 2025

The Hornets struggle to rebound and keep opponents from getting second-chance points. Center Mark Williams is perhaps the only player close to double-double range, averaging 20.6 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.  

 

Notable Charlotte Hornets Players

LaMelo Ball only played in 22 games so far this season and only 36 total games the season before. Ball broke his ankle last season and has struggled with lingering ankle injuries. 

Such was the story of the Hornets season. The team dealt with injuries all year long.

⭐️ Starters
  • PG KJ Simpson
  • SG Josh Green
  • SF DaQuan Jeffries
  • PF Miles Bridges
  • C Mark Williams 
📈 Contributors Off the Bench
  • PG Nick Smith
  • SG Seth Curry
  • SF Josh Okogie
  • PF Tidjane Salaun
❌ Out for Season
  • PG LaMelo Ball (ankle)
  • SF Brandon Miller (wrist)
  • PG Tre Mann (back)
  • PF Grant Williams (ACL) 

Losing Miller and Williams hurt the Hornets' chances to do much of anything this season. Likewise, losing Ball for certain periods of time damaged any hope for the Hornets. 

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Charlotte Hornets Schedule: Remaining Games of 2024-2025

  • ❌ March 30, 2025: @ New Orleans Pelicans: 98-94
  • ✅ March 31, 2025: vs. Utah Jazz: 110-106 
  • April 2: @ Indiana Pacers
  • April 4: vs. Sacramento Kings
  • April 6: vs. Chicago Bulls
  • April 8: vs. Memphis Grizzlies
  • April 9: @ Toronto Raptors
  • April 11: @ Boston Celtics
  • April 13: @ Boston Celtics
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Charlotte Hornets Rivals

Having a rivalry makes North Carolina sports betting that much more fun and engaging. The Hornets have a few of their own in the Washington Wizards, Miami Heat, and Atlanta Hawks.

  • Washington Wizards (Hornets Lead 71-65) The geographically-close Wizards and Hornets have a mini-rivalry, considering they are division rivals who play near each other. The other commonality they have is former Hornets owner Michael Jordan once played for the Wizards.

    They have yet to play a truly meaningful playoff game or series, but in their bouts in the regular season they have been evenly matched. Their rivalry has been limited to trying to get atop the division.
  • Miami Heat (Heat Lead 80-49) Despite having the same birth year, the Hornets and Heat have gone in two completely directions, with the Heat winning three NBA championships since 1988.

    Some may say an actual rivalry budded between the teams in the 1990s when the Hornets traded fan-favorite center Alonzo Mourning to the Heat in November of 1995. The Heat also knocked the Hornets out of the playoffs in 2014 and 2016.
  • Atlanta Hawks (Hawks Lead 73-65) The Hawks are the closest team geographically to the Hornets, naturally sparking a rivalry. The Hornets have done surprisingly well against the Hawks.

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NBA Hornets 2024-25 Season Outlook

The Hornets are not eligible for the NBA Finals, having been eliminated from postseason contention in March.

The Hornets are more or less in a complete rebuilding mode: Former GM Mitch Kupchak stepped down in February after 6 seasons. He was replaced by Jeff Peterson in March. Then, not too long after, head coach Steve Clifford announced he would also be stepping down at the end of the season, and the team replaced him with Charles Lee. 

The Hornets also once again dealt with numerous injuries, leaving them to pick up the pieces as the season continued to slip away with every loss. 

Star point guard LaMelo Ball was slower to return from his lingering ankle injuries than the Hornets hoped, only playing in 22 games this season.

Charlotte Hornets Stadium

The Hornets play at the Spectrum Center, located in the Uptown area of Charlotte, North Carolina. It seats 19,077 for NBA games and 20,200 for college basketball games. It opened in 2005 and has been the home of the Hornets ever since.

The Hornets announced a partnership with bet365 Sportsbook North Carolina, so visitors at the Spectrum Center can see more sports betting integrations at the arena and on broadcasts.

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How to Get Tickets to Hornets Games?

The most direct method is to buy tickets for Charlotte Hornets games at the Spectrum Center through the team's official website and their Official Ticket Marketplace, Ticketmaster.

Another popular option is an online ticket resale marketplace like VividSeats or StubHub. These sites allow fans to shop for previously purchased tickets being resold by other individuals. 

Memberships and packages are also available through the Hornets Ticketing office for season tickets or multi-game deals.

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Author

Robert Hayek

Robert B. Hayek has been writing about sports for over a decade and is currently a member of the Gambling.com Group team. In his spare time, he runs the largest sports meetup group in Orange County, CA, actively participating in every sport imaginable. He is also a published author of five thriller novels, all available on Amazon.

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