Kon Knueppel and LaMelo Ball celebrate a win during their nine-game winning streak.
After somewhat of a tumultuous start to the 2025-26 campaign, Charlotte has flipped a switch since the beginning of January. The Hornets were 4-14 to begin the season and 11-22 heading into the new calendar year, but a historic run over the first month of 2026 has given the “Buzz City Killers” a legitimate chance to at least make the SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament, something they haven’t done since finishing 43-39 back in 2021-22.
As of this writing, Charlotte is 27-31 following a win over Washington on Feb. 22. One more victory will give the Hornets their most wins in a season since 2022-23, when they finished 27-55. It’s only fitting they get the opportunity to surpass that win total when they visit the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday, the team they defeated back on Jan. 3 to kick-start their second-half revival.
Let’s break down five reasons behind their recent success.
1. High-flying offense
Over the first two months of the season, Charlotte struggled its way to an 11-22 record while posting an offensive rating of 115.1 (12th), a defensive rating of 118.1 (26th) and -3.0 net rating (21st) while ranking 18th in both effective field goal (54.0) and true shooting percentage (57.9). From Jan. 1 through games played on Feb. 23, the Hornets rank first in OFFRTG (119.8), ninth in DEFRTG (110.9), third in NETRTG (8.8), sixth in eFG% (55.6) and fifth in TS% (59.5). The Hornets’ 16-9 record over that span is tied for fifth-best in the NBA, just behind the 17 wins of Boston, Cleveland, Detroit and San Antonio, all of whom rank fourth or higher in their respective conferences.
Everything has been clicking at the right time for this team, culminating in a nine-game winning streak from Jan. 22 to Feb. 7. The run tied Charlotte’s second-longest win streak in franchise history and marked their longest since April of 1999.
2. Road warriors
From Oct. 21 to Dec. 31, the Hornets were 4-12 away from the friendly confines of Buzz City. Six of those losses were by double digits, and they went winless on the road over six contests in November. However, with the calendar flipping to an ice-cold January across the country, Charlotte turned up the heat in historic fashion.
The Hornets went an NBA-best 11-6 across 17 contests while accumulating a pristine 8-3 record on the road, highlighted by massive double-figure wins versus Oklahoma City, Utah, Denver, Orlando and the Los Angeles Lakers. They ranked first in OFFRTG (121.1), fifth in DEFRTG (109.6) and first in NETRTG (11.5) overall and were first in road OFFRTG (125.6) and NETRTG (14.2). Charlotte’s dominance away from home earned the Hornets the best road point differential for one month in the history of the league (+151). As we near the end of February, they haven’t lost on the road since Jan. 17 against the Warriors, winning seven straight as the visiting team for the first time since 1998.
3. Superiority on the glass
The Hornets have been phenomenal in terms of rebounding for most of the season, but they’ve really ratcheted things up over the last couple of months. Since Jan. 1, they’re second in offensive rebounding percentage (37.6) and first in defensive rebounding (73.7) and total rebounding percentage (55.8). Grabbing boards and extending possessions is one thing, but cashing in on those opportunities is another, and the Hornets have been just as elite at finishing the extra scoring chances while limiting their opponents in the same area. Over that same stretch, they rank second in second chance points (18.9) and opponent second chance points (12.5).
4. Dynamic young core
Following an injury-riddled campaign in 2024-25 in which he suited up for just 27 games, 23-year-old Brandon Miller has been a true difference maker for the 2025-26 Hornets. The 2023 No. 2 overall pick missed 16 of Charlotte’s first 22 contests, but he’s been active for all but one of its outings since Dec. 5. A healthy Miller, alongside 24-year-olds in LaMelo Ball and Moussa Diabaté, 27-year-old Miles Bridges and 20-year-old rookie Kon Knueppel, are the key players to note in this dramatic turnaround for the purple and teal.
From the beginning of January on, the five-man lineup of Ball, Bridges, Diabaté, Knueppel and Miller have appeared in 17 games for a total of 195 minutes together. They’ve posted some unbelievable numbers during this stretch, with an OFFRTG of 136.4, DEFRTG of 110.6, NETRTG of 25.8, eFG% of 64.4, TS% of 67.3 and assist to turnover ratio of 2.51.
5. Historically great rookie
Knueppel, 2025’s No. 4 overall selection out of Duke, has established himself as not only a 3-point marksman but an incredible all-around player across his first 57 appearances as a pro. The sharpshooting rook has been a sensation for coach Charles Lee, putting up averages of 19.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 0.7 steals and 2.2 turnovers in 32.1 minutes per game. His scoring is second behind only Cooper Flagg in terms of first-year players, and he’s been brilliantly efficient from everywhere on the court, currently owning shooting splits of 48.7 / 43.5 / 89.1.
Knueppel leads the entire league in 3-pointers made (198) and has 17 games with five or more made 3s, a new NBA rookie record. With 24 games remaining, he’s only nine 3PM away from breaking Keegan Murray’s rookie record of 206 set back in 2022-23. In addition to that, Knueppel is tied with Stephen Curry with nine games with 25-plus points and five 3PM. It’s no surprise that he ranks second on our most recent Kia Rookie Ladder and has a real shot at winning Rookie of the Year honors over his former college teammate and roommate in Flagg.
