The 2024–25 Charlotte Hornets season was 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. On May 9, 2024, the Hornets hired Charles Lee as their new head coach.
On March 23, 2025, the Hornets were eliminated from playoff contention for the 9th season in a row following a 122–105 loss to the Miami Heat. They were not able to improve on their 21–61 record from the previous season as they finished this season with a 19–63 record, the second-worst in the Eastern Conference.
Draft
RoundPickPlayerPosition(s)NationalityCollege / 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, the latter of which was originally owned by the Houston Rockets and acquired from the Oklahoma City Thunder in February 2024. They had traded their original second-round pick to the New Orleans Pelicans in 2020; through subsequent trades, the pick landed with the Portland Trail Blazers as the more favorable selection than that of the Minnesota Timberwolves because the Hornets finished with a worse record in the 2023–24 season.
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.
Roster
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Standings Division
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.
|- style="background:#fcc" | 1 | October 6 | New York | | LaMelo Ball (18) | Nick Richards (9) | LaMelo Ball (7) | Spectrum Center10,486 | 0–1 |- style="background:#cfc" | 2 | October 8 | Miami | | LaMelo Ball (24) | Moussa Diabaté (10) | Ball, Mann (4) | Spectrum Center10,093 | 1–1 |- style="background:#cfc" | 3 | October 10 | @ Memphis | | Brandon Miller (22) | Nick Richards (11) | Vasilije Micić (4) | FedExForum13,411 | 2–1 |- style="background:#fcc" | 4 | October 15 | @ New York | | Brandon Miller (26) | Tidjane Salaün (8) | LaMelo Ball (7) | Madison Square Garden19,355 | 2–2 |- style="background:#fcc" | 5 | October 17 | @ Indiana | | Brandon Miller (20) | Tidjane Salaün (14) | KJ Simpson (5) | Gainbridge Fieldhouse11,835 | 2–3
Regular season
|- style="background:#cfc | 1 | October 23 | @ Houston | | LaMelo Ball (34) | Miles Bridges (9) | LaMelo Ball (11) | Toyota Center18,055 | 1–0 |- style="background:#fcc | 2 | October 25 | @ Atlanta | | LaMelo Ball (34) | Nick Richards (13) | Grant Williams (6) | State Farm Arena14,433 | 1–1 |- style="background:#fcc | 3 | October 26 | Miami | | LaMelo Ball (27) | Nick Richards (12) | LaMelo Ball (7) | Spectrum Center19,102 | 1–2 |- style="background:#cfc | 4 | October 30 | Toronto | | Tre Mann (27) | Nick Richards (14) | LaMelo Ball (6) | Spectrum Center13,113 | 2–2
|- style="background:#fcc | 5 | November 1 | Boston | | LaMelo Ball (31) | Bridges, Diabaté, G. Williams (7) | Tre Mann (5) | Spectrum Center18,557 | 2–3 |- style="background:#fcc | 6 | November 2 | Boston | | LaMelo Ball (36) | Miles Bridges (8) | Ball, Miller (6) | Spectrum Center19,253 | 2–4 |- style="background:#fcc | 7 | November 4 | @ Minnesota | | LaMelo Ball (19) | Miles Bridges (6) | Tre Mann (6) | Target Center18,978 | 2–5 |- style="background:#cfc | 8 | November 6 | Detroit | | Miles Bridges (27) | Bridges, G. Williams (7) | LaMelo Ball (8) | Spectrum Center13,247 | 3–5 |- style="background:#cfc | 9 | November 8 | Indiana | | LaMelo Ball (31) | Moussa Diabaté (15) | Ball, Miller (6) | Spectrum Center17,024 | 4–5 |- style="background:#fcc | 10 | November 10 | @ Philadelphia | | LaMelo Ball (38) | Moussa Diabaté (11) | LaMello Ball (8) | Wells Fargo Center19,764 | 4–6 |- style="background:#fcc | 11 | November 12 | @ Orlando | | LaMelo Ball (35) | Moussa Diabaté (15) | Ball, Miller (7) | Kia Center17,541 | 4–7 |- style="background:#cfc | 12 | November 16 | Milwaukee | | LaMelo Ball (26) | Moussa Diabaté (14) | LaMelo Ball (6) | Spectrum Center19,145 | 5–7 |- style="background:#fcc | 13 | November 17 | @ Cleveland | | LaMelo Ball (31) | Grant Williams (9) | LaMelo Ball (12) | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse19,432 | 5–8 |- style="background:#fcc" | 14 | November 19 | @ Brooklyn | | Brandon Miller (29) | Tidjane Salaün (8) | Tre Mann (6) | Barclays Center18,117 | 5–9 |- style="background:#cfc" | 15 | November 21 | Detroit | | Brandon Miller (38) | Moussa Diabaté (16) | LaMelo Ball (9) | Spectrum Center14,671 | 6–9 |- style="background:#fcc" | 16 | November 23 | @ Milwaukee | | LaMelo Ball (50) | Diabaté, Miller (11) | LaMelo Ball (10) | Fiserv Forum17,341 | 6–10 |- style="background:#fcc | 17 | November 25 | Orlando | | LaMelo Ball (44) | Brandon Miller (10) | LaMelo Ball (7) | Spectrum Center14,898 | 6–11 |- style="background:#fcc" | 18 | November 27 | Miami | | LaMelo Ball (32) | Moussa Diabaté (11) | LaMelo Ball (7) | Spectrum Center17,710 | 6–12 |- style="background:#fcc" | 19 | November 29 | New York | | Brandon Miller (20) | Moussa Diabaté (11) | Vasilije Micić (8) | Spectrum Center19,313 | 6–13 |- style="background:#fcc | 20 | November 30 | Atlanta | | Brandon Miller (32) | Diabaté, Micić, Miller (8) | Martin, Micić (5) | Spectrum Center17,969 | 6–14
|- style="background:#fcc | 21 | December 3 | Philadelphia | | Brandon Miller (34) | Nick Richards (14) | KJ Simpson (9) | Spectrum Center14,956 | 6–15 |- style="background:#fcc | 22 | December 5 | @ New York | | Brandon Miller (26) | Nick Richards (8) | Vasilije Micić (12) | Madison Square Garden19,812 | 6–16 |- style="background:#fcc | 23 | December 7 | Cleveland | | Brandon Miller (25) | Cody Martin (9) | Vasilije Micić (7) | Spectrum Center18,832 | 6–17 |- style="background:#cfc | 24 | December 8 | @ Indiana | | Brandon Miller (26) | Nick Richards (14) | Vasilije Micić (9) | Gainbridge Fieldhouse17,274 | 7–17 |- style="background:#fcc | 25 | December 13 | @ Chicago | | Brandon Miller (21) | Bridges, M. Williams (9) | Vasilije Micić (5) | United Center19,543 | 7–18 |- style="background:#fcc | 26 | December 16 | Philadelphia | | Miles Bridges (24) | Miles Bridges (6) | LaMelo Ball (11) | Spectrum Center14,677 | 7–19 |- style="background:#fcc | 27 | December 19 | @ Washington | | LaMelo Ball (34) | Bridges, M. Williams (8) | LaMelo Ball (13) | Capital One Arena15,256 | 7–20 |- style="background:#fcc | 28 | December 20 | @ Philadelphia | | Vasilije Micić (20) | Tidjane Salaün (8) | Tidjane Salaün (5) | Wells Fargo Center20,291 | 7–21 |- style="background:#fcc | 29 | December 23 | Houston | | Miles Bridges (24) | Mark Williams (9) | LaMelo Ball (8) | Spectrum Center19,134 | 7–22 |- style="background:#fcc | 30 | December 26 | @ Washington | | LaMelo Ball (31) | Miles Bridges (14) | Brandon Miller (9) | Capital One Arena17,193 | 7–23 |- style="background:#fcc | 31 | December 28 | Oklahoma City | | Miles Bridges (19) | Bridges, M. Williams (10) | Miles Bridges (6) | Spectrum Center19,325 | 7–24 |- style="background:#fcc | 32 | December 30 | Chicago | | Miles Bridges (31) | Bridges, M. Williams (12) | Miles Bridges (8) | Spectrum Center19,197 | 7–25
|- style="background:#fcc | 33 | January 3 | @ Detroit | | Miles Bridges (20) | Bridges, M. Williams (9) | Bridges, Micić, Richards (5) | Little Caesars Arena18,866 | 7–26 |- style="background:#fcc | 34 | January 5 | @ Cleveland | | Ball, Miller (24) | Salaün, M. Williams (9) | Cody Martin (5) | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse19,432 | 7–27 |- style="background:#cfc | 35 | January 7 | Phoenix | | LaMelo Ball (32) | Nick Richards (12) | LaMelo Ball (7) | Spectrum Center16,647 | 8–27 |- style="background:#ccc | — | January 9 | @ L.A. Lakers | colspan="6" | Postponed due to the January 2025 Southern California wildfires. Makeup date February 19. |- style="background:#ccc | — | January 11 | @ L.A. Clippers | colspan="6" | Postponed due to the January 2025 Southern California wildfires. Makeup date March 16. |- style="background:#fcc | 36 | January 12 | @ Phoenix | | LaMelo Ball (25) | Mark Williams (16) | LaMelo Ball (11) | Footprint Center17,071 | 8–28 |- style="background:#cfc | 37 | January 15 | @ Utah | | Mark Williams (31) | Mark Williams (13) | LaMelo Ball (9) | Delta Center18,175 | 9–28 |- style="background:#cfc | 38 | January 17 | @ Chicago | | LaMelo Ball (26) | Mark Williams (19) | LaMelo Ball (9) | United Center20,598 | 10–28 |- style="background:#cfc | 39 | January 20 | Dallas | | Ball, Bridges (23) | Mark Williams (13) | LaMelo Ball (9) | Spectrum Center19,314 | 11–28 |- style="background:#fcc | 40 | January 22 | @ Memphis | | Mark Williams (38) | Mark Williams (9) | Ball, Bridges (6) | FedExForum15,971 | 11–29 |- style="background:#fcc | 41 | January 24 | Portland | | Nick Smith Jr. (17) | Josh Okogie (10) | Nick Smith Jr. (5) | Spectrum Center16,228 | 11–30 |- style="background:#cfc | 42 | January 25 | New Orleans | | LaMelo Ball (25) | Moussa Diabaté (13) | LaMelo Ball (7) | Spectrum Center18,461 | 12–30 |- style="background:#fcc | 43 | January 27 | L.A. Lakers | | Miles Bridges (26) | Bridges, M. Williams (8) | Nick Smith Jr. (6) | Spectrum Center19,483 | 12–31 |- style="background:#fcc" | 44 | January 29 | Brooklyn | | Miles Bridges (23) | Miles Bridges (13) | Vasilije Micić (6) | Spectrum Center14,307 | 12–32 |- style="background:#fcc | 45 | January 31 | L.A. Clippers | | Miles Bridges (27) | Moussa Diabaté (14) | Miles Bridges (6) | Spectrum Center15,342 | 12–33
|- style="background:#fcc | 46 | February 1 | Denver | | Miles Bridges (24) | Mark Williams (15) | KJ Simpson (8) | Spectrum Center19,106 | 12–34 |- style="background:#fcc | 47 | February 3 | Washington | | Bridges, Smith Jr. (24) | Mark Williams (14) | Miles Bridges (10) | Spectrum Center14,129 | 12–35 |- style="background:#fcc" | 48 | February 5 | Milwaukee | | Nick Smith Jr. (23) | Moussa Diabaté (13) | Miles Bridges (6) | Spectrum Center14,385 | 12–36 |- style="background:#cfc" | 49 | February 7 | San Antonio | | Miles Bridges (25) | Moussa Diabaté (15) | LaMelo Ball (10) | Spectrum Center19,290 | 13–36 |- style="background:#fcc" | 50 | February 9 | @ Detroit | | Miles Bridges (30) | Miles Bridges (9) | KJ Simpson (6) | Little Caesars Arena18,740 | 13–37 |- style="background:#fcc" | 51 | February 10 | @ Brooklyn | | Moussa Diabaté (21) | Moussa Diabaté (10) | Nick Smith Jr. (5) | Barclays Center16,013 | 13–38 |- style="background:#fcc" | 52 | February 12 | @ Orlando | | Miles Bridges (19) | Taj Gibson (12) | Elfrid Payton (7) | Kia Center18,947 | 13–39 |- align="center" |colspan="9" bgcolor="#bbcaff"|All-Star Game |- style="background:#cfc | 53 | February 19 | @ L.A. Lakers | | Miles Bridges (29) | Mark Williams (9) | Jusuf Nurkić (7) | Crypto.com Arena18,997 | 14–39 |- style="background:#fcc | 54 | February 20 | @ Denver | | Miles Bridges (36) | Miles Bridges (13) | Bridges, Nurkić (7) | Ball Arena19,870 | 14–40 |- style="background:#fcc" | 55 | February 22 | @ Portland | | Miles Bridges (17) | Jusuf Nurkić (8) | Jusuf Nurkić (5) | Moda Center18,501 | 14–41 |- style="background:#fcc | 56 | February 24 | @ Sacramento | | Miles Bridges (23) | Jusuf Nurkić (9) | LaMelo Ball (9)