When it comes to the resurgence of these Charlotte Hornets, there’s a relatively simple explanation.
Just ask their head coach.
“It’s been cool to have a healthy roster,” Charles Lee said. “That has definitely played into some of the shifts that we’ve had going along. But I think that our guys have just embraced the process even more. It started in the offseason, I thought everyone elevated their work habits, their work standards, their togetherness of how we can elevate each other.”
“We’ve gotten stronger through all of it.”
And in Sampson-like fashion, with the latest evidence coming in Boston on Wednesday night. The Hornets continued to put the NBA on notice, leading by double-digits for the better part of four quarters and cruising to a 118-89 victory over the Boston Celtics at TD Garden.
That’s wins in 10 straight road outings for the Hornets, who also own the NBA’s longest current longest overall win streak at six games — with all the triumphs coming by at least 16 points. Charlotte (32-31) is on a serious roll and is red-hot heading into a huge matchup with Southeast Division foe Miami on Friday night.
“Really, it just comes down to our pace and physicality,” Moussa Diabate said. “Obviously, we have great shooters who can make shots. But I think overall it’s just us being physical and running and never stopping, keep on attacking no matter what. And, yup, it puts us on top.”
Dismantling the current No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference should serve as yet another confidence booster for the Hornets. Boston had their number a season ago.
That’s not the case in 2025-26.
“”They are a great team, we also believe we are a great team,” Diabate said. “At the end of the day, we are not trying to focus too much on them. Obviously we want to win the game but it’s going to take care of itself if we focus on what we have to do. For us, it’s a great thing, it’s a great message to the league as well — understand that the Hornets are here.”
Here’s what else of note the Hornets had to say in Boston:
On Sion James:
“He’s just a dog, just a baller,” Lee said. “And he can play multiple positions, because of how smart he is, half the time he’s trying to make half the play calls and I’m down for it. He understands who’s got the hot hand and I’ll fall back and let him do his thing. I’ve seen him grow a ton and he’s starting to figure out how he can impact games.
“I’ve put him in a lot of different positions as a rookie and he has handled it really well. So, props to him with just how he’s been willing to be open-minded.”
On Kon Knuepple’s impact on winning:
“His mindset, his mentality is in the right place,” Lee said of Knuepple, who scored 20 against Boston. “He started young having to figure out how to keep up in his dad’s men’s league and stay on the court and not mess things up and so it started there. … He literally wants to do anything he can do to win a game, I had him in my house and we are playing cards and while everybody else is joking around he’s stuffing the board already figuring out how he can get an edge on something.
“So that’s just how he is wired mentally and he brings that to the court every day, too.”
This story was originally published March 4, 2026 at 10:38 PM.
