The Charlotte Hornets are the NBA’s hottest team. After a dominant 118-89 win against the Boston Celtics Wednesday night, the Hornets are now on a league-leading six game win streak. They’ve pulled to above .500 for the first time since Oct. 26, when they had a 2-1 record to open the season.
Wednesday night’s win served as a statement that the Hornets, currently No. 9 in the East, are going to be a difficult matchup if they make it to the playoffs (more on that later), and the Celtics got a taste of that first hand. It was an off night for Boston, as the Celtics made just 10 3-pointers all night, while Jaylen Brown (20 points) and Derrick White (29 points) got practically nothing from their support staff offensively.
But give credit to Charlotte’s defense. Over the last month they own the seventh-best defense, while producing the second-best offense in that span. It’s resulted in a 9-3 record during that time, putting them among teams where “championship contender” is often said in the same breath. But the Hornets don’t have the record of those teams, sitting at just 32-31 and ninth in the lowly Eastern Conference.
It honestly doesn’t make sense. When the Hornets are clicking, they play like one of the best teams in the league, but you look at their record and they’re barely treading water. Since Jan. 22, Charlotte is making up for lost time. It has the best record in the league (16-3) in that spna, righting a woeful start that saw them starting out 6-16. This current six-game win streak is made even more impressive by the fact that they’ve accomplished something that no team since the championship 2017-18 Golden State Warriors have done.
They’ve won six-consecutive games by 15-plus points, something that hasn’t happened since the ’18 Warriors team, per CBS Sports Research. It’s a stat so mind-boggling it made me stare at it for several minutes to truly comprehend it: The Hornets and the Warriors? It’s tied for the second-longest winning streak of 15-plus points in NBA history, too.
Most consecutive wins by 15-plus points within a season in NBA history
Taking a look at that table, if we’re going off history associated with this feat, there’s a wide range of how Charlotte’s season could end. Could they wind up making a surprise run to the conference finals, or even the NBA Finals? Or is a first-round exit more realistic for this team? We’ll have to wait and see, but it’s obvious that the Hornets are trending in the right direction.
To make all of this even more mind-blowing, the win against the Celtics marked the 12th time this season the Hornets have beaten an opponent by 20+ points, per StatMuse. You want to guess where they rank in that category? Fourth, behind the Thunder, Knicks and Celtics and ahead of the Rockets (11), Timberwolves (10) and East-leading Pistons (8). All those teams could credibly be in the conference finals or NBA Finals.
Teams with most wins by 20+ points during 2025-26 season
|
Oklahoma City Thunder |
19 |
49-15 |
|
New York Knicks |
13 |
40-23 |
|
Boston Celtics |
13 |
41-21 |
|
Charlotte Hornets |
12 |
32-31 |
|
Houston Rockets |
11 |
38-22 |
How are they getting this done? Well we just saw it Wednesday night. This Hornets team is going to take a ton of 3s (49 against the Celtics) but they’re also going to make an incredibly high percentage of them. They shot 38.8% from 3-point range against Boston, which is pretty on par for what they’ve been shooting this season. They rank third in 3-point percentage, and it’s all thanks to a three-headed monster in LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller and rookie sensation Kon Knueppel.
Just a few months ago everyone was making predictions on where Ball would be traded. Now that all seems foolish. He and Miller alone create a dangerous tandem with both capable of playing on or off the ball, and then you add Knueppel to the mix, who has already broken the rookie 3-point record and is the new favorite for Rookie of the Year, and you have a strong foundation for years to come in Charlotte. As a team, the Hornets have made 147 3-pointers over the last seven games — the most by any team in NBA history over a seven-game stretch.
The Hornets’ statement win against the Celtics was more than just an “upset” against one of the top teams in the East. It was a message sent to the rest of the Eastern Conference. This isn’t just a fun regular season team after decades of being one of the NBA’s saddest watches. The Hornets have something here that could translate into some postseason success if they get a favorable matchup.
There’s still work to be done before we start talking playoff upsets, but only two games separate the Hornets from the No. 6 spot in the East. With the teams above them trending in the opposite direction — looking at you, Sixers — it wouldn’t be unreasonable to think Charlotte could climb that high by season’s end.