The 2025 offseason is as crucial as it comes for the Charlotte Hornets. Roster reinforcements should be arriving if the front office plays its cards right.
The draft is an obvious way to improve the team, although it remains to be seen where the Hornets will land in the lottery. The results are out of their control, for sure, although it appears that they are trying their best to secure one of the highest odds to grab the No. 1 spot. Unfortunately for the franchise, the draft hasn't always worked in its favor, either because of luck (or the lack of it) or misguided decisions.
Here, we look at the stars Charlotte missed out on merely by a single draft pick since 2004.
Victor Wembanyama, 2023
The Hornets were almost blessed by the basketball gods two years ago when they leaped in the draft order to the second spot despite finishing with the fourth-worst record in the regular season standings. They were likely probably hoping to jump one position higher, though, as 2023 was known as the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes.
As a silver lining, Charlotte landed Brandon Miller, a nice consolation prize, given that the 22-year-old swingman needs just elite handles to become a top offensive force in the league.
Jalen Williams, 2022
Buzz City held the 13th and 15th overall picks of the 2022 draft, choosing Jalen Duren with the former and trading him to the Detroit Pistons and Mark Williams two selections later. If the Hornets had finished 12th in the draft order and had the benefit of hindsight, they would have been able to acquire a game-changing talent.
The Oklahoma City Thunder used the No. 12 pick on Jalen Williams, who is arguably the second-best player of the league-leading squad and earned the first of what would likely be several All-Star berths.
Tyler Herro, 2019
If Charlotte could change its decision in the summer of 2019, it probably would. Instead of selecting Miami Heat star Tyler Herro with the draft's No. 12 pick, it went for P.J. Washington.
The decision can still benefit the Hornets. They dealt the forward to the Dallas Mavericks last year in exchange for a package comprised of Grant Williams, Seth Curry, and a top-two protected first-round pick in 2027. With the Mavs' recent inexplicable move to mortgage their future for an injury-prone superstar, that draft selection can end up with incredibly high value.
Mikal Bridges/Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, 2018
Charlotte experienced a double whammy in the 2018 draft. Owning the No. 11 pick, it missed out on Mikal Bridges, who was drafted one spot earlier. A better opportunity presented itself, though, as current MVP front-runner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was still available when it was on the clock.
However, the Hornets sent the pick to the LA Clippers, dropping one spot down and acquiring two future second-round selections. They ended up bringing in Miles Bridges.
Anthony Davis/Bradley Beal, 2012
2012 served the Hive with a couple of lessons. First, tanking doesn't always pan out as hoped, as Charlotte didn't win the draft lottery despite finishing with 13 fewer wins than the second-worst club, the Washington Wizards. As such, it lost the Anthony Davis sweepstakes.
Making matters worse was choosing Michael Kidd-Gilchrist with the No. 2 selection instead of taking a flyer on three-time All-Star Bradley Beal. In the then-Bobcats' defense, they were high on Gerald Henderson developing into a top-flight shooting guard.
Brook Lopez, 2008
In the 2008 offseason, Charlotte had the opportunity to bring in a promising center in Brook Lopez with the No. 9 pick. But because the team already had former Rookie of the Year Emeka Okafor anchoring the paint, it went with D.J. Augustin.
The Bobcats did find good use for Okafor, using him as a trade chip to acquire Tyson Chandler in 2009. Still, the franchise could have landed a former All-Star who was a force in the low post before adding an outside shot in his offensive bag in the latter arc of his career.
Chris Paul, 2005
When talking about Charlotte's bad luck in the draft lottery, the 2005 edition is almost always brought up. Even though the team was third to last in the standings in the 2004-05 campaign, it fell to fifth in the draft. That meant losing out Chris Paul, who went fourth and who could have changed the squad's trajectory.
Still, hopes were high in the city as hometown hero Raymond Felton fell into Buzz City's lap. The South Carolina native was fresh off helping lead the University of North Carolina to the NCAA championship. Sadly, though, Felton's pro career wasn't as successful as his collegiate stint.
Dwight Howard, 2004
The Bobcats reentered the NBA as an expansion in 2004, receiving the No. 4 overall pick. They used it along with an agreement with the Clippers to choose Pregrag Drobnjak in the expansion draft to move up to the second spot. The front office then used the selection for Okafor, which looked like a solid move at the time, chiefly because the University of Connecticut product emerged as the best rookie of his draft class.
However, Charlotte would have been better off if Dwight Howard, who went to the Orlando Magic, was still available. Okafor ended up not fulfilling his potential, while Howard turned out to be one of the finest big men of his generation.