Swarm and Sting
Fansided

Could the Charlotte Hornets win an NBA title if the league were to start fresh?

By Elijah Edwards

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 20: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver speaks during the 2019 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center on June 20, 2019 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 20: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver speaks during the 2019 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center on June 20, 2019 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 28: Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Los Angeles Clippers dribbles past Miles Bridges #0 of the Charlotte Hornetsduring the first half of a game at Staples Center on October 28, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 28: Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Los Angeles Clippers dribbles past Miles Bridges #0 of the Charlotte Hornetsduring the first half of a game at Staples Center on October 28, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

In this scenario, the Charlotte Hornets managed to snag the 4th overall pick. Can they make it pay off?

Fortune smiles upon the city of Charlotte as the Hornets are awarded the 4th pick in the NBA Fantasy Draft. With that, I picked the aforementioned Kawhi Leonard. Needless to say, things went a little better this time around. The complete draft is below:

  1. Kawhi Leonard
  2. Devin Booker
  3. Danilo Gallinari
  4. Dejounte Murray
  5. Serge Ibaka
  6. Terry Rozier III
  7. Dwight Powell
  8. Tyler Herro
  9. De’Andre Hunter
  10. Meyers Leonard
  11. Danny Green
  12. Ian Mahinmi
  13. Kent Bazemore
  14. Darius Garland

This looks much better, does it not? And the team stayed relatively injury-free, with only a few minor scuffs, outside of Gallinari missing two months with a somewhat broken toe. As a result, Charlotte finished the regular season with a 56-26 record, despite starting the year off 3-7. They would be the number one seed in the Eastern Conference.

James Harden was the league MVP and Leonard made the All-NBA Second Team and All-Defensive First Team. With all of that, let’s see if we can’t use this newfound success to get a ring.

The Charlotte Hornets would face CJ McCollum and the Washington Wizards in the first round of the playoffs. The Wizards wouldn’t put up much of a fight as the Hornets handled them swiftly, four games to one. Devin Booker led the way in that series, averaging 28 points a game.

Round two would feature a familiar foe, the Atlanta Hawks, led by Jayson Tatum. Charlotte would again deal with them in just five games. Leonard, this time, led the team with 26.6 points a game.

In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Hornets would face off against the New York Knicks, who were powered by the duo of Kyrie Irving and Kristaps Porzingis. This would be a little closer, going to six games, but the Hornets would prevail.

On to the NBA Finals, where they would matchup against the Sacramento Kings. This one was close, going to seven games, with the final game decided by just five points. And since there is no sport without some type of drama, the player leading the way for the Kings was none other than Charlotte native, Steph Curry. I bet people in the Queen City were very conflicted… if this were real.

Well, one more try. We’ve gotten about as close as you can get. Can this one be the charm? Let’s find out.

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