Who exactly is the Charlotte Hornets’ biggest rival?

More recently, the Washington Wizards have quietly been a thorn in the side of the Charlotte Hornets. Is there enough of a resume to make their case?

This one may seem a bit weird, but it’s something that some fans have noticed over the past few years. Up until the last couple of seasons, the Washington Wizards have been somewhat successful, making the playoffs five out of the last seven seasons.

That might not align with the Charlotte Hornet’s recent track record, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t played some heated games. In fact, dating back to the start of the 2015-2016 season, the Hornets and Wizards have played 19 games, with the average margin of victory being just 7 points. There were only three games where the winning team won by more than 10.

In those 19 games, the Hornets have won nearly half, notching 10 victories. They were set to play one more time this year and if all patterns continued on their projected paths, the Wizards would most likely have tied it up.

So, recently at least, it’s been a closely matched series, but even overall, the series is still fairly even, with Charlotte having a 63-54 edge all-time. That’s actually one of the closer overall records Charlotte has against another team.

Geographically, the two cities are surprisingly close, as well, with just 400 miles separating the two. Much like Atlanta, though, the two just haven’t played many games where much was on the line. They’ve never met in the playoffs and when one team was contending for the playoffs, the other was usually very much not.

If they could find a way to have a nice playoff series or two in the near future, then that might up the beef factor a bit, further facilitating some kind of rivalry with the Wizards.

Next up is a choice that I think very much deserves consideration, but isn’t perfect, simply due to one man.