The Charlotte Hornets lost their opening game in the 2025 NBA Cup, falling to the Miami Heat 126-108 on Friday. While it is only the first of five contests in the group stage, the odds of the Hornets making it to the knockout phase are iffy. As it turned out, the quality of their opponents they were drawn with is just too unfavorable for them.
When the groups were announced in August, it looked like Charlotte would have the opportunity to make some noise in the in-season tournament. At that point, the team didn't appear to have a chance of reaching the 2026 playoffs by any means. However, fighting for a spot in Las Vegas for at least the NBA Cup semifinals seemed a bit more plausible, only because it looked like the Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, and Chicago Bulls were going to run into some trouble this year.
As it turns out, it's the Hornets who are in dire straits, as their two best players have been dealing with injury concerns. The offense, which had caught a lot of folks by surprise during the first week of the regular season, has stalled, and the defense has been awful, with few signs that it will make a major leap anytime soon. Meanwhile, their group stage opponents currently occupy the fourth to seventh spots in the Eastern Conference standings.
A successful NBA Cup run would have been a bright spot for Hornets
With Charlotte's prospect of ending a nine-year drought of missing the playoffs already looking grim nine games into the campaign, being competitive in the NBA Cup would have been a morale booster. A good case in point was when many fans rejoiced when the team took home the Summer League championship in Las Vegas.
Sadly, the Hornets couldn't even secure their second win overall in the history of the in-season tournament. After beating the Washington Wizards in their first-ever contest in the competition, they have lost seven straight. The defeat at the hands of the Heat on Friday was even humiliating as Charlotte nearly made history when it gave up 53 points in the opening period, marking the second-highest-scoring first quarter in the history of the league.
The visiting squad clawed back into the match with a 27-2 run in the second stanza but ran out of gas after halftime. Without its three highest (average) scorers entering the game, LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, and Collin Sexton, the offense sputtered and put up just 39 points in the closing half.
Maybe the Hornets can pull off several shockers or catch any of the Bucks, Knicks, and Bulls on a bad night. With the way the regular season has trended for the franchise, though, it's hard for fans to get their hopes up.