After their recent Summer League championship run in Las Vegas, the Charlotte Hornets could find themselves competing for another title in Nevada. The NBA recently announced the group play schedule for the NBA Cup 2025, and it looks like the Hornets have a prime opportunity to advance to the single-elimination knockout rounds.
They have been grouped with the Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, and Chicago Bulls. For varying reasons, they are capable of defeating each one of them.
If they manage to come out on top of the group or secure a wild-card berth and then win their quarterfinals matchup, they would head to Paradise, Nevada, as one of the four teams battling to become the third NBA Cup champion.
The possibility of two championships in one year for Hornets
Of course, beating each of its NBA Cup opponents will be easier said than done for Charlotte. After all, it just has one win under its belt in in-season tournament history, having prevailed over the Washington Wizards but losing to, incidentally, the Heat, Bucks, and Knicks in 2023. The following year, it failed to notch a single victory in group play.
So, why would things be different for the Hornets this time around?
Aside from fielding a much stronger roster around LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller and possibly finding inspiration from collecting the first-ever championship in franchise history this summer, their foes in the group stage are dealing with some issues or changes.
To wit, Chicago is in a state of limbo, refusing to go on full-rebuild mode despite not having a clear pathway to contention. The team could implode by the time it faces off against the Hornets during the last day of group play.
Meanwhile, Miami failed to land a big fish this offseason, although it acquired Norman Powell to bolster its starving offense. Still, it isn't considerably better than it was from the last campaign, which isn't something you can say about the Hornets.
The Bucks and Knicks might be Charlotte's most challenging obstacles, especially since both squads have impressive star power. However, the Bucks are in a state of flux after parting ways with Damian Lillard this offseason. As for the Knicks, they will be playing for a new head coach in Mike Brown. The Hornets could have a bone to pick with New York after they lost assistant coach Chris Jent, who joined Brown's staff as the associate head coach after leading them to the Summer League championship.
So, can Hornets fans expect Charlotte to bag two titles in one year? It definitely is plausible, albeit unlikely. Still, anything can happen, and it would be nice to watch the club compete again for something meaningful after years of being stuck in obscurity.