A new era has dawned in North Carolina, as the Charlotte Hornets have a different identity coming into the 2024-25 regular season.
If some opponents deemed games with Charlotte before as high-probability wins, the team doesn't look like it will be an easy matchup moving forward. With several talented players and a promising coaching staff, meetings with the Hornets should be more competitive.
Miles Bridges, who has been serving as one of the squad's leaders and tied with Cody Martin as its longest-tenured player, is ready to guide his teammates to war every night.
Hornets won't be pushovers anymore, says Bridges
Bridges also named LeBron James specifically as a player who had mailed it in whenever he faced the Hornets. It's worth noting that the Los Angeles Lakers superstar has an all-time 49-7 record against the organization.
In an appearance on the "Club 520 Podcast" (at 42:34), the embattled forward discussed the toughest matchups he has had to face in the NBA and omitted James, to pod host Jeff Teague's surprise.
Bridges explained that the Lakers icon takes days off, sharing his belief that every time they faced off, James would be like, "Man, it's the Hornets; I'm gonna chill." That's what may have happened last season, as the 39-year-old phenom averaged just 21.5 points per contest in Los Angeles' two wins versus the Hornets. As for Bridges, he recorded 30.5 points per game, including a 41-point outing in the second regular-season meeting.
Now, the Michigan State University has avowed that the four-time MVP won't have the luxury of taking it easy against Charlotte anymore. As he eloquently put it, "We're going to be on our (expletive) this year."
Bridges' assertion mirrors the sentiments of former teammates Terry Rozier and Kelly Oubre Jr. about the Hornets of the past. Rozier once described his previous employer as harboring a losing culture but has since done a 360 in his view of Charlotte. As for Oubre Jr., he admitted to being mentally depleted with all the losses he experienced during the second and final season of his brief tenure with the Purple and Teal.
Things are different now in CLT, though, as there is plenty of optimism and possibly a lot of fight from the players — and that won't just be against James.
Fans should expect the Hornets to field a competitive lineup night in and night out. The only probable obstacle that could stand in their way is the injury bug. But even if they happen to not have enough healthy bodies against some opponents, the squad for sure won't cave in anymore.