Since rebranding after the 2013-14 season from the Charlotte Bobcats to the Charlotte Hornets, not much has changed with the NBA franchise in Charlotte, North Carolina as they still have yet to find a winning formula. The last time Charlotte was in the Eastern Conference Semifinals was in 2002 and since then, they have made the playoffs just three times, losing in the first round in each of those seasons.

While it is likely that they will finish with a losing record for the 5th consecutive season, the future is very bright for this Hornets organization. Devonte Graham was one of the most improved players of the 2019-20 NBA season as he increased his points per game average by 13.5 points, his assists per game by 4.9 assists, and his three-point percentage by almost 10%. A lot of NBA fans felt he was deserving of the 2019-20 NBA Most Improved Player Award, but it was ultimately given to the New Orleans Pelicans All-Star forward, Brandon Ingram.

The emergence of Devonte’ Graham as one of the young stars of the organization moving forward with P.J. Washington and Miles Bridges, has given the Hornets a young core they can build around, and that is exactly what they did this offseason. Not only did they bring in possibly the best rookie prospect in this draft class in LaMelo Ball as the team’s point guard of the future, but they signed former NBA All-Star Gordon Hayward to a four-year, $120M max-contract. 

Ahead of the 2017 NBA season, the Charlotte Hornets made a run at signing Hayward then, but he ultimately decided to sign with the Boston Celtics. Now, the Hornets did not take no for an answer twice when it came to signing Gordon Hayward and they made sure they locked him up for the next several years.

Now, with a veteran, All-Star caliber leader in Hayward, along with all of the young talented players on their roster, the Charlotte Hornets are trending in the right direction and could be a team on the rise in the Eastern Conference this season. Here are 4 bold predictions for the Charlotte Hornets as they get ready to begin the 2020-21 NBA season.