Don't look now, but the Charlotte Hornets might be cooking up a winning recipe.
Since a 4-14 start that prompted trade rumors around All-Star guard LaMelo Ball, the Hornets have posted a 10-12 record over their past 22 games. Buoyed by Ball's improvement and the play of rising star rookie Kon Knueppel, the Hornets put up 150 points on the Utah Jazz last week -- and earlier this month, Charlotte secured a signature win when they took down the reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder on the road.
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The 124-97 win over the Thunder on Jan. 5 demonstrated the Hornets' burgeoning potential. Though Charlotte still has significant ground to make up just to reach the Play-in Tournament, the trade speculation has quieted around the injury-prone Ball -- who is impressing the rookie Knueppel.
"He's doing a really good job," Knueppel told the Ringer's Bill Simmons. "The training staff is trying to manage his minutes to maximize the amount of games he can play. And that's tough to do, it's tough to get in a rhythm sometimes when you're going 28 to 30 minutes, and you know you're going to come out.... He's been really locked in this year."
Kon Knueppel and Bill Simmons talked about LaMelo Ball:
— r/CharlotteHornets (@HornetsReddit) January 15, 2026
🎙️ Bill: "It definitely seems like he has his bounce back. He's got his first step back and is starting to seem unstoppable again, but we haven't really seen a stretch like this in a while where he can stay healthy for four… pic.twitter.com/qaU5MAnw90
With Ball and Knueppel forming two-fifths of one of the NBA's most potent lineups by net rating this year, the future finally looks bright in Charlotte. Only time will tell if the Hornets can make another charge up the standings with still half a season to play.
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