Charlotte Hornets

The Charlotte Hornets’ 2024-25 NBA schedule is out. Key dates, trends and what to know

Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry, right, passes the ball over Charlotte Hornets forward Brandon Miller, left, during action at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC on Friday, March 29, 2024. The Warriors defeated the Hornets 115-97.
Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry, right, passes the ball over Charlotte Hornets forward Brandon Miller, left, during action at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC on Friday, March 29, 2024. The Warriors defeated the Hornets 115-97. jsiner@charlotteobserver.com

The Charles Lee Era officially begins in Houston, the Charlotte Hornets still aren’t quite ready for prime time, and their suitcases will take a beating in February.

Those are just a few of several takeaways from the Hornets’ full 2024-25 regular-season schedule unveiled on Thursday, which came exactly 48 hours following the release of this year’s Emirates NBA Cup slate. The Hornets’ schedule also includes two games — one home, one away — between Dec. 12-16 against yet to be determined opponents that will be announced once tournament group play has been completed.

Lee, the Hornets’ first-year coach, makes his true sideline debut on Oct. 23 against the Houston Rockets, and Charlotte has a date in Atlanta with the Hawks two days later prior to returning to uptown for their Oct. 26 regular-season home opener at Spectrum Center against Southeast Division rival Miami.

But none of those matchups will be broadcast nationally, which is once again a common theme. Currently, just one of the Hornets’ games is on tap to be on ESPN: January 17 in Chicago, likely because the network is hoping it features a rare outing between LaMelo Ball and older brother Lonzo Ball. It’s similar to 2023-24, when the Hornets had one game slated to be on ESPN — at San Antonio on January 12 — but the network pulled the plug due to Charlotte’s struggles and badly banged-up roster.

Victor Wembanyama, who didn’t play in Charlotte during San Antonio’s visit in January, makes his lone trek to the Carolinas on February 7, which concludes a team-record nine-game homestand. The Hornets will also host LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers during that same home stretch on January 27.

Victor Wembanyama (1) shoots over Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges (0) in the second half at Frost Bank Center.
Victor Wembanyama (1) shoots over Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges (0) in the second half at Frost Bank Center. Daniel Dunn USA TODAY NETWORK

Steph Curry, the pride of Charlotte and recently-crowned Olympic gold medalist who starred at Davidson, comes to town for his usual rousing homecoming on March 3.

All regional Hornets games will be televised by Bally Sports Southeast.

BY THE NUMBERS*

Longest homestand: 9 (Jan. 24-Feb. 7 vs. Portland, New Orleans, Los Angeles Lakers, Brooklyn, LA Clippers, Denver, Washington, Milwaukee, San Antonio)

Longest road trip: 8 (Feb. 9-27 at Detroit, Brooklyn, Orlando, Denver, Portland, Sacramento, Golden State, Dallas)

Most games in a month: 16 (November, March)

Road/home back-to-backs: 4

Home/home back-to-backs: 4

Road/road back-to-backs: 1

Consecutive games vs. same opponent: 2 (vs. Boston on Nov. 1, 2; at Boston on April 11, 13)

Scheduled national TV appearances (excluding NBATV): 1 (at Chicago, Jan. 17)

* — (Totals reflect 80 games since two games remain TBD due to NBA’s in-season tournament)

Hornets regular-season schedule

All times Eastern.

TBD” Games are either in-season tournament playoff games or added regular-season games.

DayDateOpponentTimeNat. TV
Wed.Oct. 23at Houston8 p.m.

Fri.Oct. 25at Atlanta7:30 p.m.

Sat.Oct. 26Miami7 p.m.

Wed.Oct. 30Toronto7 p.m.

Fri.Nov. 1Boston7 p.m.

Sat.Nov. 2Boston6 p.m.

Mon. Nov. 4at Minnesota9 p.m.

Wed.Nov. 6Detroit7 p.m.

Fri.Nov. 8Indiana7 p.m.

Sun.Nov. 10at Philadelphia7 p.m.

Tues.Nov. 12at Orlando7 p.m.

Sat.Nov. 16Milwaukee3 p.m.

Sun. Nov. 17at Cleveland6 p.m.

Tues.Nov. 19at Brooklyn7:30 p.m.

Thurs.Nov. 21Detroit7 p.m.NBA TV
Sat.Nov. 23at Milwaukee8 p.m.

Mon. Nov. 25Orlando7 p.m.

Wed. Nov. 27Miami7 p.m.

Fri.Nov. 29New York12 p.m.NBA TV
Sat.Nov. 30Atlanta6 p.m.

Tues.Dec. 3Philadelphia7 p.m.

Thurs.Dec. 5at New York7:30 p.m.

Sat.Dec. 7Cleveland1 p.m.

Sun.Dec. 8at Indiana5 p.m.

TBDTBDTBDTBDTBD
TBDTBDTBDTBDTBD
Thurs.Dec. 19at Washington7 p.m.

Fri.Dec. 20at Philadephia7 p.m.

Mon. Dec. 23Houston7 p.m.

Thurs.Dec. 26at Washington7 p.m.

Sat.Dec. 28Oklahoma City6 p.m.NBA TV
Mon. Dec. 30Chicago7 p.m.

Fri.Jan. 3at Detroit7 p.m.

Sun.Jan. 5at Cleveland6 p.m.

Tues.Jan. 7Phoenix7 p.m.

Thurs. Jan. 9at LA Lakers10:30 p.m.

Sat.Jan. 11at LA Clippers10:30 p.m.

Sun.Jan. 12at Phoenix9 p.m.

Wed.Jan. 15at Utah9 p.m.

Fri.Jan. 17at Chicago9:30 p.m.ESPN
Mon. Jan. 20Dallas12 p.m.NBA TV
Wed.Jan. 22at Memphis7 p.m.

Fri.Jan. 24Portland7 p.m.

Sat.Jan. 25New Orleans7 p.m.

Mon. Jan. 27LA Lakers7 p.m.

Wed.Jan. 29Brooklyn7 p.m.

Fri.Jan. 31LA Clippers7 p.m.

Sat.Feb. 1Denver7 p.m.

Mon. Feb. 3Washington7 p.m.

Wed.Feb. 5Milwaukee7 p.m.

Fri.Feb. 7San Antonio7 p.m.

Sun.Feb. 9at Detroit1 p.m.

Mon. Feb. 10at Brooklyn7:30 p.m.

Wed.Feb. 12at Orlando7 p.m.

Thurs.Feb. 20at Denver9 p.m.

Sat.Feb. 22at Portland10 p.m.

Mon. Feb. 24at Golden State10 p.m.

Tues.Feb. 25at Sacramento10 p.m.

Thurs.Feb. 27at Dallas8:30 p.m.

Sat.March 1Washington6 p.m.

Mon. March 3Golden State7 p.m.NBA TV
Wed.March 5Minnesota7 p.m.

Fri.March 7Cleveland7 p.m.

Sat.March 8Brooklyn6 p.m.

Mon. March 10at Miami7:30 p.m.

Wed.March 12at Atlanta7:30 p.m.

Fri.March 14at San Antonio8 p.m.

Tues.March 18Atlanta7 p.m.

Thurs.March 20New York7 p.m.

Fri.March 21at Oklahoma City8 p.m.

Sun.March 23at Miami6 p.m.

Tues.March 25Orlando7 p.m.

Fri.March 28at Toronto7:30 p.m.

Sun.March 30at New Orleans7 p.m.

Mon. March 31Utah7 p.m.

Wed.Apr. 2at Indiana7 p.m.

Fri.Apr. 4Sacramento7 p.m.

Sun.Apr. 6Chicago1 p.m.NBA TV
Tues.Apr. 8Memphis7 p.m.

Wed.Apr. 9at Toronto7:30 p.m.

Fri.Apr. 11at Boston7:30 p.m.

Sun.Apr. 13at Boston1 p.m.

Roderick Boone
The Charlotte Observer
Roderick Boone joined the Observer in September 2021 to cover the Charlotte Hornets and NBA. In his more than two decades of writing about the world of sports, he’s chronicled everything from high school rodeo to a major league baseball no-hitter to the Super Bowl to the Finals. The Long Island native has deep North Carolina roots and enjoys watching “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” endlessly. Support my work with a digital subscription
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