Charlotte Hornets Record Setting Victory Over The Brooklyn Nets

On many nights over the last decade, the Charlotte Hornets have been on the wrong side of a news story. Only once since the 2015–16 season has the team posted a winning record, and yet it did not qualify for the playoffs. Yes, they have had a couple of highlight-worthy individual moments, but those few seconds quickly became a distant memory.

On Wednesday night, good fortune shone upon a team that entered the season with little expectation. In a battle of Eastern Conference basement dwellers, the Hornets crushed the Brooklyn Nets 136–117, but the 19-point blowout wasn’t the story of the night. In a near-perfect display of well-balanced team basketball, nine different Hornets reached double digits in scoring, setting a franchise record in the process.

With their two young stars, Brandon Miller and LaMelo Ball, leading the way with Miller dropping 25 points and Ball adding 20 points and eight assists, it was more impressive to see how well the offense was spread out. Miles Bridges contributed 18 points and 11 rebounds, while newcomer Collin Sexton chipped in with 15 energy points off the bench. While it is no surprise that those four experienced players put up significant numbers, it was the contributions of the role players and rookies that made the night even more impressive.

Rookies Kon Knueppel and Ryan Kalkbrenner both started and hit double figures in the scoring column, becoming the first pair of rookies in Hornets history to start a season opener together. Tidjane Salaun, Moussa Diabate, and Tre Mann rounded out the nine players on the list, with Sion James the lone Hornet player to not score at least ten points.

Yes, it might just be one game against a team that would likely struggle against a G-League team, but the Hornets need something to build this season around, and when you have a balanced attack like Charlotte did last night, the Hornets could be a surprise team in the race for a play-in berth.