Hornets Rank Poorly Across NBA Power Rankings
The Charlotte Hornets are within 48 hours of playing their first game of the 2023-24 season. In anticipation of the new season, media analysts and outlets from across the internet release their annual "Power Rankings" ranking teams from 1 to 30. I have tracked Charlotte's rankings across various outlets and consolidated them all into one place.
| Outlet | Power Ranking | Author |
|---|---|---|
ESPN | 29th | NBA Insider Panel |
The Ringer | 29th | Kevin O'Conner |
NBA.com | 27th | John Schumann |
The Athletic | 30th | Zach Harper |
ESPN Stat Projections | 23rd | Kevin Pelton |
CBS Sports | 27th | Collin Ward-Henninger |
Bleacher Report | 27th | Andy Bailey |
Hoopshype | 27th | Yossi Gozan |
USA Today | 28th | Mike Sykes |
Dunc'd On | 26th | Nate Duncan |
Charlotte's average ranking across the ten media outlets tracked is 27.3, ranking them closer to the worst team in the NBA than the play-in tournament. By now, Hornets fans have thick enough skin that it won't come as a surprise to see Charlotte ranked towards the bottom of the league. A quiet optimism remains around the Hornets organization for a bounce-back year, following a disappointing, injury-hit 27-win season in 2022-23.
I would personally rank Charlotte 24th heading into the season ahead of San Antonio, Houston, Washington, Detroit, Orlando, and Portland. Injuries will have a large impact on influencing the final outcome. Surely it's someone else's turn other than the Hornets to be hit by the injury bug this year. The question is even if Charlotte does overcome the very low bar set for them by NBA analysts, is another borderline play-in season really a success?
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