Slipped within all of the drama of trading away LaMelo Ball, the Charlotte Hornets announced their four game schedule for the 2026 Las Vegas Summer League.
The schedule is as follows:
- Thursday July 9th at 7:30pm Eastern vs Orlando Magic
- Saturday July 11th at 4:00pm Eastern vs New Orleans Pelicans
- Sunday July 12th at 5:00pm Eastern vs Boston Celtics
- Wednesday July 15th at 7:30pm Eastern vs Milwaukee Bucks
One year after getting a super scintillating schedule, the Hornets get kind of a dud. I guess that’s the cost of winning games and not getting super flashy lottery picks. Last year, the league made it a point to get fourth overall pick Kon Knueppel up against other top prospects, which made for a lot of intrigue. With the Hornets only adding a couple of mid-first round picks that don’t have big brand recognition, they got matched with teams that had few if any notable draft picks in the 2026 NBA Draft. The one exception to that is the Bucks, who will have Brayden Burries and Nate Ament if they aren’t shut down by the time they get to their last summer league game.
Summer league is always one of my favorite parts of the basketball calendar. It’s low stress viewing with a bunch of new faces giving an early peek into what’s to come for their careers. And it’s summer basketball that starts in the middle of the day. You can’t beat that.
The Hornets will try to defend their crown as reigning summer league champions. I know I’ll be cheering them on in my Summer League Champions tee shirt at least one time. We’ll find out about the roster later, but I imagine it’ll feature the rookies, Liam McNeeley, and not Kon Knueppel.
