Yes, the Charlotte Hornets have made the NBA postseason. Here’s what happens next
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Charlotte Hornets will host the 9/10 NBA play-in tournament game Tuesday vs. Miami.
- Hornets must win, then beat the Orlando-Philadelphia loser Friday, to make playoff field.
- Kon Knueppel finished a single three-pointer ahead of LaMelo Ball in 3-pointer race.
The Charlotte Hornets are about to play their most significant home game in a decade.
At 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, the Hornets will host the Miami Heat in Charlotte’s Spectrum Center. The game will be streamed exclusively on Amazon Prime.
It’s a postseason game — and it’s going to be very loud, although tickets are still available. But really, it’s not an actual “playoff” game. A little confused? That’s understandable, as it’s been a while since the Hornets have been anywhere near the play-in tournament or the actual playoffs.
But here it is, in a nutshell. Charlotte has to complete a two-step process to get to the actual playoffs:
1) Beat Miami Tuesday night at home in the 9 vs. 10 game (Charlotte is seeded ninth in the Eastern Conference, Miami is 10th). This won’t be easy, as Miami won three of four over Charlotte in the season series. If the Hornets lose Tuesday, the season is over. If Charlotte wins Tuesday, they will go on the road and play another game Friday against the loser of the Orlando (8) at Philadelphia (7) play-in game. (The winner of that game qualifies for the playoffs).
2) That Orlando/Philly game is Wednesday night, and Charlotte would play the losing team in either Pennsylvania or Florida. And the winner of that Friday night game would then go to Detroit and face the No. 1 seed Pistons in a best-of-7 actual NBA playoff series (which will start at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, in Detroit). So Charlotte must win Tuesday, and then Friday, to make it. Otherwise, everyone packs up and it’s over.
So there it is — a scenario that could be better and could be worse. The Hornets could have made it better by beating Detroit Friday night at home. But they would have made it worse if they had lost to a New York Knicks team that sat out all of their stars Sunday. Instead, Charlotte took care of business, 110-96, in a game that wasn’t really a fair fight talent-wise but turned into a victory the Hornets will gladly take.
The final regular-season game Sunday had several interesting statistical highlights. Rookie Kon Knueppel made a trio of 3-pointers and that was just enough to edge teammate LaMelo Ball (who had five) and win the NBA season title for made 3-pointers. Knueppel finished with 273 and Ball with 272. Knueppel thus became the first rookie in NBA history to lead the league in made three-pointers.
Rookie Sion James played in his 82nd game of the season without missing a single one — he was the only Hornet to do so and one of fewer than 20 players in the NBA to have perfect attendance. And Charlotte as a team finished 44-38, which gave the Hornets their most wins in a season since 2016 (when their last actual playoff team won 48 games).
That 2016 season was also the last time Charlotte played a postseason home game. That was the series against Miami that featured Kemba Walker, Dwyane Wade and “purple shirt guy” (the fan who got Wade fired up in a critical game in Charlotte).
One other small note: Charlotte actually gets a bit of a scheduling advantage here due to, of all things, the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers.
Normally the 7 vs. 8 play-in game is played on Tuesday, giving the loser of that game three days before it has to play again. It’s considered a slight advantage to have the extra day of rest, given to the higher-seeded team.
But this time, the multipurpose arena in Philadelphia that the 76ers share with the Flyers is already booked Tuesday night, with a Flyers home game. So the seventh-seeded 76ers can’t play until Wednesday, and the loser of that game faces a fast turnaround before it plays the winner of Charlotte/Miami on Friday.
This big home game in Charlotte does continue a recent tradition of having the major sports teams in town host major postseason events.
The Carolina Panthers had a huge one in January, when they hosted the L.A. Rams in the NFL playoffs and put up a strong fight before falling, 34-31. And Charlotte FC, the city’s Major League Soccer franchise, played two matches in the 2025 MLS playoffs in Charlotte, the last one in November.
Unfortunately for local sports fans, the Panthers and Charlotte FC combined to go 0-3 in those postseason games.
The Hornets will try to break that trend Tuesday night. And then, if they’re going to make the real playoffs for the first time in 10 years, they’re going to have to win one more after that Friday.
But first things first: The Hornets have to beat Miami.
This story was originally published April 13, 2026 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Yes, the Charlotte Hornets have made the NBA postseason. Here’s what happens next."
