Hornets receive power index ranking from ESPN ahead of 2026-27 NBA season

The Charlotte Hornets revamped their roster in many ways after a ninth-place finish in the Eastern Conference during the 2025-26 season. LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges are the most notable departures, with Naz Reid, Grayson Allen and Dennis Schroder headlining the list of acquisitions. Following thes

Basketball Zone

SEE ALL

Hoops Hype

SEC opens an investigation into Daktronics concerning Kawhi Leonard

Celtics Wire

A last look back at Jaylen Brown's big goodbye party to fans of the Boston Celtics

SB Nation

Lon Rosen still heavily involved in meetings with Lakers

What is the story about?

The Charlotte Hornets revamped their roster in many ways after a ninth-place finish in the Eastern Conference during the 2025-26 season. LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges are the most notable departures, with Naz Reid, Grayson Allen and Dennis Schroder headlining the list of acquisitions.

Following these moves, ESPN took the time to preview the Hornets ahead of the 2026-27 season. In that preview, ESPN ranked Charlotte as the No. 20 team in their power index. This number is slightly down from last season's production, as the Hornets finished with the 17th-best record between both conferences a season ago. That said, the Hornets were given an "A-" grade for their offseason moves, building for the future while remaining hopeful to compete for a playoff

spot, which would be their first since the 2015-16 season.

When evaluating Charlotte's biggest "X factor," ESPN gave three responses, all centers. Moussa Diabate, Ryan Kalkbrenner and rookie Hannes Steinbach were selected, as each has their own unique strengths within the Hornets' rotation.

For more NBA content, check out the BasketBaltes podcast:

https://www.youtube.com/@BasketBaltes/videos

https://www.instagram.com/basketbaltes/

This article originally appeared on Rookie Wire: Hornets receive power index ranking from ESPN ahead of 2026-27 NBA season