4-11 basketball teams with negative net ratings don’t usually attract the attention of NBA analyst Bill Simmons. Apparently, the Charlotte Hornets aren’t the typical 4-11 negative net rating basketball team this year.
Simmons proclaimed them a good League Pass team early in the year when their offense was scorching and they were actually winning some games. But since then, the wheels have arguably fallen off, but Simmons hasn’t backtracked.
In a recent “League Pass draft” with fellow NBA analyst Zach Lowe, Simmons stunned his co-host by picking the Hornets sixth. He wants to watch only five teams more than the Hornets on a given night, to which Lowe said, “That’s insane.”
🎙️ @BillSimmons on selecting the Hornets at #6 in his NBA League Pass draft with @ZachLowe_NBA:
“I’m taking Charlotte. I love watching Charlotte. I’m not gonna apologize. They’re fun, I want to see all the pieces. I’m enjoying it… the heart wants what the heart wants.” 😤 pic.twitter.com/EWVBMYVN4h
— r/CharlotteHornets (@HornetsReddit) November 21, 2025
Simmons said, “I love watching Charlotte. I’m not going to apologize. They’re just fun. I want to see all the pieces. I’m enjoying it. I watch a lot of Charlotte.” Lowe admitted that he understands and has been tricked by the Hornets for three years in a row, thinking they might finally be decent.
“This isn’t a power poll, it’s a League Pass ranking,” Simmons argued. “The heart wants what the heart wants. I enjoy watching Charlotte. They’re 4-11, but they’ve been in these games. They’re in the vicinity when you watch them.”
In particular, Simmons is and has always been enamored by Kon Knueppel. “In a month, I won’t watch them anymore, but right now, [I am],” Simmons added. “Sometimes I like bad basketball teams… I have a great time with this Charlotte team. I’m not going to apologize for it.”
Both Simmons and Lowe agreed that watching Hornets games is very enjoyable when Eric Collins is involved, with Simmons particularly enjoying Collins at the end of regulation against the Milwaukee Bucks.
To Simmons’ point about not watching in a month, this could be a very different team by then, and they could go one of two ways. Either the losing continues and injuries stack up, thus potentially prompting a LaMelo Ball trade, or the return of Brandon Miller gets this team back on track, and Simmons won’t be able to take his eyes off what should be a somewhat decent team.
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