{"id":203957,"date":"2026-07-06T07:00:42","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T11:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=203957"},"modified":"2026-07-05T23:46:31","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T03:46:31","slug":"hornets-2026-summer-league","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/07\/06\/hornets-2026-summer-league\/","title":{"rendered":"Hornets’ 2026 Summer League Schedule: Dates, Roster, And Key Storylines"},"content":{"rendered":"
\u00a0The Hornets’ 2026 Summer League schedule could not arrive at a more loaded moment. Charlotte enters Las Vegas as reigning Summer League champions<\/a>. Also, they do so in the middle of an offseason that has already shaken the franchise to its core, with trades<\/a> sending away key pieces. LaMelo Ball<\/a> is in Minnesota. Miles Bridges<\/a> is in Phoenix. The roster looks nothing like the one that reached the Play-In Tournament<\/a> in April. Summer League this year is not just a development exercise. It is the first live look at what the post-Ball era actually feels like. Charlotte tips off on Wednesday, July 9th against Orlando and closes out on July 15th against Milwaukee. Head coach Blaine Mueller \u2014 a Charles Lee hire who previously coached the Maine Celtics in the G-League \u2014 takes charge of a roster built around four genuine questions that need answering before training camp opens in September.<\/div>\n

Hornets’ 2026 Summer League Schedule: Dates, Roster, And Key Storylines<\/h2>\n

The Confirmed Roster \u2014 Who Is Playing And Why It Matters<\/h3>\n
The headline names are Liam McNeeley<\/a>, Hannes Steinbach<\/a> and Christian Anderson<\/a> \u2014 with Ryan Kalkbrenner<\/a> and Tidjane Salaun<\/a> also rostered, though neither needs significant minutes here.\u00a0PJ Hall<\/a> is notably absent because of an ankle injury, leaving one of Charlotte’s two two-way spots unrepresented in Las Vegas.<\/div>\n
One detail worth reading into: the Hornets listed McNeeley as a forward on the official roster, not a guard or wing. Most around the organization already viewed him as a wing rather than a guard, but the outright forward designation signals Charlotte may want to see him play different spots \u2014 particularly in a post-Ball rotation that needs more positional versatility than it currently has.<\/div>\n
Steinbach carries a dual position listing too \u2014 showing as both a four and a five. The most logical explanation is that Charlotte wants to see him functioning at the four alongside Kalkbrenner at the five in closing lineups, preparing him for what his NBA role will likely look like: backup power forward behind Naz Reid<\/a>, developing next to the veteran rather than replacing him from day one.<\/div>\n
\n

<\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Schedule \u2014 Four Games, Four Storylines<\/h3>\n
Game 1 \u2014 Wednesday, July 9th vs. Orlando Magic, 7 p.m. ET<\/strong>
\nThis is a soft opener against a Magic side without a top pick this year after trading theirs to Memphis. McNeeley gets a gentle first game to re-establish himself following a sophomore campaign spent split between the G-League and sparse NBA minutes. Anderson makes his professional debut here. What’s important to watch for in this first is how quickly both players process NBA pace \u2014 not the numbers, but the decisions.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Game 2 \u2014 Saturday, July 11th vs. New Orleans Pelicans, 4 p.m. ET<\/strong>
\nThe Pelicans made just one pick in this draft \u2014 SMU guard Jaron Pierre Jr<\/a>. at 58th. However, if Jeremiah Fears<\/a> or Derik Queen<\/a> appear for New Orleans, the matchup gets significantly more interesting. For Charlotte, this game gives Anderson his first test against a live backcourt of Pierre and potentially Fears, as well as lets Steinbach settle into his frontcourt role before the harder games arrive.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Game 3 \u2014 Sunday, July 12th vs. Boston Celtics, 5 p.m. ET<\/strong>
\nThis is the toughest group-stage game on the schedule. Boston brings Chris Cenac Jr.<\/a> at 27th overall \u2014 an athletic forward who will test Steinbach directly. This game matters more than any other for the German rookie. Leading the nation in rebounds and shooting 57.7% from the field at Washington is one thing. Translating it against drafted competition is the proof of concept that Summer League exists to provide.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Game 4 \u2014 Wednesday, July 15th vs. Milwaukee Bucks, 7:30 p.m. ET<\/strong>
\nThe most compelling final game of Charlotte’s summer.\u00a0Milwaukee’s No. 10 overall pick,\u00a0 Brayden Burries<\/a>, headlines the matchup, while Charlotte gets its first extended look at how Anderson compares against one of the draft’s premier guards. It is less about who was drafted higher and more about how quickly each player looks ready for NBA basketball.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n

What The Hornets’ 2026 Summer League Schedule Must Answer<\/h3>\n
\n

Three questions need real answers in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Does McNeeley’s body look different? He made 31 appearances last season, averaging 4.3 points in limited minutes. The offseason focus was on adding mass and strength. That work shows up immediately at Summer League \u2014 or it does not.<\/li>\n
  2. Does Steinbach process the professional game quickly enough to contribute in Year One? Not scoring \u2014 decision-making, defensive positioning and role understanding matter far more at this stage.<\/li>\n
  3. Does Anderson’s elite assist rate at Texas Tech reflect NBA-level vision, or will those playmaking instincts translate against NBA competition?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Charlotte arrives in Las Vegas as defending champions. Leaving with another trophy would be nice. Leaving with proof that Anderson, Steinbach, and McNeeley are ready to help Brandon Miller<\/a>\u00a0and Kon Knueppel<\/a>\u00a0build the franchise’s next contender would matter far more.<\/p>\n

    Featured Image: Candice Ward-Imagn Images<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    \u00a0The Hornets’ 2026 Summer League schedule could not arrive at a more loaded moment. Charlotte enters Las Vegas as reigning Summer League champions. Also, they do so in the middle of an offseason that has already shaken the franchise to its core, with trades sending away key pieces. LaMelo Ball is in Minnesota. Miles Bridges […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5766,"featured_media":203965,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,7,62,3],"tags":[50404,50284,49871,50396,49956,823,49784,1148,49685,49238],"class_list":["post-203957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-hornets","category-nba","category-news","tag-brayden-burries","tag-chris-cenac-jr","tag-derik-queen","tag-hannes-steinbach","tag-jeremiah-fears","tag-lamelo-ball","tag-liam-mcneeley","tag-miles-bridges","tag-ryan-kalkbrenner","tag-tidjane-salaun"],"modified_by":"Benjamin Yu, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203957","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5766"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=203957"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203957\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":203967,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203957\/revisions\/203967"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/203965"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=203957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=203957"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=203957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}