Has Coby White with the Hornets made you care about the NBA?

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - APRIL 14: Coby White #3 of the Charlotte Hornets reacts after making a basket late in the second half against the Miami Heat during their game at Spectrum Center on April 14, 2026 in Charlotte, North Carolina. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images) | Getty Images

I’m raising my hand — I’m one of those folks.

I’m a firm believer in the idea that a person only has so much capacity in terms of what they can enjoy. For me, UNC sports come first and the problem is that includes a passion for UNC basketball with both the men and women’s teams, UNC football, UNC baseball, plus the Olympic sports. Then, let’s add in the NFL (because of course you watch the NFL), and then my passion for the Hurricanes in the NHL, and that’s a lot to keep up with.

So that doesn’t leave a lot of room for things like Major League Baseball until there’s literally nothing left to watch, and it really doesn’t leave room for the NBA and the Charlotte Hornets.

It is a real shame, mind you. As a North Carolina native, the Hornets were first in terms of the pro teams. Before you had the Panthers in Charlotte or the Hurricanes in Raleigh, you had the Hornets drafting J.R. Reid to kick off professional sports in the Carolinas. The problem — as any die-hard Hornets fan will tell you — is that the team has given you zero reason to really follow them since the Panthers and Hurricanes moved into the market. Think about it, once Larry Johnson and Alonzo Mourning left, the team declined rapidly, moved to New Orleans, and the new squad just couldn’t ever get any momentum. Meanwhile, the Hurricanes may have had a decade of missing the playoffs, but they did win a championship in 2006 plus have an exciting playoff run to the title series in 2002 and a great win against Boston in 2009. The Panthers had a couple of Super Bowl runs between irrelevance. In short — yeah, the other pro teams haven’t been great either, but they at least had real high points culminating at the pinnacle of their sport. The Hornets haven’t ever been close.