Last season: 19-63.
COACH: Charles Lee (2nd season with Hornets, 19-63 overall).
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Charlotte Hornets guard Collin Sexton (8) advances the ball down court during the second half of an NBA basketball preseason game against the Dallas Mavericks in Dallas, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
Charlotte Hornets guard Kon Knueppel (7) shoots over Dallas Mavericks guard Max Christie (00) during the second half of an NBA basketball preseason game in Dallas, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges (0) looks to the video board during the first half of an NBA basketball preseason game against the Dallas Mavericks in Dallas, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
Charlotte Hornets guard Lamelo Ball looks to the basket during the second half of an NBA basketball preseason game against the Dallas Mavericks in Dallas, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
SEASON OPENER: Oct. 22 vs. Brooklyn.
DEPARTURES: C Mark Williams, G Josh Okogie, C Jusuf Nurkić, G Vasa Micic. G DaQuan Jeffries.
ADDITIONS: G Collin Sexton, G Spencer Dinwiddle, G Pat Connaughton, C Mason Plumlee, G Kon Knueppel.
BetMGM championship odds: 1000-1.
The Hornets get their two best scorers in LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller back from injuries to start the season, giving them a solid scoring threesome along with Miles Bridges. The problem in recent years has been keeping guys healthy, particularly Ball, who has missed 53% of Charlotte's games over the past three seasons. Miller sat out 55 games last year. It's uncertain who'll start at the other two spots, but Collin Sexton and rookie Kon Knueppel are in the mix at small forward, while rookie Ryan Kalkbrenner will challenge veteran Mason Plumlee and Moussa Diabate for playing time at center.
The good: Charlotte's draft class looks to a be good one and the team appears to be making the most of its draft picks under general manager Jeff Peterson. The team has added veteran depth with Sexton and Dinwiddle, which should help on and off the court. The Hornets remain excited about the progress of second-year player Tidjane Salaun and think Knueppel and Kalkbrenner can contribute right away. Ball is one of the game's most electric players, but needs to stay healthy and not be a liability on defense.
The not-so-good: The same issue that has plagued this franchise for years continues to be a problem — the inability to find a quality center. Charlotte doesn't have a dominant big man, nor one that can stretch the defense by stepping out and hitting a 3. The Hornets are bigger at other positions across the board this season, but center remains a clear weakness.
Miller appears to be on the verge of a breakout season and has All-Star potential. He is coming off wrist surgery, which caused him to miss 55 games. Prior to the injury he was averaging 21 points per game and he can fill it up from deep.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
Charlotte Hornets guard Collin Sexton (8) advances the ball down court during the second half of an NBA basketball preseason game against the Dallas Mavericks in Dallas, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
Charlotte Hornets guard Kon Knueppel (7) shoots over Dallas Mavericks guard Max Christie (00) during the second half of an NBA basketball preseason game in Dallas, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges (0) looks to the video board during the first half of an NBA basketball preseason game against the Dallas Mavericks in Dallas, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
Charlotte Hornets guard Lamelo Ball looks to the basket during the second half of an NBA basketball preseason game against the Dallas Mavericks in Dallas, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean court sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to five years in prison Friday in the first verdict from eight criminal trials over the martial law debacle that forced him out of office and other allegations.
Yoon was impeached, arrested and dismissed as president after his short-lived imposition of martial law in December 2024 triggered huge public protests calling for his ouster.
The most significant criminal charge against him alleges that his martial law enforcement amounted to a rebellion, and the independent counsel has requested the death sentence in the case that is to be decided in a ruling next month.
Yoon has maintained he didn’t intend to place the country under military rule for an extended period, saying his decree was only meant to inform the people about the danger of the liberal-controlled parliament obstructing his agenda. But investigators have viewed Yoon’s decree as an attempt to bolster and prolong his rule, charging him with rebellion, abuse of power and other criminal offenses.
In Friday’s case, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Yoon for defying attempts to detain him, fabricating the martial law proclamation, and sidestepping a legally mandated full Cabinet meeting and thus depriving some Cabinet members who were not convened of their due rights to deliberate on his decree.
Judge Baek Dae-hyun said in the televised ruling that imposing “a grave punishment” was necessary because Yoon hasn’t shown remorse and has only repeated “hard-to-comprehend excuses.” The judge also restoring legal systems damaged by Yoon’s action was necessary.
Yoon’s defense team said they will appeal the ruling, which they believe was “politicized” and reflected “the unliberal arguments by the independent counsel.” Yoon’s defense team argued the ruling “oversimplified the boundary between the exercise of the president’s constitutional powers and criminal liability.”
Prison sentences in the multiple, smaller trials Yoon faces would matter if he is spared the death penalty or life imprisonment at the rebellion trial.
Park SungBae, a lawyer who specializes in criminal law, said there is little chance the court would decide Yoon should face the death penalty in the rebellion case. He said the court will likely issue a life sentence or a sentence of 30 years or more in prison.
South Korea has maintained a de facto moratorium on executions since 1997 and courts rarely hand down death sentences. Park said the court would take into account that Yoon’s decree didn’t cause casualties and didn’t last long, although Yoon hasn’t shown genuine remorse for his action.
South Korea has a history of pardoning former presidents who were jailed over diverse crimes in the name of promoting national unity. Those pardoned include strongman Chun Doo-hwan, who received the death penalty at a district court over his 1979 coup, the bloody 1980 crackdowns of pro-democracy protests that killed about 200 people, and other crimes.
Some observers say Yoon will likely retain a defiant attitude in the ongoing trials to maintain his support base in the belief that he cannot avoid a lengthy sentence but could be pardoned in the future.
On the night of Dec. 3, 2024, Yoon abruptly declared martial law in a televised speech, saying he would eliminate “anti-state forces” and protect “the constitutional democratic order.” Yoon sent troops and police officers to encircle the National Assembly, but many apparently didn’t aggressively cordon off the area, allowing enough lawmakers to get into an assembly hall to vote down Yoon’s decree.
No major violence occurred, but Yoon's stunt caused the biggest political crisis in South Korea and rattled its diplomacy and financial markets. For many, his decree, the first of its kind in more than four decades in South Korea, brought back harrowing memories of past dictatorships in the 1970s and 1980s, when military-backed leaders used martial law and emergency measures to deploy soldiers and tanks on the streets to suppress demonstrations.
After Yoon's ouster, his liberal rival Lee Jae Myung became president via a snap election last June. After taking office, Lee appointed three independent counsels to look into allegations involving Yoon, his wife and associates.
Yoon's other trials deal with charges like ordering drone flights over North Korea to deliberately inflame animosities to look for a pretext to declare martial law. Other charges accuse Yoon of manipulating the investigation into a marine’s drowning in 2023 and receiving free opinion surveys from an election broker in return for a political favor.
A supporter of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol shouts slogans outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs and flags outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A supporter of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol waits for a bus carrying former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs as police officers stand guard outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs and flags outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A picture of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is placed on a board as supporters gather outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
