Another year, and another NBA team came to Charleston for preseason training camp.<\/p>\n
Maybe this one will stick around.<\/p>\n
The Charlotte Hornets say their time in Charleston was a success yet stop short of committing to a Holy City return in 2026. After all, there\u2019s a whole season yet to play (Charlotte opens Oct. 22 at home against the Brooklyn Nets).<\/p>\n
So much can happen between their Oct. 5 exhibition loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a>\u00a0at the North Charleston Coliseum and next fall. Anyone with the slightest sense of Charlotte\u2019s NBA history will agree.<\/p>\n If you know, you know.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s something they must consider. There\u2019s their familiarity with the city, the easy commute from Charlotte and the way The Citadel\u2019s McAlister Field House feels so appropriate for preseason drills<\/a>. What\u2019s more sensible than bunkering down for training camp at a military school (which was also paid $25,000 for its services)?<\/p>\n More importantly, forming a regular\u00a0\u2014 if not permanent\u00a0\u2014 connection with Charleston might be the bridge to expanding the Hornets\u2019 brand and fan base. It could help jolt a franchise that doesn\u2019t seem to belong to anyone outside of I-485; definitely not to folks in the Lowcountry.<\/p>\n Still, don\u2019t hate on it. They’re the Charlotte Hornets, not the Carolina Hornets. We get it.<\/p>\n But don\u2019t say it\u2019s a waste of time because the NBA’s cake won’t bake in the college-loving South, either. That\u2019s a tired narrative that turns increasingly stale as more of our neighbors have trickled down from metropolitan areas up north.<\/p>\n They\u2019re familiar with the NBA, and it’s easier for many of them to latch onto a pro team than cast their allegiances to ol’ State U. Who are we kidding, anyhow? The line between professional and amateur sports has evaporated. Thanks to an unrestricted transfer portal, the rosters are also more stable in the pros.<\/p>\n So that pro jersey you buy will be relevant longer.<\/p>\n Low-hanging fruit<\/p>\n Charlotte coach Charles Lee gets it. And he\u2019s only in his second season with the Hornets<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re based in Charlotte,\u201d Lee said at the beginning of training camp, \u201cbut I think it\u2019s important that we kind of reach all of our fan base throughout the Carolinas.\u201d<\/p>\n He\u2019s either wise or savvy. Definitely correct.<\/p>\n Take away Charlotte and Raleigh, and there\u2019s essentially a two-state-sized-vacuum for professional sports. Or at least there\u2019s a dearth of teams playing in the majors.<\/p>\n That means just about everything from Hilton Head to New Bern, Beaufort to Asheville is low-hanging fruit for any franchise willing to dirty its hands. Unfortunately, no one has consistently put in the work to harvest those fans.<\/p>\n They profess to belong to two states but don\u2019t see beyond the pine curtain that separates the Carolinas or even their own addresses. Those teams come across as either disconnected (hockey\u2019s Carolina Hurricanes) or disinterested (football\u2019s Carolina Panthers).<\/p>\n Efforts to expand or unify things have been feeble or downright dirty.<\/p>\n York County was nearly ruined when Panthers\u2019 owner David Tepper decided to renege on a deal for a $800 million headquarter<\/a>s. That mixed-use campus was to elevate the community; instead ask folks in Rock Hill about the off-ramp to nowhere.<\/p>\n And the days of the Upstate being able to lay claim to being the Panthers\u2019 second home died not with Jerry Richardson, but basically the day Tepper took over. Think that Wofford misses that money and exposure?<\/p>\n To the Hornets\u2019 credit, at least its full name is honest. You know what you\u2019re getting with the Charlotte Hornets as opposed to their NFL and NHL counterparts.<\/p>\n Yet, ironically, they\u2019re probably making the strongest effort to unite the Carolinas.<\/p>\n Connect early<\/p>\n All of the region\u2019s pro teams do their part in the community, make no mistake about that.<\/p>\n Tepper, despite his faults, doles out plenty of turkeys around Thanksgiving around Charlotte. The Panthers also kick in other ways, primarily around the Old North State. God bless him.<\/p>\n Quick question: when was the last time we saw anything with that \u201cTwo States, One Team\u201d mantra the Tepper-owned Panthers were trying to make a thing? Emailed answers would be much appreciated.<\/p>\n Back to the point. The Hurricanes are also active around Raleigh<\/a>\u00a0and did their part to help with Hurricane Helene relief. So this isn\u2019t an indictment of who does more in their neighborhood or individual state.<\/p>\n Yet, once more, there are huge swaths of the Carolinas that go untouched. Credit the Hornets for extending hands and seeing huge opportunities for growth.<\/p>\n