The Charlotte Hornets have begun a new era at the helm and found their new head coach. The team announced Thursday morning that they have hired Boston Celtics assistant Charles Lee, who will join the team and be introduced to the city once Boston’s playoff run wraps up.
Lee, 39 years-of-age, has certainly paid his dues having spent 10 years as an assistant in the NBA. ESPN’s senior NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski reported Lee is joining the Hornets on a four-year deal.
“We are excited to welcome Charles Lee as the head coach of Charlotte Hornets,” Hornets executive vice president of basketball operations Jeff Peterson said in a statement. “His high character and his ability to connect with players while also instilling a culture of accountability will serve us well as we construct a competitive team built for long-term success. Charles possesses a championship pedigree with a wide range of basketball knowledge and NBA experience, has a tremendous work ethic and is a great communicator. He shares our vision for this organization, and I look forward to partnering with him in building something special here in the Carolinas.”
Prior to becoming part of the Celtics coaching staff as the lead assistant under Joe Mazzulla last summer, Lee spent five years, 2018-2023, under two-time NBA Coach of the Year Mike Budenholzer as an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks and was a part of Milwaukee’s 2021 NBA championship run, when they defeated the Phoenix Suns in the finals. He kicked off his NBA coaching career with the Atlanta Hawks in 2014.
“The opportunity to be the head coach of the Charlotte Hornets is a dream come true,” Lee said in a statement. “I want to thank Rick Schnall, Gabe Plotkin and Jeff Peterson for the trust they are placing in me to lead this team. The Hornets have a talented young core of players, and I’m excited about our future and what we can build here. There are few places as passionate about basketball as the Carolinas, and I look forward to coming to Charlotte and getting to work.”
The Hornets finished the 2023-24 campaign posting a subpar 21-61 record, 13th in the Eastern Conference. In early April, former head coach Steve Clifford announced he would step down at the end of the season and would move into a front-office advisory role next season.
The Celtics went 64-18 this season which was the best record in the NBA and are currently battling Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round of the playoffs after defeating the Miami Heat in a gentlemen’s sweep in the first round. They hold a 1-0 series lead over the Cavaliers, with Game 2 on Thursday night on ESPN.
