It’s almost the beginning of a new season in the NBA, and few teams will be more excited about the opportunity for a fresh start than the Charlotte Hornets.
Misfortune struck at nearly every turn in Charlotte 2022-23, leading the Hornets to finish the campaign with an abysmal 27-55 record. The offense faltered without LaMelo Ball in the lineup for a majority of the season, and Charlotte ended up posting the league’s worst offensive rating.
With good health, returning role players, and an exciting new rookie, things could look different for the Hornets this coming year.
Here are the best Charlotte Hornets prop bets to make ahead of the 2023-24 NBA season.
Hornets Odds 2024
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Hornets Prop Bets 2024
NBA lines are current as of Wednesday, Sept. 6, at 4 p.m. ET. To see updated Hornets odds and lines, use the widget above.
Hornets: Over 30.5 Wins (-125)
Caesars Sportsbook • WAGER: 1 Unit
I’m optimistic when it comes to Charlotte’s projected win total for 2023-24. This is an incredibly low bar to clear, especially since the Hornets met this mark in two of the last three seasons.
Ball’s regular absence from the court was a big reason why Charlotte finished with just 27 victories this past year, but we can’t expect him to continue missing games at that rate. The Hornets were much more successful in games he appeared in, going 13-23 with Ball versus 14-32 without him.
There are some roster concerns — this is an extremely guard-heavy team — and other low-tier Eastern Conference rivals made more drastic improvements over the summer (Magic, Pacers), but I don’t see how the Hornets could fail to at least earn 31 wins this season, making this my NBA bet of the day.
Brandon Miller: Wins NBA Rookie of the Year (+1600)
Caesars Sportsbook • WAGER: 0.1 Units
In most years, the No. 2 overall pick in the NBA Draft generally has a good chance of winning the Rookie of the Year Award. That’s not the case for Miller, who has the odds stacked against him thanks to the presence of three potentially generational talents in his class.
Victor Wembanyama, Chet Holmgren, and Scoot Henderson are all considerably higher on the NBA ROTY odds board than Miller, but the latter still has the talent to keep himself in the conversation. Despite a shaky Summer League debut, there’s no questioning his NBA-caliber skills.
At (+1600), Miller is at least worthy of a sprinkle. He’s become underrated as a prospect, and if he gets off to a hot start, the value that currently exists will disappear.
Hornets: Make Play-In Tournament (+275)
Caesars Sportsbook • WAGER: 0.5 Units
The Hornets should win at least 30 games, but it’s hard to say how much higher they’ll climb. There are plenty of talented players on this team, but this is still a deeply flawed roster, and coach Steve Clifford has guided his teams to winning records in just three of his nine years as a head coach.
With that said, I wouldn’t rule out an appearance in the NBA Play-In Tournament. We’ve seen teams exceed expectations and make the cut in the past, and the bottom half of the East is wide open.
A healthy season from Ball could be all the Hornets need to get there, although contributions from players like Miles Bridges, Gordon Hayward, Terry Rozier, and P.J. Washington will be paramount as well.
If the second unit pans out, Charlotte could sneak into the No. 9 or 10 spot, which it did in both 2021 and 2022.
Hornets Betting in North Carolina
Online sports betting is not yet available in North Carolina, but it’s expected to go live at some point during the Hornets’ 2023-24 campaign. Read up on our North Carolina sports betting guide and get familiar with the best sportsbooks, promotions, welcome offers, and more.
How to Bet on Hornets Games 2024
How to Bet Hornets Moneylines
If you’re new to sports betting, consider starting with moneylines. This is the most straightforward type of wager: All you need to do to win is correctly pick the winner of a game.
A team’s moneyline odds will change ahead of each game and vary depending on the matchup. For example, the payout would be much more significant if you bet the Hornets to upset the Bucks, while you’d earn a more meager sum for picking Charlotte to defeat Detroit.
Moneyline bettors weren’t able to squeeze much juice out of the Hornets last year, who posted the league’s fourth-worst record. Fortunately, there should be better days ahead in 2023-24.
- 2022-23 Hornets Moneyline Record: 27-55
How to Bet Hornets Spreads
For teams that lose as often as the Hornets did in 2022-23, spread betting can be a much more profitable avenue than moneylines. Rather than picking outright winners and losers, spreads measure how a team stacks up against a given point margin.
For example, if the Hornets are taking on the Bucks in Milwaukee, Charlotte would be a massive underdog. At a sportsbook, that would look like this: Hornets +11.5 (-110) @ Bucks 11.5 (-110).
In this case, the Hornets would cover the spread (and you would win your bet) if they either win the game outright or lose by fewer than 12 points. On the other hand, Milwaukee would have to win by more than 12 points to cover.
Charlotte was much better against the spread in 2022-23 than it was straight up, going 37-43-2.
- 2022-23 Hornets Against the Spread Record: 37-43-2
How to Bet Hornets Over/Unders
Over/Unders can also be an excellent starting point for new sports bettors. Here, you’re betting on whether the total number of points scored in a game will end up being more (Over) or less (Under) than the projected amount.
In a game between the Hornets and Pistons, the Over/Under might be set at 221.5 points. In this case, the Over would hit if more than 222 points are scored, while the Under would win otherwise.
The Hornets were the most Under-heavy team in the NBA last season, which is often the case with teams that underperform or fail to live up to expectations on offense. With Ball and others returning to the lineup in 2023-24, I would expect a more even outcome.
- 2022-23 Hornets Over/Under Record: 34-48-0
