{"id":2659,"date":"2026-07-03T06:34:31","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T06:34:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2659"},"modified":"2026-07-03T06:34:31","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T06:34:31","slug":"who-will-help-the-hornets-defend-summer-league-championship-heres-the-roster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2659","title":{"rendered":"Who will help the Hornets defend summer league championship? Here\u2019s the roster"},"content":{"rendered":"

More than a few familiar names are among the crew that will help defend the Charlotte Hornets<\/u><\/a>\u2019 Las Vegas Summer League championship.<\/p>\n

Read more Octapharma to shift 300 jobs from Charlotte and invest $1.5 billion in Rock Hill<\/a><\/p>\n

Liam McNeeley<\/u><\/a>, Sion James, Ryan Kalkbrenner and Tidjane Sala\u00fcn<\/u><\/a> were key figures in the Hornets claiming the franchise\u2019s first summer league title<\/u><\/a> a year ago, and they will be a part of the cast looking for a repeat when action tips off in a week. The quartet joins Charlotte\u2019s 2026 first-round picks \u2014 Hannes Steinbach and Christian Anderson Jr.<\/u><\/a> \u2014 on the 14-player roster.<\/p>\n

Alabama product Latrell Wrightsell Jr. and Wyatt Fricks, who played for Marshall, are also headed to the desert with the Hornets. Signed to Exhibit 10 contracts,<\/u><\/a> The Charlotte Observer previously reported, the duo worked out for the Hornets during the pre-draft process, and the team wants to get another look at them in action.<\/p>\n

Fricks was the only player in the NCAA last season with over 50 dunks and 50 made 3-pointers, and Wrightsell shot 43% on nearly eight attempts per game from beyond the arc in SEC games in 2025-26.<\/p>\n

The Hornets open things up in Las Vegas on July 9 against the Orlando Magic before matching up with New Orleans on July 11. They also have dates with Boston (July 12) and Milwaukee (July 15).<\/p>\n

Read more More New World screwworm has been detected. Latest updates for NC<\/a><\/p>\n

To get back into the playoff field and have an opportunity to play in the July 19 championship game, the Hornets must finish among the top four teams in the standings. Those teams are determined by winning percentage in each team\u2019s first four games.<\/p>\n

Charlotte also has a rules wrinkle to contend with as well.<\/p>\n

For summer league games, the NBA is testing out the \u201cone free throw rule\u201d and any foul that would usually result in one, two or three free throws awarded under the league\u2019s standard rules will instead result in a single free throw attempt. That attempt will be worth the same total number of points as the free throws it replaces.<\/p>\n

During the final two minutes of the fourth quarter and overtime, however, standard free throw rules will remain in place.<\/p>\n

Read more Favorite Charlotte spots close, and foodies hunt for a tasty broth<\/a><\/p>\n

Michael Ajayi, F, Butler<\/p>\n

Josiah Alick, C, Nebraska<\/p>\n

Christian Anderson Jr., G, Texas Tech.<\/p>\n

Kylian Boswell, G, Illinois<\/p>\n

Terrell Brown Jr., G, Washington<\/p>\n

Wyatt Fricks, F, Marshall<\/p>\n

Sion James, G, Duke<\/p>\n

Ryan Kalkbrenner, C, Creighton<\/p>\n

Max Mackinnon, G, Louisiana State<\/p>\n

Cameron Matthews, F, Mississippi State<\/p>\n

Liam McNeeley, F, Connecticut<\/p>\n

Tidjane Sala\u00fcn, F, France<\/p>\n

Hannes Steinbach, F\/C, Washington<\/p>\n

Latrell Wrightsell Jr., G, Alabama<\/p>\n

July 9:<\/b> Orlando, 7:30 p.m. ET (Prime)<\/p>\n

July 11:<\/b> New Orleans, 4 p.m. ET (ESPN)<\/p>\n

July 12:<\/b> Boston, 5 p.m. ET (ESPN2)<\/p>\n

July 15:<\/b> Milwaukee, 7:30 p.m. ET (Prime)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Save for Kon Knueppel, Hornets\u2019 2025 NBA Draft class is joins 2026 draftees Hannes Steinbach and Christian Anderson on Charlotte\u2019s NBA Summer League roster.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2658,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nWho will help the Hornets defend summer league championship? Here\u2019s the roster - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2659\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Who will help the Hornets defend summer league championship? Here\u2019s the roster - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Save for Kon Knueppel, Hornets\u2019 2025 NBA Draft class is joins 2026 draftees Hannes Steinbach and Christian Anderson on Charlotte\u2019s NBA Summer League roster.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2659\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-03T06:34:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2659#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2659\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93\"},\"headline\":\"Who will help the Hornets defend summer league championship? Here\u2019s the roster\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-03T06:34:31+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2659\"},\"wordCount\":483,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2659#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/f0c6f9aee322cd64cb396b2baa87a2bc.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Read today's Edition\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2659#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2659\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2659\",\"name\":\"Who will help the Hornets defend summer league championship? Here\u2019s the roster - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2659#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2659#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/f0c6f9aee322cd64cb396b2baa87a2bc.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-03T06:34:31+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2659#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2659\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2659#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/f0c6f9aee322cd64cb396b2baa87a2bc.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/f0c6f9aee322cd64cb396b2baa87a2bc.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":675,\"caption\":\"Charlotte Hornets center Ryan Kalkbrenner, right, fights to get a shot off in the lane during action against the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday, October 22, 2025 at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC. The Hornets defeated the Brooklyn Nets 136-117.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2659#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Who will help the Hornets defend summer league championship? Here\u2019s the roster\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Who will help the Hornets defend summer league championship? Here\u2019s the roster - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2659","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Who will help the Hornets defend summer league championship? Here\u2019s the roster - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","og_description":"Save for Kon Knueppel, Hornets\u2019 2025 NBA Draft class is joins 2026 draftees Hannes Steinbach and Christian Anderson on Charlotte\u2019s NBA Summer League roster.","og_url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2659","og_site_name":"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","article_published_time":"2026-07-03T06:34:31+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2659#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2659"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93"},"headline":"Who will help the Hornets defend summer league championship? Here\u2019s the roster","datePublished":"2026-07-03T06:34:31+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2659"},"wordCount":483,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2659#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/f0c6f9aee322cd64cb396b2baa87a2bc.jpg","articleSection":["Read today's Edition"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2659#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2659","url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2659","name":"Who will help the Hornets defend summer league championship? Here\u2019s the roster - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2659#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2659#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/f0c6f9aee322cd64cb396b2baa87a2bc.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-03T06:34:31+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2659#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2659"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2659#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/f0c6f9aee322cd64cb396b2baa87a2bc.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/f0c6f9aee322cd64cb396b2baa87a2bc.jpg","width":1200,"height":675,"caption":"Charlotte Hornets center Ryan Kalkbrenner, right, fights to get a shot off in the lane during action against the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday, October 22, 2025 at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC. The Hornets defeated the Brooklyn Nets 136-117."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2659#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Who will help the Hornets defend summer league championship? Here\u2019s the roster"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/","name":"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com"],"url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2659"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2659\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}