Hornets five-man unit posts a +26.4 net rating in 2025-26
Over 509 minutes this season, the Hornets group of Bridges, Ball, Diabate, Miller and Knueppel has outscored opponents at a rate few lineups match.
Plus-26.4. That is the net rating for the Hornets five-man group of M. Bridges, L. Ball, M. Diabaté, B. Miller and K. Knueppel through 49 games this season, as of June 13, 2026.
The number comes from two halves. On offense, this lineup scores at a 134.9 rating. On defense, it allows 108.6. Put together, that gap is where the plus-26.4 comes from. It has held across 509 minutes on the floor together, which is enough time for the pattern to mean something rather than be a fluke of a few good nights.
For this to hold the rest of the season, the same five need to keep playing together at this rate on both ends. The offense has to keep scoring near 134.9, and the defense has to keep opponents near 108.6. If either number drifts back toward league norms, the net rating shrinks with it. Minutes matter too. A lineup posting a gap this size in 509 minutes is one injury, one rotation change, or one coaching decision away from never reaching enough time on the floor to matter.
The Hornets have found a five-man group that works, at least in the 2025-26 season so far. Whether it becomes something the team leans on for the rest of the year depends on keeping these five together and keeping both the offense and the defense at the level they have shown in 509 minutes.