Charlotte Hornets Post-Lottery Mock Draft: Projecting the 14th and 18th Selections

Now that NBA Draft Lottery has come and gone, it's full speed ahead towards June's NBA Draft.

The Charlotte Hornets now officially own the 14th and 18th picks in the draft. They possessed infinitesimal odds (0.5%) of securing the number one overall pick in the lottery which did not come to fruition. This draft class is lauded as one of the deepest in recent memory, and even though Charlotte didn't jump up the order, it will have a number of enticing prospects to choose from in the middle of the first round.

Let's project their selections with the lottery results finalized.

2026 NBA Mock Draft

1. Washington Wizards: AJ Dybantsa
2. Utah Jazz: Darryn Peterson
3. Memphis Grizzlies: Cameron Boozer
4. Chicago Bulls: Caleb Wilson
5. Los Angeles Clippers: Keaton Wagler
6. Brooklyn Nets: Darius Acuff
7. Sacramento Kings: Kingston Flemings
8. Atlanta Hawks: Mikel Brown Jr.
9. Dallas Mavericks: Brayden Burries
10. Milwaukee Bucks: Aday Mara
11. Golden State Warriors: Yaxel Lendeborg
12. Oklahoma City Thunder: Nate Ament
13. Miami Heat: Koa Peat

14. Charlotte Hornets: Morez Johnson Jr.

Morez Johnson Jr. and the Charlotte Hornets are a match made in heaven.

Johnson Jr. is a bowling ball of a big man that will add a much needed dose of physicality and positional size to Charlotte's front court. He is a multi-positional defender that will cover up some of the deficiencies in the Hornets' back court, and a bruising play-finisher on offense that will clean up the looks spoon fed to him by Charlotte's talented shot creators.

15. Chicago Bulls: Hannes Steinbach
16. Memphis Grizzlies: Labaron Philon
17. Oklahoma City Thunder: Jayden Quaintance

18. Charlotte Hornets; Christian Anderson

I am of the belief that Charlotte needs to add some depth to their back court in the draft, and Anderson represents a steady-handed, sweet-shooting guard option to spell LaMelo Ball and Coby White (assuming he re-signs with the Hornets).

The sophomore from Texas Tech shot a blistering 41.5% from deep in 2025-26 and showed a rare ability at getting his shots up cleanly both off the catch and off the dribble. He is undersized, but Anderson is one of the best prospects in this class at creating and extending advantages out of ball screens: a trait that will be accentuated in Charles Lee's offensive system.

Other prospects to watch with this pick: Dailyn Swain, Bennet Stirtz, Allen Graves, Isaiah Evans.

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