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August 14, 2017 – The Charlotte Hornets will start the 2017-18 NBA regular season on the road for the third-consecutive year as the team visits the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday, Oct. 18, at 7 p.m. Charlotte’s Home Opener at Spectrum Center is Friday, Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. vs. Southeast Division rival the Atlanta Hawks. The 2017-18 regular-season schedule is presented by Grant Thornton, the official accounting firm of the Charlotte Hornets.
The Hornets home schedule includes a visit from Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and the defending NBA Champion Golden State Warriors on Wednesday, Dec. 6, in a contest that will be televised nationally on ESPN. LeBron James and the defending Eastern Conference Champion Cleveland Cavaliers will come to Charlotte on Wednesday, Nov. 15, and Wednesday, March 28, the first of which is also scheduled to air on ESPN. Additional highlights include matchups against the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday, Nov. 25, the Boston Celtics on Wednesday, Dec. 27, and reigning NBA MVP Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday, Jan. 13.
Along with today’s schedule announcement, the Hornets have also officially launched the team’s Pick 23 Plan – one of only two ways (along with a Swarm365 Membership) in which fans can guarantee their seats to the best games. The Pick 23 Plan, the team’s halfseason ticket offering, provides Hornets’ fans with ultimate flexibility as it includes the Home Opener vs. Atlanta plus 22 games of the fan’s choosing. Pick 23 Plans start as low as $368 per plan and are available on hornets.com or by calling 704-HORNETS. Some of the plan’s benefits include interest-free payment options, playoff priority and significant savings from individual game ticket prices. Single-game tickets will go on-sale at a later date.
The Hornets averaged 17,332 fans per game and recorded 10 sellouts at Spectrum Center last season, the third-straight season with an average attendance of more than 17,000 and double-figure sellouts. The atmosphere has helped the team to a 52-30 home record over the last two seasons, the fifth-best home record in the Eastern Conference over that span.
Charlotte’s home schedule features 20 of the team’s 41 games (49 percent) taking place on weekend dates: Friday (seven), Saturday (eight) and Sunday (five). Four of the five Sunday matchups will be matinee games and tipoff at 1 p.m. The squad’s longest homestand is from Jan. 17 to Jan. 26, which includes five contests and their longest road trip is from March 13 to March 21, which also includes five games. The Hornets have 14 sets of back-to-back games, two fewer than last season (16).
Including the Nov. 15 home game against the Cavaliers and the Dec. 6 home contest against the Warriors, the Hornets will play a total of three games on national television in 2017-18, also taking on James Harden and the Houston Rockets on ESPN at the Toyota Center on Dec. 13. The Hornets also have five games scheduled to air on NBA TV. The complete Hornets local television schedule on FOX Sports Southeast will be released at a later date.
This offseason, the Hornets acquired eight-time NBA All-Star and three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Dwight Howard from the Atlanta Hawks, signed 2013-14 NBA Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams and added Malik Monk and Dwayne Bacon in the NBA Draft. The new players join a core of 2016-17 NBA All-Star Kemba Walker, Nicolas Batum, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Marvin Williams, Cody Zeller and Frank Kaminsky as Head Coach Steve Clifford looks to lead the Hornets to the NBA Playoffs for the third time in five seasons.
Swarm365 Memberships, which include all 41 regular-season home games and two home preseason contests, are also currently available. Some of the Swarm365 Membership benefits include the lowest guaranteed pricing, interest-free payment options, a 10% discount on food and beverage at Spectrum Center, the ability to redeem unused tickets to select future games and an exclusive year-round program that connects ticket members outside of the game of basketball. Swarm365 Memberships start as low as $48 per seat per game in the lower level and $12 per seat per game in the upper level. The Pick 23 Plan and Swarm365 Memberships are available online at hornets.com or by calling 704-HORNETS (704-467-6387). Single-game tickets will go on sale at a later date.