The day after the Charlotte Hornets drafted LaMelo Ball with the third overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, Olivia Moran waited nearly two hours outside a Rock Hill sporting goods store just to purchase a jersey.
It was worth the wait.
Moran and her family moved to Lowcountry during the pandemic and thought their days of watching the Hornets without a seven-hour road trip were long gone.
In July, when it was announced that the Hornets would face the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder in an exhibition game at the North Charleston Coliseum, Moran could hardly contain her excitement.
“I’ve been a huge LaMelo fan since his first game with the Hornets,” said Moran, 24, who works for a local marketing firm. “He’s the best point guard in the NBA, and I love watching him play. To have them here in Charleston, I can’t put it into words — it’s surreal.
“When the game was announced during the summer, we got online that morning and got four tickets. This is so awesome to able to see them here and then not have to make that 3½-hour drive back home.”
A depleted Oklahoma City roster cruised to a 135-114 victory over Charlotte before a sellout crowd of 11,371 at the North Charleston Coliseum on Oct. 5.
The Hornets have been in Charleston since Monday, spending the entire week working out at The Citadel.
This is the fourth straight year that an NBA team has used the downtown military school as part of its preseason training camp. The Philadelphia 76ers were here in 2022, while the New York Knicks came in 2023 and 2024.
But unlike Philadelphia and New York, the Hornets schedule a game for the local fan base. Reaching out to fans in the Lowcountry was a point of emphasis for the franchise.
“It’s been really cool — we’ve had an amazing trip,” said Charlotte Hornets coach Charles Lee. “The basketball has been really productive, the ability to eat some really good food has been great, the weather has been good. We’re always talking about how we want to represent the Carolinas, and now we get to expand our footprint into Charleston and into South Carolina.
“I really appreciate The Citadel being so accommodating to us and being able to practice there. This has been a phenomenal trip.”
This is the third time that the Hornets have made the three-hour trek down I-77 and I-26 to Charleston to play an exhibition game.
In 2009, the then-Charlotte Bobcats faced the LeBron James and Shaquille O’Neal-led Cleveland Cavaliers. Three years later, Charlotte played against New Orleans and No. 1 pick Anthony Davis.
Oklahoma City fans, however, were not happy that the Thunder’s star players, including reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, did not make the trip to the Lowcountry.
All five of the Thunder projected starters — Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein and Luguentz Dort — were not in attendance.
The Thunder will play their second preseason game Monday night in Dallas.
“I wish they would have told us that those guys were not going to be here,” said Hunter Petrozzellia, who proudly wore his No. 2 Gilgeous-Alexander jersey to the game around the concourse. “I mean, I still would have come. It’s the NBA, and I’m a huge fan of the league.
“But to not have Shai or Chet or any of those guys in the building was disappointing. I understand it’s a preseason game, but it seems like one of those load management things, and this isn’t an NBA city, so this was my one chance to see them play in person.”