You Can't Flip a Switch

CHARLOTTE — A few hours before the Charlotte Hornets host the Phoenix Suns in a game that could go a long way toward determining their playoff fate, Ryan Kalkbrenner was talking with the assembled media at Spectrum Center making one thing clear.

You can’t just flip a switch.

“You don’t just get to this point of the year and then all of a sudden, okay, we’re going to start playing playoff-level basketball,” he said. “You’ve got to be building toward that and working toward that every day.”

It’s the kind of thing that sounds rehearsed until you watch this team and realize it actually describes them. The Hornets started 4-14, and they were a punchline. Now they’re 40-36, they will be playing postseason basketball, and nobody in that locker room seems particularly rattled by the moment.

Kalkbrenner’s explanation for why is straightforward: the culture was never built around a switch-flipping moment. It was built around process, and the process hasn’t changed.

“We’re not trying to ramp it up,” he said. “We’re already playing playoff-level basketball.”

There’s something clarifying about hearing that from a rookie. Kalkbrenner came to Charlotte a little over nine months ago, and now he’s a rotation big for one of the NBA’s most talked about teams, speaking with reporters with the composure of someone who’s been doing this for a while. Some of that is just who he is, and some of it is who’s been around him.

When the subject of Pat Connaughton’s Teammate of the Year nomination came up, Kalkbrenner didn’t hesitate.

“He’s just such a consistent presence. Day in and day out, he comes in, he has a good attitude, works hard — all the things you want to see in a vet. He does a great job setting that example for everyone, but especially as a rookie. You go up to him and you don’t know quite what’s going on, and he’s been great about helping everyone out. He’s the epitome of being a professional.”

For a guy navigating his first NBA season, having a teammate like Connaughton in the locker room is exactly the kind of resource you can’t manufacture. Kalkbrenner made it sound less like a formal mentorship and more like just having someone steady to orient around when everything else is new and moving fast.

There was a moment this morning where Kalkbrenner seemed to actually take stock of where he is.

“It’s been a heck of a year,” he said, “to go from being in college to fighting for a playoff spot.”

He talked about draft night — the uncertainty of not knowing where you’d land, showing up to a new city, having to figure out a new organization from scratch. He said coming to Charlotte felt right almost immediately. The way they approach things, the buy-in across the roster, the genuine desire to build something. “That’s all you really want as a player,” he said.

He also took a moment to credit his college coach at Creighton, Greg McDermott, who recently retired after five years with Kalkbrenner in the program. “I couldn’t be more grateful. Definitely not here today without him.”

Before we wrapped up, I asked him about something Charles Lee said after Tuesday’s win in Brooklyn — that it was a character win, specifically in how the team handled a bit of adversity within the game without panicking or abandoning what makes them good.

“Yeah, for sure,” Kalkbrenner said. “We’re a young team. You don’t have it all figured out right away. Taking every opportunity we can to grow, have those character wins, is big for us. Every time you take a step further, it’s good. Just got to keep building.”

That’s essentially the thesis of this Hornets season in a handful of words. They’re not a finished product, and that should be obvious. But they’re also not waiting to become one before they take the moment seriously. They’re building in real time, in real games, with real consequences.

Tonight against Phoenix is another chance to prove it.

Will Eudy covers the Charlotte Hornets for The Eudy Report. Follow for credentialed Hornets coverage all season.