The dynastic Golden State Warriors were arguably the most dominant team of the modern NBA era, regularly dismantling teams in a way that would make a mockery of the word 'competition'.
Yet there's now a shock new team on the block that's currently beating opponents with similar ease. Sure, the Charlotte Hornets are only just starting their ascent up the NBA standings, but they're currently making a statement by mirroring the peak Warriors in 2017-18.
Hornets dominance typified in crazy Warriors dynasty statistic
The young Hornets continued their recent surge of obliterating teams, claiming a 118-99 victory over the second-seed Celtics in Boston on Wednesday despite being on the second night of a back-to-back.
In doing so, Charlotte -- of all teams -- have remarkably become the first team since Golden State in the 2017-18 season to win six-straight games by at least 15 points. According to Stathead, it's also tied for the second-longest streak in NBA history.
Hornets have won 6 straight games by 15+ points, the longest streak by any team since the 2017-18 Warriors.
— Keerthika Uthayakumar (@keerthikau) March 5, 2026
It's tied for the 2nd-longest streak in NBA history.
ht: @Stathead
If there's one thing that illustrates Charlotte's historic run over the past couple of weeks, it's a statistic that draws comparisons to the dynastic Warriors. Led by Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, Golden State were at the peak of their powers in winning 58 regular season games, and going 16-5 in the playoffs on their way to a second-straight championship.
Of course, the Hornets are a long way from that Warrior team, nor are they ever likely to reach that level of dominance over a sustained period. However, it' the loudest reflection of a team that's shocking the NBA right now, and who could suddenly be a scary team to face in the first-round of the playoffs.
Hornets are currently one of the best teams in the NBA
This isn't some random six-game stretch either, but rather an emphatic punctuation of what the Hornets have been building over the past couple of months. After being 16-28 after 44 games, Charlotte are now 16-3 over their past 19 games and have moved a game above .500 at 32-21.
The Hornets have a 13.4 net rating during this period, easily ranking first ahead of the San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks. Despite this, they still rank only 10th in the Eastern Conference standings, though a move up seems a fait accompli based on recent form.
The Warriors can thank the NBA scheduling department for giving them their two fixtures against the Hornets early in the season, because based on the form of the two teams at present, it wouldn't be a close battle.