The Charlotte Hornets made their best effort to be the final team to make the NBA Playoff bracket in the East, but fell short in their final play-in game on Friday night. The Hornets defeated the Miami Heat in an overtime battle in their first play-in game, but were routed by the Orlando Magic in their second play-in game. The Magic officially moved into the main playoff bracket as the 8-seed in the East, while the Hornets are now headed to the offseason.
The Hornets’ loss means that VFL Grant Williams’ return season is officially over.
The former Volunteer suffered a torn ACL and meniscus that required surgery and kept him sidelined for nearly 13 months. He returned to the court for the first time in January and ended up playing 36 games with three starts this season. During the year, Williams averaged 7.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 19.8 minutes per game.
He played 18 minutes and scored five points in the Hornets’ play-in win over the Miami Heat, but was held to just one point in 15 minutes in Charlotte’s play-in loss to the Orlando Magic.
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The 27-year-old Williams is a two-time SEC Player of the Year. He played for the Tennessee Volunteers from 2016 to 2019 before being 22nd overall in the 2019 NBA Draft. In his career, Williams has played for Boston, Dallas, and Charlotte.
Williams was one of five former Tennessee players in the NBA Playoffs, though he was the only one in the play-in bracket. The 1-seed Detroit Pistons have Tobias Harris and Chaz Lanier, the 4-seed Los Angeles Lakers have Dalton Knecht, and the 6-seed Minnesota Timberwolves have Julian Phillips.
