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The Charlotte Hornets’ 2022-23 schedule is out. Here are some of the highlights

Steve Clifford’s second tour of duty as the Charlotte Hornets’ head coach will officially begin in the Southwest. Then, Clifford & Co. will host a notable South Carolina native in their home opener.

The team’s schedule for the 2022-23 campaign was released Wednesday and the Hornets tip things off in San Antonio against the rebuilding Spurs on Oct. 19, following that up with a date against Spartanburg, S.C., product Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans at Spectrum Center two days later.

Although the Hornets won’t play their second home game of the season until a week following their matchup with the Pelicans, it should be well worth the wait. Charlotte native Steph Curry and the defending champion Golden State Warriors make their lone visit to town on Oct. 29, a ticket that undoubtedly will be among the most coveted of the season.

The Hornets have three nationally-televised games, the first coming in Chicago on Nov. 2 on ESPN when LaMelo Ball meets his brother Lonzo and the Bulls. When the two teams square off again on Jan. 26, they’ll do it with a TNT audience checking out the action. ESPN is slated to broadcast the Hornets’ matchup in Boston on Feb. 10.

LeBron James’ lone scheduled appearance in the Queen City comes on Jan. 2, when Los Angeles arrives at the arena. James’ visit follows the Hornets’ New Year’s Eve date with Brooklyn and comes two weeks prior to the Hornets hosting Boston on Jan. 16 in a Martin Luther King Jr. Day 1 p.m. matinee.

The Hornets have an extremely heavy travel schedule early on. Of their 21 games in the season’s initial two months, 12 take place away from Charlotte. That doesn’t even include the season’s longest road trip — a five-game trek to the west that begins in Denver and ends in San Francisco — in December.

In fact, 22 of their first 41 games are on the road.

But the Hornets finish the season with 17 of their final 25 games at home, putting them in position to potentially push toward ending a six-year postseason drought if they can navigate their 12 sets of back-to-back games.

Bally Sports Southeast is airing all of the regionally available games and they will be live streamed on both BallySports.com and the Bally Sports app.

Single-game tickets go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. Friday.

BY THE NUMBERS

Longest homestand: 5 (March 11-20; vs. Utah, Cleveland (2), Philadelphia, Indiana)

Longest road trip: 6 (at Denver, Sacramento, Los Angeles, L.A. Clippers, Portland, Golden State

Most games in a month: 16 (December)

Road/home back-to-backs: 4

Consecutive road games vs. same opponent: 2 (at Miami, Nov. 10, 12; at Toronto, Jan 10, 12)

COMPLETE HORNETS SCHEDULE