Grant Williams has seen everything with the Charlotte Hornets, ready to ‘commit to winning’

Grant Williams feels he has seen Spectrum Center flip.

The 25-year-old forward entering his second season on the Charlotte Hornets remembers attending games during the franchise’s 7-59 season in 2011-12. It felt as though fans just wouldn’t even be inside the building, or casual basketball spectators would fill seats while donning different teams’ jerseys.

Williams, who grew up in west Charlotte and won a state championship at Providence Day, initially sat courtside for the first time in his life during a Hornets game against the Golden State Warriors. With J. Cole sitting behind Williams, Stephen Curry dropped more than 40 points on Charlotte, and the crowd had its cheers for the local talent.

Williams has seen it all.

He attended a Hornets-Warriors game during the following season, and remembers watching Kemba Walker — who’s now on Charlotte’s staff as a player enhancement coach — “whooping that tail.”

It wasn’t just that the NBA team that represents the city in which he grew up was starting to play well. The Hornets were gaining support, and that was something he wanted to help sustain.

“I know that happens quickly,” Williams said Monday at the Hornets’ preseason media day. “We just have to do our job as players to really commit to winning.”

Hornets donate $1 million to Hurricane Helene relief efforts

The Charlotte Hornets Foundation announced that it has committed $1 million to aid the American Red Cross and Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina in their ongoing Hurricane Helene relief efforts.

Most of the Hornets began their remarks at media day with a message for those affected by the hurricane.

Williams, the former Tennessee star who became one of four local high school basketball players named All-Observer player of the year twice, noted that he has grandparents who are turning 89 and 90, respectively. Still being able to regularly play in front of them is a blessing.

“Whether it’s your time, whether it’s your efforts, volunteering your finances to the victims: They’re right there in our backyard,” Williams said. “People I know in Charlotte, Asheville, family members of mine across the way have been affected.

“Just the community here. I know the importance of basketball in the state of North Carolina. I know the importance of the Charlotte Hornets and Carolina Panthers, because I’ve been here, and when we’re at our best, the city’s at its best.”

Seth Curry, the Charlotte Christian graduate whom the Hornets quickly re-signed in the offseason, offered a similar sentiment.

“I’m worried about everybody affected by Hurricane Helene in the western part of the state,” Curry said. “It’s been a rough past week, so I just want to say our thoughts and prayers are with everybody trying to get everything they need to recover from this awful, awful tragedy.”

Hornets will ‘do everything we can as an organization’

New head coach Charles Lee said he’s already been noticing how the city of Charlotte rallies and bands together.

For example, Spectrum Center has been going through renovations, and spaces inside the arena are moving amid the construction. He’s noticed how they’ve had to “figure it out,” even if it’s as simple as knowing when to walk down a different hallway.

“Living in Charlotte and hearing about all the devastation that took place in all the Carolinas, just want them to understand that they are in our thoughts and prayers,” Lee said. “I know there’s already been a message from the Hornets’ organization sent out to everybody, and our ownership group is trying to help financially in the relief efforts.

“The videos are pretty devastating, and it’s a tragic situation. Having a family myself and knowing what you have to go through to lose your home, power and all those things, it’s really tough.”

Jeff Peterson, the Hornets’ executive vice president of basketball operations, kicked off all the news conferences on Monday morning by acknowledging the devastating impact that Hurricane Helene has had on the Carolinas.

“Our hearts and thoughts and prayers are going out to them,” Peterson said. “We’re going to do everything we can as an organization to make it a little bit better. We know it’s not perfect, and we just want to continue to let them know that we’re thinking about them.”

‘We want to be a consistent, relevant contender’

Peterson, who begins his first season in his new role, joked about how he even had his clothes laid out ahead of his first media day.

He’s been excited about the ways in which new owners Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin have built this roster — taking immense pride in character and bringing in the most competitive group it can.

“We wanted to take a holistic approach in terms of just having sustainable success,” Peterson said. “It’s not one of these things where we want to make the playoffs one year, and then we’re out for another four years; Or make the play-in game one year, and then we’re out for five. We want to be a consistent, relevant contender.

“You don’t do that overnight, right? It takes time. You have to build it the right way. You can’t skip steps. We’re very strategic in every move to see if that’s possibly going to impact that goal, knowing it’s the north star.”