Coby White to miss Hornets preseason with calf strain

Coby White suffered a left calf strain in training camp and will miss the Charlotte Hornets’ preseason games, the Hornets said, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line. Stein also reported that White joins Kon Knueppel and Grant Williams among Charlotte players with injuries projected to extend into the regular season.

White, a guard, averaged 17.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4 assists in 24.9 minutes across 50 games in 2025-26, including 26 starts. His 59.5 true-shooting percentage came with a 29.4 usage rate, a major offensive workload, while his Keel Impact of 1.2 — points per 100 possessions added versus an average player — ranked 124th of 379 players with 500 minutes or more.

Knueppel, a guard-forward, was a high-minute starter last season, playing 31.4 minutes per game over 81 appearances and averaging 18.5 points. His 2.5 Keel Impact ranked 59th of 379 qualifiers. Williams, a forward, appeared in 36 games and posted a 1.6 Keel Impact, 100th among the same group.

The Hornets went 44-38 in 2025-26 with a 4.9 net rating, meaning they outscored opponents by 4.9 points per 100 possessions. Charlotte ranked seventh offensively and 10th defensively among 30 teams.