Charles Lee, top Celtics assistant, lands Charlotte Hornets head coaching gig
Lee, who spent the 2023-24 season as the Celtics' lead assistant coach, will become the twelfth head coach of the Hornets.
Boston Celtics lead assistant coach Charles Lee is heading down to Buzz City to become the head coach of the Charlotte Hornets, the team announced Thursday morning.
Lee, 39, has served alongside Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla throughout the 2023-24 season, helping to elevate the team to a league-best 64-18. One of the NBA’s most accomplished assistant coaches, he brings over a decade of experience to a rebuilding Charlotte team.
Lee signed a four-year contract with the Hornets, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The new head coach will join his team in Charlotte after concluding the NBA playoffs with the Celtics.
“We are excited to welcome Charles Lee as the head coach of Charlotte Hornets,” Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Jeff Peterson said in a statement. “Charles possesses a championship pedigree with a wide range of basketball knowledge and NBA experience… He shares our vision for this organization, and I look forward to partnering with him in building something special here in the Carolinas.”
Peterson and Lee’s history goes back a decade, when the two met working alongside each other for the Atlanta Hawks in 2014. It was there that Peterson witnessed Lee’s “tremendous work ethic,” watching the assistant coach develop a fresh defense that finished in the top six for three straight seasons.
Following his four seasons in Atlanta, Lee spent five seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks (2018-2023). Earning an elevated status as assistant head coach, the Washington D.C. native steered his team towards an NBA championship in 2021. Despite pushing through two shortened seasons due to COVID-19, the Bucks averaged 54.2 wins throughout his tenure in Milwaukee.
Now, Lee will reunite with his longtime colleague to rebuild a Hornets team that finished thirteenth (21-61) in the Eastern Conference this season.
“The Hornets have a talented young core of players and I’m excited about our future and what we can build here,” Lee said.
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