For the fifth consecutive year, The Citadel's McAlister Field House will welcome NBA preseason camps this fall. According to the Charleston Post and Courier, both the Charlotte Hornets and the Boston Celtics will use the Charleston facility for preseason preparation — but fans looking for a live matchup will come away empty-handed. No exhibition game is on the schedule.
Form-Reading Replaces Live Action as the Fan's Only Window
That absence of a game reframes what this preseason visit means for local supporters. Last year, the Hornets followed their McAlister Field House work with a public exhibition against the Oklahoma City Thunder at the North Charleston Coliseum, giving fans a chance to see LaMelo Ball and the roster in competitive action. This fall, there is no equivalent moment. The practice windows are the event.
Dalius Mikalauskas, a crypto and sports betting analyst with more than two decades of experience across basketball, tennis, and other markets, sees that dynamic clearly. When no result is on the board, he notes, the discipline shifts entirely to reading preparation and roster construction — evaluating what teams are building toward rather than what they have already delivered. The Hornets come in at 44 wins last season; the Celtics at 56. Observers have real form to work with, even without a local box score. Mikalauskas draws a direct parallel to individual-sport betting markets, where the same pre-result homework drives the analysis: StakeHunters tennis tips break down player condition and matchup variables ahead of competition, applying the same study-driven scrutiny that Charleston fans are left with this preseason.
Practice Windows Set for Late September Through Early October
The Hornets arrive first, practicing at McAlister Field House from September 29 through October 2. The Celtics follow immediately after, using the facility from October 4 through October 6. Together, the visits stretch across more than a week of fall preseason activity, giving the venue one of its busiest NBA windows since it began hosting teams five years ago.
Two franchises sharing the same facility in a single preseason is itself notable. Prior years saw one team at a time cycle through Charleston. The back-to-back scheduling this fall doubles the professional presence on campus.
Two Teams Entering Camp With Unfinished Business
The Hornets finished last season at 44 wins and 38 losses, qualifying for the NBA play-in tournament. Brandon Miller averaged 20 points per game to anchor the offense. The team arrives in Charleston with momentum but still chasing a full playoff berth.
Boston's situation is more complicated. The Celtics went 56 and 26 last season, one of the better records in the league, but were eliminated from the playoffs by the Philadelphia 76ers. The offseason that followed brought a significant roster upheaval.
Jaylen Brown, who had been a cornerstone alongside perennial All-Star Jayson Tatum, was traded to Philadelphia this summer. The return package was substantial: nine-time All-Star Paul George came to Boston along with a 2028 first-round pick routed through the Clippers, a 2031 first-round pick, and second-round selections in 2028 and 2030. The trade carries its own particular edge — Brown now plays for the franchise that knocked the Celtics out of the postseason. Tatum remains the team's centerpiece as Boston rebuilds its supporting cast around him.
Charleston's Geography Keeps It in the Rotation for Professional Sports
The logic behind Charleston's recurring role as a preseason destination starts with a map. The city sits more than 200 miles from the nearest NFL, NBA, or NHL franchise, which gives visiting teams a genuine remove from their home markets during preparation periods. The McAlister Field House has benefited from that positioning consistently.
The Philadelphia 76ers practiced at The Citadel in 2022. The New York Knicks returned to the venue in both 2023 and 2024. Beyond basketball, the NHL's St. Louis Blues used the Carolina Ice Palace and the North Charleston Coliseum for preseason camp on two separate occasions, in 2013 and again in 2022. The pattern spans more than a decade and covers two major professional sports leagues.
Charleston has not sought out one-off visits. The city has accumulated a track record that keeps franchises returning, and the Hornets' fifth straight year at McAlister Field House is the clearest evidence of that continuity.
The Celtics' October 4 through October 6 window closes out this fall's preseason stretch. For a city without a major league franchise of its own, the annual arrival of NBA rosters has become a fixture of the early autumn calendar — and a tradition showing no signs of fading.