Hornets’ James Bouknight arrested on DWI charge days before season tips off

Charlotte Hornets guard James Bouknight was arrested early Sunday for driving while impaired just days before the start of the 2022-23 regular season, officials said.

Bouknight, 22, was arrested by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police at around 1:51 a.m. Sunday, according to a police report. His bond was set at $2,500. He practiced on Monday but didn’t speak with reporters.

The Hornets released a statement on his arrest.

“We are aware of the incident involving James Bouknight and are in the process of gathering additional information. We will have no further comment at this time,” the team said.

Charlotte head coach Steve Clifford also was asked about Bouknight’s arrest.

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“That’s this league, you know what I mean? I was told a long time ago, if you want to enjoy coaching, understand that a lot more things go wrong every day than go right,” Clifford told the Charlotte Observer. “It’s just the kind of job that it is. It’s part of coaching at every level and again it’s why we’re fortunate that we have depth and we have a lot of guys who are capable of playing well.”

The newspaper noted that Bouknight has had a slew of speeding and reckless driving offenses against him in the Charlotte area.

Bouknight played 31 games last season for the Hornets. As a rookie, he averaged 4.6 points per game. Clifford said last week he saw star-level talent in Bouknight.

It’s unclear whether Bouknight will play for the team’s first game of the season Wednesday against the San Antonio Spurs. The team is also missing Miles Bridges, who was arrested on three felony domestic violence charges earlier this year. Bridges had pleaded not guilty.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.