A majority of New Orleans Hornets players, including No. 1 draft pick Anthony Davis and rookie guard Austin Rivers, are in San Antonio this week for voluntary workouts with the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder.
Hornets spokesman Dennis Rogers said players put themselves through intense five-on-five scrimmages last week at the Alario Center to prepare for this week's work.
They hope to take advantage of the stiffer competition they will face this week. Behind All-Star forward Kevin Durant, the Thunder advanced to the NBA Finals last season but lost to the Miami Heat. The Spurs had the best record in the Western Conference at 50-16 before losing to the Thunder in the conference finals.
After finishing with a 21-45 record last season, the Hornets are expected to one of the young emerging teams to watch led by Davis, who won a gold medal as the youngest member on the U.S. Olympic basketball team last month at the London Olympics.
Trying to build chemistry before training camp begins on Oct. 2, Hornets have had as many as 11 players participate in volunteer workouts since last month.