James Bouknight got involved in a controversy just before the start of the new NBA season.

CBS affiliate WBTV confirmed Bouknight's arrest on Sunday after he was found driving while impaired. The news outlet detailed that the 22-year-old was initially found unconscious in a parking area in Uptown Charlotte.

According to Charlotte Observer, people who found him called fire and medical personnel to wake up the basketball player and get him out of his car. The Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office also found a Glock 23 and confiscated it during the arrest.

Bouknight has a pending concealed carry permit, thus, he is not allowed to open carry in North Carolina. He was then released on a $2,500 bond.

Following the arrest, the NBA's official website shared Hornets' coach Steve Clifford's statement, saying that the team is gathering information about the incident.

"That's this league. You know what I mean? I was told a long time ago that if you want to enjoy coaching, understand that a lot more things go wrong every day than go right. It's just the kind of job that it is. It's part of coaching at every level," he said, per ESPN.


Hornets will start the 2022-2023 NBA season on Wednesday. The team will face the San Antonio Spurs.

Bouknight's arrest happened after Miles Bridges' felony domestic violence case got delayed again.

Miles Bridges' Case Update

On Monday, it was revealed that the preliminary hearing in Bridges' case was delayed for the seventh time.

Bridges initially pleaded not guilty after receiving felony counts of domestic violence and child abuse. He was arrested in June after assaulting his girlfriend on or about June 27 and 28 in front of their two kids. but got released after posting $130,000 bail.

Mychelle Johnson uploaded evidence on Instagram, showing bruises on her face, arms, back, hands, and legs. She reportedly suffered a fractured nose and wrist and torn eardrum during the abuse.

In addition, Bridges left the muscles in her neck torn when the NBA star choked her until she fell asleep.

The official medical document then proved she truly had several injuries, including "assault by strangulation, brain concussion, closed fracture of the nasal bone, contusion of rib, multiple bruises, and strain of neck muscle."

Bridges is facing charges of two felony counts of child abuse under circumstances or conditions likely to cause great bodily injury or death and one felony count of injuring a child's parent.