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History of the Charlotte Hornets

May 08, 2024

The history of the National Basketball Association's Charlotte Hornets dates to 1985 when founder George Shinn first thought of bringing professional basketball to Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets commenced play as an expansion team in 1988. After fourteen seasons under its original ownership, the franchise suspended operations in 2002 when Shinn transferred the basketball organization under his control to a new franchise in New Orleans. The Charlotte franchise was subsequently acquired, reactivated and renamed the Bobcats by Robert L. Johnson. After restocking its roster through their second expansion draft, the team resumed play in 2004. Johnson sold controlling interest to Hall of Fame legend and North Carolinian native Michael Jordan in 2010. Jordan, who restored the club's original name in 2014, sold the team to group led by Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin in 2023. The franchise has reached the postseason twelve times and made ten playoff appearances, although as of 2024 they are the oldest club in all of North American major professional sports to have never won a division championship.

1988–2002: The Original Charlotte Hornets edit

1985–1988: The NBA comes to Charlotte edit

In 1985, the NBA, with 23 teams, was planning to expand by four teams by the 1988–89 season. George Shinn, an entrepreneur from Kannapolis, North Carolina, wanted to bring an NBA team to the Charlotte area, and he assembled a group of prominent local businessmen to head the prospective franchise. The Charlotte area had long been a hotbed for college basketball. The Atlantic Coast Conference's four North Carolina teams had very large and very loyal fan bases in the region, as did local teams UNC Charlotte, Davidson, and Johnson C. Smith. Charlotte was also one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States, and was previously one of the three in-state regional homes to the American Basketball Association's Carolina Cougars.

Some critics doubted that Charlotte, then mostly known for banking, could support an NBA team; one Sacramento Bee columnist joked, "The only franchise Charlotte is going to get is one with Golden Arches."[1] However, Shinn's ace in the hole was the Charlotte Coliseum, a state-of-the-art arena under construction that would seat almost 24,000 spectators – the largest basketball-specific arena to serve as a full-time home for an NBA team. On April 5, 1987, NBA Commissioner David Stern called Shinn to award the NBA's 24th franchise, to begin play in 1988. Franchises were also granted to Miami, Minneapolis-Saint Paul, and Orlando.[2] Playing heavily on the area's support of college basketball, the new team ran billboards in the area saying, "Bringing the NBA to Basketball Country!"

Originally, the team was intended to be named the Charlotte Spirit, but a name-the-team contest yielded "Hornets" as the winning choice. That name was derived from the city's fierce resistance to British occupation during the Revolutionary War, which prompted the British commander, Lord Cornwallis, to refer to it as "a veritable hornet's nest of rebellion".[3][4] The name had been used for previous Charlotte sports teams, including a minor league baseball team from 1901 to 1972, and a World Football League team that played there from 1974 to 1975. In addition the Charlotte 49ers and Davidson Wildcats of the NCAA play annually for the Hornets' Nest Trophy.

The team received attention when it chose teal as its primary color, setting off a sports fashion craze in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with many pro and amateur clubs soon following with teal in their color schemes. The team's uniforms were designed by international designer and North Carolina native Alexander Julian, and featured a first for NBA uniforms—pinstripes.[5] Similar designs by the Orlando Magic, Toronto Raptors, Houston Rockets, Chicago Bulls, and Indiana Pacers followed soon after.

Shinn hired Carl Scheer, a longtime NBA executive, as the team's first general manager.[6] Scheer sought a roster of veteran players, hoping to put together a competitive team as soon as possible, with a goal of making the playoffs in five years. Former college coach and veteran NBA assistant Dick Harter was hired as the team's first head coach.

In 1988, the Hornets and the Miami Heat were part of the 1988 NBA Expansion Draft. Unlike many expansion franchises that invest in the future with a team composed entirely of young players, Charlotte stocked its inaugural roster with several veterans in hopes of putting a competitive lineup on the court right away.[7] The team also had three draft picks at the 1988 NBA draft.[8]

1988–1992: Early seasons edit

 
Muggsy Bogues (pictured here with Wake Forest), the shortest player in NBA history played for the Hornets from 1988 until 1997

In their inaugural season the Hornets were led by ex-Pistons guard Kelly Tripucka, who provided instant offense and was Charlotte's top scorer for the franchise's first two seasons. Other notable players included sharpshooting rookie (and first draft selection) Rex Chapman, a long-distance scoring threat, and floor general Muggsy Bogues, the shortest player in NBA history at 5'3". The Hornets' first NBA game took place on November 4, 1988, at the Charlotte Coliseum, and was a 133–93 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.[9] The opening night lineup included Tripucka, Kurt Rambis, Dave Hoppen, Robert Reid, and Rickey Green. Four days later, the team notched their first victory over the Los Angeles Clippers, 117–105.[10] On December 14, in a win over the Indiana Pacers, Tripucka scored 40 points. Tripucka would score 40 points twice more that season. On December 23, 1988, the Hornets really gave their fans something to cheer about, beating Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls 103–101 at the buzzer in Jordan's professional debut in North Carolina.[11] Muggsy Bogues set a club record on April 23, handing out 19 assists in a game against the Boston Celtics. The Hornets finished their inaugural season with a record of 20 wins and 62 losses.[12]

Despite concerns that the Coliseum was too big, the Hornets were a runaway hit in their first season, leading the NBA in attendance, a feat they would achieve seven more times in Charlotte. Eventually, the Hornets would sell out 364 consecutive games—almost nine consecutive seasons.[13]

The Hornets' second season was a struggle from start to finish. The team lost their first five games before defeating the Orlando Magic in the first meeting between the two franchises. Members of the team rebelled against Dick Harter's defense-oriented style, and he was replaced mid-season by assistant Gene Littles following a dismal 8–32 start. Despite the change, the team continued to struggle during the second half, suffering through a 3–31 stretch from January through March. In the end, the team took a step backwards, finishing the season with a disappointing 19–63 record – one game worse than their previous season.[14]

In the 1990 NBA draft, the Hornets selected guard Kendall Gill with the 5th overall pick.[15] The team showed improvement during the 1990–91 season. They won eight of their first 15 games, including a 120–105 victory over the Washington Bullets.[16] However, the team went cold, losing their next 11 games and falling to 8–18. The Hornets, who hosted the 1991 NBA All-Star Game, finished their third season with a 26–56 record.[17] Despite the team's seven-game improvement over the previous season, Gene Littles was fired and replaced by general manager Allan Bristow.[18]

1992–1995: Larry Johnson and Alonzo Mourning era edit

1991–92 season: Drafting Larry Johnson edit

With the first pick in the 1991 NBA draft, the Hornets drafted power forward Larry Johnson from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.[19] Johnson had an impact season, finishing among the league leaders in points and rebounds, and winning the 1992 NBA Rookie of the Year Award.[20] Additionally, Guard Kendall Gill led the club in scoring, averaging over 20 points per game.[21] The team stayed in contention for a playoff spot until March, but in the end, they finished the season with a record of 31–51.[22] Despite continuing to improve, the Hornets failed to qualify for the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.

1992–1994: Drafting Alonzo Mourning and first playoff appearance edit

The Hornets were in the lottery again in 1992 and won the second overall pick in the draft, using it to select Georgetown center Alonzo Mourning.[23] The Hornets now had two 20–10 threats in Johnson and Mourning, who with Kendall Gill, formed perhaps the league's top young trio. The team finished their fifth season at 44–38, their first-ever winning record and good enough for the first playoff berth in franchise history.[24] Finishing fifth in the Eastern Conference, the Hornets upset the Boston Celtics in the first round, with Mourning winning the series with a 20-footer in game four.[25] However, the Hornets lacked the experience and depth to defeat the New York Knicks, falling in five games in the second round.[26]

The Hornets finished the 1993–94 season with a 41–41 record, narrowly missing the playoffs.[27] Despite injuries to both Johnson and Mourning, the two led the team in points-per-game.[28] The following season, the Hornets finished the regular season with 50 wins and 32 losses, and returned to the playoffs.[29] Johnson and Mourning again led the team in points-per-game, while also leading the club in rebounding.[30] However, Charlotte was bounced from the playoffs in the first round, falling to the Chicago Bulls in four games.[31]

1995–1998: Glen Rice era edit

 
Glen Rice

The Johnson–Mourning era came to an end as the Hornets traded Mourning to the Miami Heat for forward Glen Rice, center Matt Geiger, and guard Khalid Reeves.[32] Glen Rice would make an immediate impact after joining the Hornets, leading the team in scoring and points-per-game during the 1995–96 season.[33] While Rice and Johnson provided high-powered scoring, Geiger tied with Johnson for the team lead in rebounds, and All-Star guard Kenny Anderson ran the point for the injured Muggsy Bogues. The Hornets were competitive, but failed to qualify for the playoffs during the season, again finishing with a 41–41 record.[34] Bristow resigned at the end of the season, and was replaced by NBA legend Dave Cowens.[35]

The 1996 off-season was again marked by vast changes: Anderson declined to re-sign, Johnson was shipped to the Knicks for power forward Anthony Mason, and the team made a trade on draft day 1996. They acquired center Vlade Divac from the Los Angeles Lakers for the rights to Kobe Bryant, who the Hornets picked 13th in the draft.[36][37] The new-look Hornets were successful, with Divac and Geiger providing the center combination, Mason averaging a double-double, Bogues back at the point, and Rice having the finest season of his career. The team achieved the best season in its history at the time, finishing with 54 victories compared to only 28 losses, and making it back to the playoffs.[38] Rice finishing third in the league in scoring, earning all-NBA second team honors, and was also the All-Star Game MVP, setting several scoring records.[39] Despite the success during the regular season, the Hornets went down rather meekly to the Knicks in three straight games.[40]

The 1997–98 season was also successful. Muggsy Bogues was traded two games into the season, and the team picked up point guard David Wesley and shooting guard Bobby Phills.[41][42][43] With Wesley, Phills, Rice, Mason, and Divac, the Hornets romped through the regular season, finishing with a 51–31 record;[44] Rice had another good season, as he finished sixth in league scoring and earned all-NBA third team honors.[45][46] The Hornets made it to back-to-back playoffs for the first time in franchise history, and advanced to the second round, only to again be stopped by the Bulls.[47][48]

1998–2002: Final years of the original Hornets edit

The 1998–99 season was turbulent. The season didn't start until February, as the lockout shortened the regular season to only 50 games.[49] Glen Rice was traded to the Lakers for Eddie Jones and Elden Campbell,[50] and Dave Cowens resigned midway through the season, with the highest winning percentage among Hornets head coaches.[51] He was replaced by former Celtics teammate Paul Silas, who became the franchise's fifth head coach. The team finished the season with a 26–24 record, but failed to qualify for the playoffs.[52]

The 1999–2000 season saw a return to prominence, with the addition of point guard Baron Davis, the third overall draft pick.[53] The Hornets tore through much of the season, but tragedy struck on January 12, 2000, when fan favorite and top reserve Bobby Phills was killed in an automobile accident.[54] The Hornets retired his No. 13 on February 9, 2000 (The jersey would be re-hang again when the Hornets returned to Charlotte).[55] After finishing with a 49–33 record,[56] the team returned to the playoffs, where they lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round.[57] The season, however, was overshadowed by events off the court. The team's popularity had begun to sag due to fan discontent with owner George Shinn's personnel moves; he had reportedly traded Mourning and other stars out of an unwillingness to pay market value. Additionally, Michael Jordan, a North Carolina native, began negotiations to become part-owner, but talks collapsed when Shinn refused to grant Jordan control over basketball operations.[58] Because of this, season attendance dropped to eleventh in the league.

In the 2000–01 season, with the additions of Jamal Mashburn and P.J. Brown,[59] the Hornets managed to return to the playoffs, finishing with a 46–36 record.[60] While they upset the third-seeded Heat in the first round and made it to the conference semifinals for the third time in franchise history,[61] they lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in seven games.[62] Despite continuing to play well, their popularity continued to fall, with the team finishing 21st in the league in attendance.

The Hornets returned to the playoffs the following season, finishing the regular season at 44–38.[63] After defeating the Orlando Magic in the first round,[64] they were upended by the New Jersey Nets in five games in the Conference Semifinals.[65] The team finished twenty-ninth (last) in the league in attendance, a stark contrast to their earlier years in Charlotte. Before the Hornets were eliminated from the playoffs, the NBA approved a deal for the team to move to New Orleans following the season.[66]

2002–2003: relocation to New Orleans edit

Many attributed the Hornets lapse in popularity during the late 1990s and early 2000s to the team's owner, George Shinn, who was slowly becoming hated by the fans.[67] In 1997, a Charlotte woman claimed that Shinn had raped her, and the subsequent trial severely tarnished his reputation.[68] The consensus was that while Charlotte was as basketball-crazy as ever, fans took out their anger at Shinn on the team. Shinn was also discontented with the Charlotte Coliseum, which, although considered state-of-the-art when it opened in 1988, had a limited number of luxury boxes.[69] On March 26, 2001, both the Hornets and the Vancouver Grizzlies applied for relocation to Memphis, Tennessee,[70] which was ultimately won by the Grizzlies. Shinn issued an ultimatum: unless the city built a new arena at no cost to him, the Hornets would leave town. The city initially refused, leading Shinn to consider moving the team to either Norfolk, Louisville, or St. Louis.[71][72]

Of the cities in the running, only St. Louis had an NBA-ready arena (Savvis Center, now known as the Enterprise Center) already in place and was a larger media market than Charlotte at the time; also, it was the only one of the four to have an previously had hosted an NBA franchise — the St. Louis Hawks (who moved to Atlanta in 1968). However, Savvis Center was eventually ruled out in large part because it already hosted a National Hockey League team whose primary tenants (the St. Louis Blues) were guaranteed priority for scheduling even if an NBA team moved there. Also, at the time St. Louis already had teams in both of the other two "Big Four" major professional sports leagues — the market was smaller than any other at the time with teams in all four except for Denver, which has proven able to support four teams due to its relative isolation from other major sports markets.

Finally, a new arena in Uptown, which would eventually become the Charlotte Bobcats Arena (later to become Time Warner Cable Arena and now known as the Spectrum Center), was included in a non-binding referendum for a larger arts-related package, and Shinn withdrew his application to move the team. Polls showed the referendum on its way to passage. However, just days before the referendum, Mayor Pat McCrory vetoed a living wage ordinance. The veto prompted many of the city's black ministers to oppose the referendum. They felt it was immoral for the city to build a new arena when city employees weren't paid enough to make a living.[73] After the referendum failed, city leaders devised a plan to build a new arena that did not require voter support, but made it known that they would not consider building it unless Shinn sold the team. While even the NBA acknowledged that Shinn had alienated fans, league officials felt such a demand would anger other owners as it could set a precedent.[74] The city council refused to remove the statement, leading the Hornets to request a move to New Orleans – a move which would eventually return pro basketball to the city after the Jazz moved to Salt Lake City in 1979. The NBA approved the move and as part of the deal, as well as to avoid a Browns-like lawsuit, the NBA promised that Charlotte would get a new expansion franchise, although unlike the arrangement agreed to in 1996 by the NFL for Cleveland, the NBA also agreed at the time to allow Shinn to relocate the extant Hornets' franchise and history to New Orleans.

2004–2014: Charlotte Bobcats edit

2003: Establishing the Bobcats edit

Long before the New Orleans relocation, the then-29-team NBA had been seriously considering adding another franchise in order to balance its divisions and conferences. The league soon made it known it would be receptive to placing that team in Charlotte for the 2004–05 season, if an arena deal could be reached.[75] Several ownership groups, including one led by former Boston Celtics star Larry Bird, made bids for the franchise.[76] On December 18, 2002, a group led by Black Entertainment Television founder Robert L. Johnson was awarded the franchise,[77] with Johnson becoming the first African American majority owner in major U.S. professional sports.[78] The rapper Nelly became a minority owner.[79]

In June 2003, the team was named the Bobcats. The Charlotte Regional Sports Commission "Help Name The Team" effort drew over 1,250 suggestions. The three finalists were Bobcats, Dragons, and the eventual winner Flight, referencing North Carolina's "First in Flight" status due to the Wright Flyer as well as the state's military bases. But "Flight" was eventually discarded by Johnson and the team, being considered too abstract and reminiscent of the then-current Iraq War aerial strikes.[80] During the summer of 2003, at a street festival crowd of 7,000 fans, the franchise unveiled "Bobcats" as the team name.[81] The bobcat, according to the North Carolina Wildlife Commission, is an athletic, fierce predator indigenous to the Carolinas.[82] Since Charlotte was already home to the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League, designer Chris Weiller created the team logo to alay confusion or close comparison.[80] There was suspicion that owner Robert "Bob" Johnson chose "Bobcats" as a play on his name.[83][84]

The Bobcats hired Bernie Bickerstaff as the first head coach and general manager.[85] A new arena to host the Bobcats at uptown Charlotte began construction in July 2003, and the team played its home games at the Coliseum until the new building was ready. After failed attempts at the ballot box to force the team to fully fund the arena, city politicians implemented a hotel and leisure tax in Charlotte to help pay for it.[86][87]

2004–2008: The beginning of the Bobcats edit

The Bobcats held their expansion draft on June 22, 2004, picking up youngsters Gerald Wallace, Primož Brezec, and Jason Kapono. They also drafted talented European players Predrag Drobnjak, Sasha Pavlović, and Zaza Pachulia, however they would be cut before the season opener.[88] Shortly after, they traded with the Los Angeles Clippers to acquire the second pick in the 2004 NBA draft, which they used to select Emeka Okafor, a center from Connecticut. The Bobcats' first game of the 2004–05 season took place on November 4 at the Charlotte Coliseum, losing 103–96 to the Washington Wizards.[89] Two days later, they won their first game in franchise history over the Orlando Magic, 111–100.[90] On December 14, the Bobcats beat the New Orleans Hornets 94–93 in overtime in the Hornets first game in Charlotte after their move to New Orleans.[91] However, the Bobcats mostly struggled during their inaugural season, finishing with a record of 18–64, never winning more than two games in a row.[92] Emeka Okafor performed well, winning the 2004–05 NBA Rookie of the Year Award.[93]

In the 2005 NBA draft, the Bobcats drafted Raymond Felton and Sean May from North Carolina.[94] With them, in addition to Okafor and Wallace, the team hoped to build a solid foundation for future success. In their second season, the Bobcats opened the new Charlotte Bobcats Arena with an overtime victory over the Boston Celtics.[95] Despite struggling again for most of the year, they managed to close out the season with four straight wins to finish with a record of 26–56, an eight-game improvement over their inaugural season.[96] After the season, the Bobcats announced that NBA legend and North Carolina native Michael Jordan had bought a minority stake in the team, becoming the second-largest shareholder. As part of the deal, he became head of basketball operations. Though Bickerstaff remained general manager, Jordan had the final say on all basketball matters.[97]

The Bobcats showed some improvement during the 2006–07 season, with a playoff-hopeful record of 22–33 by late February 2007. However, the team went through an eight-game losing streak and dropped their record to 22–41 by early March 2007. Following the slump, Michael Jordan announced that head coach Bernie Bickerstaff would not return the following season, but would finish coaching the current season.[98] The Bobcats won 11 of their last 19 games of Bickerstaff's tenure to finish their third season with a 33–49 record.[99] In three seasons with the Bobcats, Bickerstaff finished with an overall record of 77–169.

Front office and coaching were key focuses for the Bobcats during the 2007 offseason. Rod Higgins was hired as general manager,[100] and Sam Vincent was hired as the second head coach.[101] Phil Ford was added to the coaching staff over the summer,[102] and another position was filled when Buzz Peterson was hired from Coastal Carolina University to become director of player personnel.[103] In the 2007 NBA draft, Brandan Wright was selected by the Bobcats with the eighth pick, then traded to Golden State in a deal that sent Jason Richardson to Charlotte.[104] The Bobcats were unable to capitalize on offseason moves, finishing the 2007–08 season with a disappointing 32–50 record.[105] The team, which had felt confident the season would end with its first playoff berth, struggled amid rumors of players clashing with the coach.[106] Only lasting one year, in which he struggled with personnel decisions, Vincent was fired on April 26, 2008.[107]

2008–2010: Larry Brown era edit

On April 29, 2008 the Bobcats hired Basketball Hall of Famer Larry Brown as the third head coach in franchise history.[108] With the ninth selection of the 2008 NBA draft, the Bobcats selected D. J. Augustin from Texas.[109] On December 10, 2008, a little over a month into the season, the Bobcats traded their leading scorer, Jason Richardson along with Jared Dudley to Phoenix in exchange for Boris Diaw and Raja Bell.[110] The trade turned out to be quite successful as the team came very close to reaching the franchise's first playoff berth during the 2008–09 season, but finished four games out of eighth place with a team record of 35 wins and 47 losses.[111] Team members voiced frustration at management for hosting the Charlotte Jumper Classic, an equestrian event, at the end of the season.[112] The scheduling conflict forced the Bobcats to play their final four games on the road, virtually ending their playoff hopes. Following the season, Robert L. Johnson announced he was putting the team up for sale.[113]

2009–2012: Playoffs, new ownership, and struggles edit

 
Jordan became the majority owner of the Bobcats franchise in 2010

During the offseason, Gerald Henderson from Duke was chosen by the Bobcats with the 12th pick in the 2009 NBA draft.[114] They traded Emeka Okafor for New Orleans Hornets center Tyson Chandler, and acquired Stephen Jackson and Acie Law from the Golden State Warriors.[115] On February 27, 2010, Robert Johnson announced the sale of the team to Michael Jordan, making him the first former NBA player to become majority owner of a franchise.[116]

On April 9, 2010, the Bobcats clinched their first playoff berth with an exciting 104–103 road win over the New Orleans Hornets,[117] finishing the 2009–10 season at 44–38, the team's first winning record.[118] Gerald Wallace was a huge factor in the run to the playoffs as he became the first Bobcats player selected as an NBA All-Star.[119] However, in the first round of the playoffs, the Bobcats were swept by the Orlando Magic, quickly ending their season.[120]

2011–2019: Kemba Walker era edit

 
The Hornets drafted Kemba Walker from UConn with the ninth pick of the 2011 NBA draft

The Bobcats began the 2010–11 season with high hopes following the previous season's success. Despite the departures of key players Raymond Felton and Tyson Chandler, the Bobcats started their season hoping to once again make the playoffs. However, they struggled early, and on December 22, 2010, following a dismal 9–19 start, Michael Jordan announced that Larry Brown had stepped down as head coach.[121] That same day, veteran coach Paul Silas returned to Charlotte for the first time since 2001.[122] On February 24, 2011, at the NBA trade deadline, the Bobcats moved to clear salary cap space by sending former all-star forward Gerald Wallace to the Portland Trail Blazers for two first round draft picks, Joel Przybilla, Sean Marks, and Dante Cunningham.[123] They also sent veteran center Nazr Mohammed to the Oklahoma City Thunder for D. J. White and Morris Peterson.[124] Going down the stretch, the injuries to Stephen Jackson and Tyrus Thomas derailed any chances of Charlotte trying to catch the Indiana Pacers, who swept them 4–0 in the regular season to secure the eighth spot in the east. In the end, the Bobcats finished the season with a 34–48 record, finishing 25–29 under Paul Silas.[125]

On June 13, 2011, the Bobcats hired former Portland Trail Blazers general manager Rich Cho for their own GM and promoted Rod Higgins to president of basketball operations.[126] On the day of the 2011 NBA draft the Bobcats sent Stephen Jackson, Shaun Livingston, and the 19th overall pick to the Milwaukee Bucks. In return, the Bobcats received former Duke star Corey Maggette and the 7th overall pick. They used that pick to draft forward Bismack Biyombo and then drafted Kemba Walker, the NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player, with the 9th pick in the draft.[127] They also traded their 2013 second-round draft pick to the Thunder for 7-footer Byron Mullens and signed sharpshooter Reggie Williams in free agency.[128] The Bobcats started the 2011–12 season with a close 96–95 win against Stephen Jackson and the Milwaukee Bucks in their home opener but wins would be scarce after that.[129] In the lockout-shortened season the Bobcats struggled and posted an NBA-worst record of 7–59, losing the last 23 games of the season. In a nationally televised game against the New York Knicks the Bobcats recorded yet another loss as their win rate dropped to 0.106, setting the record for the worst season by an NBA team (because the season was shortened by the lockout, the 1972–73 Philadelphia 76ers kept the record for most losses in a season, with 73). On April 30, 2012, the Bobcats announced that Silas would not return to the team for the 2012–13 season. St. John's assistant Mike Dunlap was named his successor.[130]

Despite having the best chance of winning the draft lottery, the Bobcats did not get the first pick. In the 2012 NBA draft, the Bobcats selected Michael Kidd-Gilchrist with the second overall pick.[131] They also selected Jeffery Taylor with the thirty-first pick.[132] They added Ben Gordon, Ramon Sessions and Brendan Haywood.[133] The Bobcats' first game was against the Indiana Pacers, and they won 90–89 with a heated last minute battle, snapping their 23-game losing streak.[134] On November 13, 2012, the Bobcats traded guard Matt Carroll to the New Orleans Hornets for power forward Hakim Warrick.[135] The team seemed to rebound with a 7–5 start to the season in which 6 of the 7 wins were by 4 points or less. However, they promptly went on an 18-game losing streak from which they never recovered, snapping the streak in a victory at Chicago on New Year's Eve.[136] They finished 21–61, the second-worst record in the league.[137] On April 23, 2013, Dunlap was fired, reportedly because the players were turned off by his heavy-handed coaching style. Dunlap would be replaced by former Los Angeles Lakers assistant head coach Steve Clifford.[138]

2012–2014: Final years as the Bobcats edit

On May 21, 2013, Jordan announced the franchise had applied to change its name to the Charlotte Hornets for the 2014–15 NBA season, pending a majority vote by the NBA Board of Governors at a meeting in Las Vegas on July 18, 2013.[139] Deputy Commissioner and COO Adam Silver had previously said it could take 18 months, but the fact that the league owned the rights to the Hornets name could speed up the process. The New Orleans Hornets had recently changed their name to the New Orleans Pelicans for the 2013–14 NBA season.[140] On July 18, 2013, the NBA unanimously approved the Charlotte Bobcats to reclaim the Hornets name at the conclusion of the 2013–14 season.[141]

During the 2013 NBA draft, the Bobcats selected power forward/center Cody Zeller with the 4th overall pick.[142] The Bobcats would also get former Utah Jazz player Al Jefferson during the free agency period.[143]

On November 22, in a widely expected move, the Bobcats announced they would adopt a modified version of the original Hornets' teal-purple-white palette, with black, gray and light blue as accents.[144][145] The team unveiled its future logo during halftime of their December 21 game against the Utah Jazz, in a ceremony featuring former Hornets players Dell Curry (now the Bobcats' television color commentator), Muggsy Bogues, Rex Chapman and Kelly Tripucka.[146] The team then started a campaign to hype the Hornets' return, entitled "Buzz City."[147] On January 16, 2014, the Bobcats revealed new Charlotte Hornets logo shirts, hats and gear.[148]

On February 20, 2014, the Bucks traded Gary Neal and Luke Ridnour to the Bobcats for Ramon Sessions and Jeff Adrien.[149] The Bobcats clinched a playoff berth for the second time in franchise history on April 5, 2014, when they won a road game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.[150] On April 10, 2014, the Bobcats signed forward DJ White for the rest of the season.[151] The Bobcats finished the 2013–14 regular season at 43–39, their second highest number of wins in a season.[152] The Bobcats were swept by defending champions Miami Heat in the first round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs.[153] The fourth game was also the last one as the Charlotte Bobcats.

2014–present: Return of the Hornets edit

2014–15 season: Return of the Hornets and the birth of Buzz City edit

On May 20, 2014, the Bobcats became the second incarnation of the Charlotte Hornets. At a press conference, team officials also announced that the renamed Hornets reclaimed the history and records of the 1988–2002 Hornets, while all of the Hornets' records during their time in New Orleans from 2002 to 2013 remained with the Pelicans.[154] Charlotte had already been using footage of the original Hornets as part of the "Buzz City" campaign.

To summarize: after the 2002 season, the original Hornets moved to New Orleans. In 2004, Charlotte was granted a new franchise, the Bobcats. After the 2013–14 season, the Bobcats changed their name back to the Hornets and reclaimed the history and records of the 1988–2002 Hornets. As a result, the Hornets are now deemed as having suspended operations from 2002 to 2004, while the Pelicans are deemed as having joined the league in 2002 as an expansion team.

In the 2014 NBA draft, the Hornets had the No. 9 pick from a trade with the Detroit Pistons, which they used to select Noah Vonleh from Indiana.[155] In the same draft they acquired UConn Husky Shabazz Napier (24th overall pick), Dwight Powell from Stanford, and Semaj Christon from Xavier in the second round. Napier would later be traded to the Miami Heat for P. J. Hairston from the Texas Legends of the NBA Development League (formerly from UNC), the rights to the 55th pick (Semaj Christon), and their 2019 second-round pick and cash considerations.[156] Powell and Brendan Haywood were traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Scotty Hopson and cash considerations.[157] Christon was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder for cash considerations.[158] The Hornets then traded Hopson to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for cash considerations.[159]

During the 2014 first year of free agency as the renamed Hornets, the Hornets signed former Indiana Pacers shooting guard Lance Stephenson for three years at $27 million with a team option in the third year.[160] The Hornets also signed former Utah Jazz and Atlanta Hawks forward Marvin Williams to a two-year, $14 million contract.[161] They later added former New Orleans Pelicans guard Brian Roberts, who became the first player in the modern-day Hornets era to play for both the New Orleans Hornets and the Charlotte Hornets.[162] Charlotte finished the 2014-15 season with a 33–49 record.[163]

2015–2017: Return to the playoffs and struggles edit

After the stressful first season as the "reborn" Hornets, the Hornets signed and traded for promising young NBA players such as Nicolas Batum, former Knicks star Jeremy Lin, Jeremy Lamb, Tyler Hansbrough, Spencer Hawes and undrafted rookie Aaron Harrison.[164][165][166][167][168][169] In the 2015 NBA draft, the Hornets selected Wisconsin star Frank Kaminsky with the 9th pick.[170] Through the first 16 games of the 2015–16 season the Hornets were 9–7, including a 7-game home winning streak. This marked first time they were multiple games above .500 since the 2013 season. After Feb. 1, the Hornets went 25–9 in the regular season, which became the third-best winning percentage (.736) in that time span, with only the Warriors and Spurs having better marks. On April 2, the Hornets clinched a playoff spot. The Hornets finished 48–34, 3rd overall in the division, with their most regular season victories since the 1999–00 season.[171] Charlotte earned the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, where they played No. 3 seed Miami in the first round. The Heat cruised by Charlotte in the first two games, however the Hornets won game 3 96–80,[172] marking the franchise's first playoff victory since 2002. Charlotte won the next two games, including a close game 5 in Miami, but lost a crucial game 6 at home. Miami promptly beat the Hornets in game 7, ending their 2015–16 season.[173]

The following year's off-season, Jeremy Lin would go to sign with the Brooklyn Nets, Al Jefferson to the Indiana Pacers, and Courtney Lee to the New York Knicks.[174][175][176] The Hornets were able to re-sign Nicolas Batum and Marvin Williams, as well as bring in former All-star Roy Hibbert, Marco Belinelli and Ramon Sessions for a second stint.[177][178][179][180] Hibbert would be traded mid-season to the Milwaukee Bucks with Spencer Hawes for center Miles Plumlee.[181] Kemba Walker was named an Eastern Conference All-star as a reserve, the first all-star game of his career.[182] The Hornets would finish the season with a 36–46 record, missing the playoffs.[183]

2017–2019: The final years of Kemba Walker era edit

 
Walker became the Hornets all-time leading scorer after surpassing Dell Curry

The Hornets had a successful off-season by sending Miles Plumlee, Marco Belinelli, and their 41st pick to Atlanta in exchange for Dwight Howard and Atlanta's 31st pick.[184] In the 2017 NBA draft, the Hornets drafted Malik Monk of Kentucky with their 11th pick. Former Duke guard, Frank Jackson was originally drafted with their 31st pick before being traded to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for Dwayne Bacon (40th overall pick) and cash considerations.[185] On July 7, the team signed the 2014 Rookie of the year, Michael Carter-Williams.[186]

The Hornets started the season with a 90-102 defeat at the hands of Detroit Pistons.[187] The Hornets went on to a 3-game winning streak by victories over Orlando Magic, Memphis Grizzlies, and the Milwaukee Bucks.[188] However, the Hornets went on to lose the next six matches, they managed to stop the losing streak with victory over Los Angeles Clippers.[189] On 4 February, Walker broke the franchise record for 3-pointers made with 930, surpassing the previous record holder, Dell Curry.[190] On 7 February, Hornets traded Johnny O'Bryant III and two future second round picks to the New York Knicks in exchange for Willy Hernangómez.[191] On February 8, Walker made his second consecutive All-star appearance by replacing the injured Kristaps Porzingis.[192] The team parted ways with GM Rich Cho on February 20, he was replaced by interim general manager, Buzz Peterson.[193][194] On March 28, Walker surpassed Dell Curry (9,839 points) as the franchise's career scoring leader despite the loss against Cleveland Cavaliers.[195] On April 8, the team announced that they have reached a deal with Mitch Kupchak to become their new general manager.[196] The Hornets finished their season with 36–46 record, missing the playoffs for the second consecutive year.[197] On April 18, the team announced that they have relieved Steve Clifford from his coaching duties.[198] On May 9, the team has reached an agreement with San Antonio Spurs assistant coach, James Borrego as their new head coach.[199]

The following season marks the 30th year of The Hornets in the NBA. On June 19, the team announced that Muggsy Bogues would join Dell Curry as the team's ambassador.[200] Charlotte was selected as the host for the 2019 NBA All-Star Game.[201]

On the eve of the 2018 NBA draft, the Hornets traded Dwight Howard in exchange for Timofey Mozgov, two second round picks (the 45th pick in 2018, and 2021 second round pick).[202] The deal was made official after the moratorium ends on 6 July.[203] Through the draft, the team acquired forward Miles Bridges (12th overall pick), Devonte Graham (34th overall pick), and the draft rights to Lithuanian forward, Arnoldas Kulboka (55th overall pick).[204] On July 23, the Hornets acquired Tony Parker from the free agency.[205]

The Hornets were 27–30 as the season reached the All-Star break, after being defeated by the Orlando Magic who were led by the Hornets' former coach, Steve Clifford.[206] Kemba Walker was announced as the starter for the 2019 NBA All-Star Game, becoming the third Hornets player to start the All-Star Game, along with Larry Johnson (1993), and Eddie Jones (2000).[207] On the final game of the season, the Hornets needed to defeat Orlando Magic and for the New York Knicks to defeat the Detroit Pistons (The latter were also aiming for the eighth seed). Unfortunately, the Hornets were defeated by the Magic, while the Pistons managed to edge the Knicks to claim the eighth seed, meaning that the Hornets missed the 2019 NBA playoffs, marking the third consecutive time the team missed the playoffs. This was also the first time Tony Parker missed the playoffs in his career.[208]

On June 11, Parker announced his retirement from the NBA after 18 seasons.[209]

2019–present: Post-Walker era edit

2019–20 season: Walker's departure and suspension of the season edit

The Hornets acquired forwards P. J. Washington (12th pick), Cody Martin (36th pick), and Jalen McDaniels (52nd pick) from the 2019 NBA draft.[210][211][212] On July 6, Walker was traded along a future second round pick to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Terry Rozier and a future second round pick through a sign-and-trade agreement, marking the end of Walker's tenure.[213]

The new season started with a win over Chicago Bulls on October 23, with new draftee Washington scoring 27 points in his NBA debut.[214] The team suffered an eight game losing streak from January 6 until January 24, which includes the NBA game at Paris against Milwaukee Bucks.[215]

On March 11, the NBA announced the suspension of the season in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.[216][217] The Hornets were 23–42 when the season was officially suspended.[218] The Hornets were among eight teams that were not invited to play in the 2020 NBA Bubble, after owner Michael Jordan reportedly stating that player safety should be the priority and that there were no reason for the lottery teams to continue playing.[219][220] The Hornets (along with the other uninvited teams) however, are allowed to hold voluntary workouts with campus settings.[221][222][223]

2020–present: LaMelo Ball era edit

With the 3rd pick of the 2020 NBA draft, the Hornets select guard LaMelo Ball. Ball previously played with two high schools in the United States: Chino Hills, and Spire Academy, before stints with Lithuanian League team, BC Prienai and Australian League team, Illawarra Hawks before declaring for the NBA draft.[224] In the same draft, the Hornets also selected Duke center Vernon Carey Jr. (32nd pick) and College of Charleston guard Grant Riller (56th pick), whilst acquiring Nick Richards from the Pelicans.[225][226] On November 29, the Hornets waived Nicolas Batum's $27.1 million contract for 2020-21 season.[227] On the same day, the team officially acquired forward Gordon Hayward, 2023 and 2024 second-round draft picks from Boston Celtics, through a sign-and-trade deal, while the Hornets sent Celtics their conditional 2022 second-round draft pick.[228] The following day, the team officially signed Ball.[229]

The Hornets were defeated by the Cavaliers in the first match with new draftee Ball going scoreless on his debut.[230] Three days later, the Hornets were defeated at home by the Thunder with the scoreline of 109-107 after Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored the tie-breaking jumper with only 1.4 seconds left.[231]

In the 2022–23 NBA season, the Hornets faced numerous injuries across their team, resulting in a disappointing season with a 27–55 record, ranking as the fourth lowest in the league. Despite this, Mark Williams showed great promise.

Their subpar performance led to them securing the second overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft, which they used to draft Brandon Miller.

On June 16, 2023, Michael Jordan declared his intention to sell his majority share in the team to a consortium led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall. The deal, valued at $3 billion, received NBA approval on July 23, 2023.[232]

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May 08, 2024
history, charlotte, hornets, this, article, needs, updated, please, help, update, this, article, reflect, recent, events, newly, available, information, march, 2021, history, national, basketball, association, charlotte, hornets, dates, 1985, when, founder, ge. This article needs to be updated Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information March 2021 The history of the National Basketball Association s Charlotte Hornets dates to 1985 when founder George Shinn first thought of bringing professional basketball to Charlotte North Carolina The Hornets commenced play as an expansion team in 1988 After fourteen seasons under its original ownership the franchise suspended operations in 2002 when Shinn transferred the basketball organization under his control to a new franchise in New Orleans The Charlotte franchise was subsequently acquired reactivated and renamed the Bobcats by Robert L Johnson After restocking its roster through their second expansion draft the team resumed play in 2004 Johnson sold controlling interest to Hall of Fame legend and North Carolinian native Michael Jordan in 2010 Jordan who restored the club s original name in 2014 sold the team to group led by Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin in 2023 The franchise has reached the postseason twelve times and made ten playoff appearances although as of 2024 they are the oldest club in all of North American major professional sports to have never won a division championship Contents 1 1988 2002 The Original Charlotte Hornets 1 1 1985 1988 The NBA comes to Charlotte 1 2 1988 1992 Early seasons 1 3 1992 1995 Larry Johnson and Alonzo Mourning era 1 3 1 1991 92 season Drafting Larry Johnson 1 3 2 1992 1994 Drafting Alonzo Mourning and first playoff appearance 1 4 1995 1998 Glen Rice era 1 5 1998 2002 Final years of the original Hornets 1 5 1 2002 2003 relocation to New Orleans 2 2004 2014 Charlotte Bobcats 2 1 2003 Establishing the Bobcats 2 2 2004 2008 The beginning of the Bobcats 2 3 2008 2010 Larry Brown era 2 4 2009 2012 Playoffs new ownership and struggles 2 4 1 2011 2019 Kemba Walker era 2 5 2012 2014 Final years as the Bobcats 3 2014 present Return of the Hornets 3 1 2014 15 season Return of the Hornets and the birth of Buzz City 3 2 2015 2017 Return to the playoffs and struggles 3 3 2017 2019 The final years of Kemba Walker era 3 4 2019 present Post Walker era 3 4 1 2019 20 season Walker s departure and suspension of the season 3 4 2 2020 present LaMelo Ball era 4 References1988 2002 The Original Charlotte Hornets edit1985 1988 The NBA comes to Charlotte edit In 1985 the NBA with 23 teams was planning to expand by four teams by the 1988 89 season George Shinn an entrepreneur from Kannapolis North Carolina wanted to bring an NBA team to the Charlotte area and he assembled a group of prominent local businessmen to head the prospective franchise The Charlotte area had long been a hotbed for college basketball The Atlantic Coast Conference s four North Carolina teams had very large and very loyal fan bases in the region as did local teams UNC Charlotte Davidson and Johnson C Smith Charlotte was also one of the fastest growing cities in the United States and was previously one of the three in state regional homes to the American Basketball Association s Carolina Cougars Some critics doubted that Charlotte then mostly known for banking could support an NBA team one Sacramento Bee columnist joked The only franchise Charlotte is going to get is one with Golden Arches 1 However Shinn s ace in the hole was the Charlotte Coliseum a state of the art arena under construction that would seat almost 24 000 spectators the largest basketball specific arena to serve as a full time home for an NBA team On April 5 1987 NBA Commissioner David Stern called Shinn to award the NBA s 24th franchise to begin play in 1988 Franchises were also granted to Miami Minneapolis Saint Paul and Orlando 2 Playing heavily on the area s support of college basketball the new team ran billboards in the area saying Bringing the NBA to Basketball Country Originally the team was intended to be named the Charlotte Spirit but a name the team contest yielded Hornets as the winning choice That name was derived from the city s fierce resistance to British occupation during the Revolutionary War which prompted the British commander Lord Cornwallis to refer to it as a veritable hornet s nest of rebellion 3 4 The name had been used for previous Charlotte sports teams including a minor league baseball team from 1901 to 1972 and a World Football League team that played there from 1974 to 1975 In addition the Charlotte 49ers and Davidson Wildcats of the NCAA play annually for the Hornets Nest Trophy The team received attention when it chose teal as its primary color setting off a sports fashion craze in the late 1980s and early 1990s with many pro and amateur clubs soon following with teal in their color schemes The team s uniforms were designed by international designer and North Carolina native Alexander Julian and featured a first for NBA uniforms pinstripes 5 Similar designs by the Orlando Magic Toronto Raptors Houston Rockets Chicago Bulls and Indiana Pacers followed soon after Shinn hired Carl Scheer a longtime NBA executive as the team s first general manager 6 Scheer sought a roster of veteran players hoping to put together a competitive team as soon as possible with a goal of making the playoffs in five years Former college coach and veteran NBA assistant Dick Harter was hired as the team s first head coach In 1988 the Hornets and the Miami Heat were part of the 1988 NBA Expansion Draft Unlike many expansion franchises that invest in the future with a team composed entirely of young players Charlotte stocked its inaugural roster with several veterans in hopes of putting a competitive lineup on the court right away 7 The team also had three draft picks at the 1988 NBA draft 8 1988 1992 Early seasons edit nbsp Muggsy Bogues pictured here with Wake Forest the shortest player in NBA history played for the Hornets from 1988 until 1997 In their inaugural season the Hornets were led by ex Pistons guard Kelly Tripucka who provided instant offense and was Charlotte s top scorer for the franchise s first two seasons Other notable players included sharpshooting rookie and first draft selection Rex Chapman a long distance scoring threat and floor general Muggsy Bogues the shortest player in NBA history at 5 3 The Hornets first NBA game took place on November 4 1988 at the Charlotte Coliseum and was a 133 93 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers 9 The opening night lineup included Tripucka Kurt Rambis Dave Hoppen Robert Reid and Rickey Green Four days later the team notched their first victory over the Los Angeles Clippers 117 105 10 On December 14 in a win over the Indiana Pacers Tripucka scored 40 points Tripucka would score 40 points twice more that season On December 23 1988 the Hornets really gave their fans something to cheer about beating Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls 103 101 at the buzzer in Jordan s professional debut in North Carolina 11 Muggsy Bogues set a club record on April 23 handing out 19 assists in a game against the Boston Celtics The Hornets finished their inaugural season with a record of 20 wins and 62 losses 12 Despite concerns that the Coliseum was too big the Hornets were a runaway hit in their first season leading the NBA in attendance a feat they would achieve seven more times in Charlotte Eventually the Hornets would sell out 364 consecutive games almost nine consecutive seasons 13 The Hornets second season was a struggle from start to finish The team lost their first five games before defeating the Orlando Magic in the first meeting between the two franchises Members of the team rebelled against Dick Harter s defense oriented style and he was replaced mid season by assistant Gene Littles following a dismal 8 32 start Despite the change the team continued to struggle during the second half suffering through a 3 31 stretch from January through March In the end the team took a step backwards finishing the season with a disappointing 19 63 record one game worse than their previous season 14 In the 1990 NBA draft the Hornets selected guard Kendall Gill with the 5th overall pick 15 The team showed improvement during the 1990 91 season They won eight of their first 15 games including a 120 105 victory over the Washington Bullets 16 However the team went cold losing their next 11 games and falling to 8 18 The Hornets who hosted the 1991 NBA All Star Game finished their third season with a 26 56 record 17 Despite the team s seven game improvement over the previous season Gene Littles was fired and replaced by general manager Allan Bristow 18 1992 1995 Larry Johnson and Alonzo Mourning era edit 1991 92 season Drafting Larry Johnson edit With the first pick in the 1991 NBA draft the Hornets drafted power forward Larry Johnson from the University of Nevada Las Vegas 19 Johnson had an impact season finishing among the league leaders in points and rebounds and winning the 1992 NBA Rookie of the Year Award 20 Additionally Guard Kendall Gill led the club in scoring averaging over 20 points per game 21 The team stayed in contention for a playoff spot until March but in the end they finished the season with a record of 31 51 22 Despite continuing to improve the Hornets failed to qualify for the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season 1992 1994 Drafting Alonzo Mourning and first playoff appearance edit The Hornets were in the lottery again in 1992 and won the second overall pick in the draft using it to select Georgetown center Alonzo Mourning 23 The Hornets now had two 20 10 threats in Johnson and Mourning who with Kendall Gill formed perhaps the league s top young trio The team finished their fifth season at 44 38 their first ever winning record and good enough for the first playoff berth in franchise history 24 Finishing fifth in the Eastern Conference the Hornets upset the Boston Celtics in the first round with Mourning winning the series with a 20 footer in game four 25 However the Hornets lacked the experience and depth to defeat the New York Knicks falling in five games in the second round 26 The Hornets finished the 1993 94 season with a 41 41 record narrowly missing the playoffs 27 Despite injuries to both Johnson and Mourning the two led the team in points per game 28 The following season the Hornets finished the regular season with 50 wins and 32 losses and returned to the playoffs 29 Johnson and Mourning again led the team in points per game while also leading the club in rebounding 30 However Charlotte was bounced from the playoffs in the first round falling to the Chicago Bulls in four games 31 1995 1998 Glen Rice era edit nbsp Glen Rice The Johnson Mourning era came to an end as the Hornets traded Mourning to the Miami Heat for forward Glen Rice center Matt Geiger and guard Khalid Reeves 32 Glen Rice would make an immediate impact after joining the Hornets leading the team in scoring and points per game during the 1995 96 season 33 While Rice and Johnson provided high powered scoring Geiger tied with Johnson for the team lead in rebounds and All Star guard Kenny Anderson ran the point for the injured Muggsy Bogues The Hornets were competitive but failed to qualify for the playoffs during the season again finishing with a 41 41 record 34 Bristow resigned at the end of the season and was replaced by NBA legend Dave Cowens 35 The 1996 off season was again marked by vast changes Anderson declined to re sign Johnson was shipped to the Knicks for power forward Anthony Mason and the team made a trade on draft day 1996 They acquired center Vlade Divac from the Los Angeles Lakers for the rights to Kobe Bryant who the Hornets picked 13th in the draft 36 37 The new look Hornets were successful with Divac and Geiger providing the center combination Mason averaging a double double Bogues back at the point and Rice having the finest season of his career The team achieved the best season in its history at the time finishing with 54 victories compared to only 28 losses and making it back to the playoffs 38 Rice finishing third in the league in scoring earning all NBA second team honors and was also the All Star Game MVP setting several scoring records 39 Despite the success during the regular season the Hornets went down rather meekly to the Knicks in three straight games 40 The 1997 98 season was also successful Muggsy Bogues was traded two games into the season and the team picked up point guard David Wesley and shooting guard Bobby Phills 41 42 43 With Wesley Phills Rice Mason and Divac the Hornets romped through the regular season finishing with a 51 31 record 44 Rice had another good season as he finished sixth in league scoring and earned all NBA third team honors 45 46 The Hornets made it to back to back playoffs for the first time in franchise history and advanced to the second round only to again be stopped by the Bulls 47 48 1998 2002 Final years of the original Hornets edit The 1998 99 season was turbulent The season didn t start until February as the lockout shortened the regular season to only 50 games 49 Glen Rice was traded to the Lakers for Eddie Jones and Elden Campbell 50 and Dave Cowens resigned midway through the season with the highest winning percentage among Hornets head coaches 51 He was replaced by former Celtics teammate Paul Silas who became the franchise s fifth head coach The team finished the season with a 26 24 record but failed to qualify for the playoffs 52 The 1999 2000 season saw a return to prominence with the addition of point guard Baron Davis the third overall draft pick 53 The Hornets tore through much of the season but tragedy struck on January 12 2000 when fan favorite and top reserve Bobby Phills was killed in an automobile accident 54 The Hornets retired his No 13 on February 9 2000 The jersey would be re hang again when the Hornets returned to Charlotte 55 After finishing with a 49 33 record 56 the team returned to the playoffs where they lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round 57 The season however was overshadowed by events off the court The team s popularity had begun to sag due to fan discontent with owner George Shinn s personnel moves he had reportedly traded Mourning and other stars out of an unwillingness to pay market value Additionally Michael Jordan a North Carolina native began negotiations to become part owner but talks collapsed when Shinn refused to grant Jordan control over basketball operations 58 Because of this season attendance dropped to eleventh in the league In the 2000 01 season with the additions of Jamal Mashburn and P J Brown 59 the Hornets managed to return to the playoffs finishing with a 46 36 record 60 While they upset the third seeded Heat in the first round and made it to the conference semifinals for the third time in franchise history 61 they lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in seven games 62 Despite continuing to play well their popularity continued to fall with the team finishing 21st in the league in attendance The Hornets returned to the playoffs the following season finishing the regular season at 44 38 63 After defeating the Orlando Magic in the first round 64 they were upended by the New Jersey Nets in five games in the Conference Semifinals 65 The team finished twenty ninth last in the league in attendance a stark contrast to their earlier years in Charlotte Before the Hornets were eliminated from the playoffs the NBA approved a deal for the team to move to New Orleans following the season 66 2002 2003 relocation to New Orleans edit Many attributed the Hornets lapse in popularity during the late 1990s and early 2000s to the team s owner George Shinn who was slowly becoming hated by the fans 67 In 1997 a Charlotte woman claimed that Shinn had raped her and the subsequent trial severely tarnished his reputation 68 The consensus was that while Charlotte was as basketball crazy as ever fans took out their anger at Shinn on the team Shinn was also discontented with the Charlotte Coliseum which although considered state of the art when it opened in 1988 had a limited number of luxury boxes 69 On March 26 2001 both the Hornets and the Vancouver Grizzlies applied for relocation to Memphis Tennessee 70 which was ultimately won by the Grizzlies Shinn issued an ultimatum unless the city built a new arena at no cost to him the Hornets would leave town The city initially refused leading Shinn to consider moving the team to either Norfolk Louisville or St Louis 71 72 Of the cities in the running only St Louis had an NBA ready arena Savvis Center now known as the Enterprise Center already in place and was a larger media market than Charlotte at the time also it was the only one of the four to have an previously had hosted an NBA franchise the St Louis Hawks who moved to Atlanta in 1968 However Savvis Center was eventually ruled out in large part because it already hosted a National Hockey League team whose primary tenants the St Louis Blues were guaranteed priority for scheduling even if an NBA team moved there Also at the time St Louis already had teams in both of the other two Big Four major professional sports leagues the market was smaller than any other at the time with teams in all four except for Denver which has proven able to support four teams due to its relative isolation from other major sports markets Finally a new arena in Uptown which would eventually become the Charlotte Bobcats Arena later to become Time Warner Cable Arena and now known as the Spectrum Center was included in a non binding referendum for a larger arts related package and Shinn withdrew his application to move the team Polls showed the referendum on its way to passage However just days before the referendum Mayor Pat McCrory vetoed a living wage ordinance The veto prompted many of the city s black ministers to oppose the referendum They felt it was immoral for the city to build a new arena when city employees weren t paid enough to make a living 73 After the referendum failed city leaders devised a plan to build a new arena that did not require voter support but made it known that they would not consider building it unless Shinn sold the team While even the NBA acknowledged that Shinn had alienated fans league officials felt such a demand would anger other owners as it could set a precedent 74 The city council refused to remove the statement leading the Hornets to request a move to New Orleans a move which would eventually return pro basketball to the city after the Jazz moved to Salt Lake City in 1979 The NBA approved the move and as part of the deal as well as to avoid a Browns like lawsuit the NBA promised that Charlotte would get a new expansion franchise although unlike the arrangement agreed to in 1996 by the NFL for Cleveland the NBA also agreed at the time to allow Shinn to relocate the extant Hornets franchise and history to New Orleans 2004 2014 Charlotte Bobcats edit2003 Establishing the Bobcats edit Long before the New Orleans relocation the then 29 team NBA had been seriously considering adding another franchise in order to balance its divisions and conferences The league soon made it known it would be receptive to placing that team in Charlotte for the 2004 05 season if an arena deal could be reached 75 Several ownership groups including one led by former Boston Celtics star Larry Bird made bids for the franchise 76 On December 18 2002 a group led by Black Entertainment Television founder Robert L Johnson was awarded the franchise 77 with Johnson becoming the first African American majority owner in major U S professional sports 78 The rapper Nelly became a minority owner 79 In June 2003 the team was named the Bobcats The Charlotte Regional Sports Commission Help Name The Team effort drew over 1 250 suggestions The three finalists were Bobcats Dragons and the eventual winner Flight referencing North Carolina s First in Flight status due to the Wright Flyer as well as the state s military bases But Flight was eventually discarded by Johnson and the team being considered too abstract and reminiscent of the then current Iraq War aerial strikes 80 During the summer of 2003 at a street festival crowd of 7 000 fans the franchise unveiled Bobcats as the team name 81 The bobcat according to the North Carolina Wildlife Commission is an athletic fierce predator indigenous to the Carolinas 82 Since Charlotte was already home to the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League designer Chris Weiller created the team logo to alay confusion or close comparison 80 There was suspicion that owner Robert Bob Johnson chose Bobcats as a play on his name 83 84 The Bobcats hired Bernie Bickerstaff as the first head coach and general manager 85 A new arena to host the Bobcats at uptown Charlotte began construction in July 2003 and the team played its home games at the Coliseum until the new building was ready After failed attempts at the ballot box to force the team to fully fund the arena city politicians implemented a hotel and leisure tax in Charlotte to help pay for it 86 87 2004 2008 The beginning of the Bobcats edit The Bobcats held their expansion draft on June 22 2004 picking up youngsters Gerald Wallace Primoz Brezec and Jason Kapono They also drafted talented European players Predrag Drobnjak Sasha Pavlovic and Zaza Pachulia however they would be cut before the season opener 88 Shortly after they traded with the Los Angeles Clippers to acquire the second pick in the 2004 NBA draft which they used to select Emeka Okafor a center from Connecticut The Bobcats first game of the 2004 05 season took place on November 4 at the Charlotte Coliseum losing 103 96 to the Washington Wizards 89 Two days later they won their first game in franchise history over the Orlando Magic 111 100 90 On December 14 the Bobcats beat the New Orleans Hornets 94 93 in overtime in the Hornets first game in Charlotte after their move to New Orleans 91 However the Bobcats mostly struggled during their inaugural season finishing with a record of 18 64 never winning more than two games in a row 92 Emeka Okafor performed well winning the 2004 05 NBA Rookie of the Year Award 93 In the 2005 NBA draft the Bobcats drafted Raymond Felton and Sean May from North Carolina 94 With them in addition to Okafor and Wallace the team hoped to build a solid foundation for future success In their second season the Bobcats opened the new Charlotte Bobcats Arena with an overtime victory over the Boston Celtics 95 Despite struggling again for most of the year they managed to close out the season with four straight wins to finish with a record of 26 56 an eight game improvement over their inaugural season 96 After the season the Bobcats announced that NBA legend and North Carolina native Michael Jordan had bought a minority stake in the team becoming the second largest shareholder As part of the deal he became head of basketball operations Though Bickerstaff remained general manager Jordan had the final say on all basketball matters 97 The Bobcats showed some improvement during the 2006 07 season with a playoff hopeful record of 22 33 by late February 2007 However the team went through an eight game losing streak and dropped their record to 22 41 by early March 2007 Following the slump Michael Jordan announced that head coach Bernie Bickerstaff would not return the following season but would finish coaching the current season 98 The Bobcats won 11 of their last 19 games of Bickerstaff s tenure to finish their third season with a 33 49 record 99 In three seasons with the Bobcats Bickerstaff finished with an overall record of 77 169 Front office and coaching were key focuses for the Bobcats during the 2007 offseason Rod Higgins was hired as general manager 100 and Sam Vincent was hired as the second head coach 101 Phil Ford was added to the coaching staff over the summer 102 and another position was filled when Buzz Peterson was hired from Coastal Carolina University to become director of player personnel 103 In the 2007 NBA draft Brandan Wright was selected by the Bobcats with the eighth pick then traded to Golden State in a deal that sent Jason Richardson to Charlotte 104 The Bobcats were unable to capitalize on offseason moves finishing the 2007 08 season with a disappointing 32 50 record 105 The team which had felt confident the season would end with its first playoff berth struggled amid rumors of players clashing with the coach 106 Only lasting one year in which he struggled with personnel decisions Vincent was fired on April 26 2008 107 2008 2010 Larry Brown era edit On April 29 2008 the Bobcats hired Basketball Hall of Famer Larry Brown as the third head coach in franchise history 108 With the ninth selection of the 2008 NBA draft the Bobcats selected D J Augustin from Texas 109 On December 10 2008 a little over a month into the season the Bobcats traded their leading scorer Jason Richardson along with Jared Dudley to Phoenix in exchange for Boris Diaw and Raja Bell 110 The trade turned out to be quite successful as the team came very close to reaching the franchise s first playoff berth during the 2008 09 season but finished four games out of eighth place with a team record of 35 wins and 47 losses 111 Team members voiced frustration at management for hosting the Charlotte Jumper Classic an equestrian event at the end of the season 112 The scheduling conflict forced the Bobcats to play their final four games on the road virtually ending their playoff hopes Following the season Robert L Johnson announced he was putting the team up for sale 113 2009 2012 Playoffs new ownership and struggles edit nbsp Jordan became the majority owner of the Bobcats franchise in 2010 During the offseason Gerald Henderson from Duke was chosen by the Bobcats with the 12th pick in the 2009 NBA draft 114 They traded Emeka Okafor for New Orleans Hornets center Tyson Chandler and acquired Stephen Jackson and Acie Law from the Golden State Warriors 115 On February 27 2010 Robert Johnson announced the sale of the team to Michael Jordan making him the first former NBA player to become majority owner of a franchise 116 On April 9 2010 the Bobcats clinched their first playoff berth with an exciting 104 103 road win over the New Orleans Hornets 117 finishing the 2009 10 season at 44 38 the team s first winning record 118 Gerald Wallace was a huge factor in the run to the playoffs as he became the first Bobcats player selected as an NBA All Star 119 However in the first round of the playoffs the Bobcats were swept by the Orlando Magic quickly ending their season 120 2011 2019 Kemba Walker era edit nbsp The Hornets drafted Kemba Walker from UConn with the ninth pick of the 2011 NBA draft The Bobcats began the 2010 11 season with high hopes following the previous season s success Despite the departures of key players Raymond Felton and Tyson Chandler the Bobcats started their season hoping to once again make the playoffs However they struggled early and on December 22 2010 following a dismal 9 19 start Michael Jordan announced that Larry Brown had stepped down as head coach 121 That same day veteran coach Paul Silas returned to Charlotte for the first time since 2001 122 On February 24 2011 at the NBA trade deadline the Bobcats moved to clear salary cap space by sending former all star forward Gerald Wallace to the Portland Trail Blazers for two first round draft picks Joel Przybilla Sean Marks and Dante Cunningham 123 They also sent veteran center Nazr Mohammed to the Oklahoma City Thunder for D J White and Morris Peterson 124 Going down the stretch the injuries to Stephen Jackson and Tyrus Thomas derailed any chances of Charlotte trying to catch the Indiana Pacers who swept them 4 0 in the regular season to secure the eighth spot in the east In the end the Bobcats finished the season with a 34 48 record finishing 25 29 under Paul Silas 125 On June 13 2011 the Bobcats hired former Portland Trail Blazers general manager Rich Cho for their own GM and promoted Rod Higgins to president of basketball operations 126 On the day of the 2011 NBA draft the Bobcats sent Stephen Jackson Shaun Livingston and the 19th overall pick to the Milwaukee Bucks In return the Bobcats received former Duke star Corey Maggette and the 7th overall pick They used that pick to draft forward Bismack Biyombo and then drafted Kemba Walker the NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player with the 9th pick in the draft 127 They also traded their 2013 second round draft pick to the Thunder for 7 footer Byron Mullens and signed sharpshooter Reggie Williams in free agency 128 The Bobcats started the 2011 12 season with a close 96 95 win against Stephen Jackson and the Milwaukee Bucks in their home opener but wins would be scarce after that 129 In the lockout shortened season the Bobcats struggled and posted an NBA worst record of 7 59 losing the last 23 games of the season In a nationally televised game against the New York Knicks the Bobcats recorded yet another loss as their win rate dropped to 0 106 setting the record for the worst season by an NBA team because the season was shortened by the lockout the 1972 73 Philadelphia 76ers kept the record for most losses in a season with 73 On April 30 2012 the Bobcats announced that Silas would not return to the team for the 2012 13 season St John s assistant Mike Dunlap was named his successor 130 Despite having the best chance of winning the draft lottery the Bobcats did not get the first pick In the 2012 NBA draft the Bobcats selected Michael Kidd Gilchrist with the second overall pick 131 They also selected Jeffery Taylor with the thirty first pick 132 They added Ben Gordon Ramon Sessions and Brendan Haywood 133 The Bobcats first game was against the Indiana Pacers and they won 90 89 with a heated last minute battle snapping their 23 game losing streak 134 On November 13 2012 the Bobcats traded guard Matt Carroll to the New Orleans Hornets for power forward Hakim Warrick 135 The team seemed to rebound with a 7 5 start to the season in which 6 of the 7 wins were by 4 points or less However they promptly went on an 18 game losing streak from which they never recovered snapping the streak in a victory at Chicago on New Year s Eve 136 They finished 21 61 the second worst record in the league 137 On April 23 2013 Dunlap was fired reportedly because the players were turned off by his heavy handed coaching style Dunlap would be replaced by former Los Angeles Lakers assistant head coach Steve Clifford 138 2012 2014 Final years as the Bobcats edit On May 21 2013 Jordan announced the franchise had applied to change its name to the Charlotte Hornets for the 2014 15 NBA season pending a majority vote by the NBA Board of Governors at a meeting in Las Vegas on July 18 2013 139 Deputy Commissioner and COO Adam Silver had previously said it could take 18 months but the fact that the league owned the rights to the Hornets name could speed up the process The New Orleans Hornets had recently changed their name to the New Orleans Pelicans for the 2013 14 NBA season 140 On July 18 2013 the NBA unanimously approved the Charlotte Bobcats to reclaim the Hornets name at the conclusion of the 2013 14 season 141 During the 2013 NBA draft the Bobcats selected power forward center Cody Zeller with the 4th overall pick 142 The Bobcats would also get former Utah Jazz player Al Jefferson during the free agency period 143 On November 22 in a widely expected move the Bobcats announced they would adopt a modified version of the original Hornets teal purple white palette with black gray and light blue as accents 144 145 The team unveiled its future logo during halftime of their December 21 game against the Utah Jazz in a ceremony featuring former Hornets players Dell Curry now the Bobcats television color commentator Muggsy Bogues Rex Chapman and Kelly Tripucka 146 The team then started a campaign to hype the Hornets return entitled Buzz City 147 On January 16 2014 the Bobcats revealed new Charlotte Hornets logo shirts hats and gear 148 On February 20 2014 the Bucks traded Gary Neal and Luke Ridnour to the Bobcats for Ramon Sessions and Jeff Adrien 149 The Bobcats clinched a playoff berth for the second time in franchise history on April 5 2014 when they won a road game against the Cleveland Cavaliers 150 On April 10 2014 the Bobcats signed forward DJ White for the rest of the season 151 The Bobcats finished the 2013 14 regular season at 43 39 their second highest number of wins in a season 152 The Bobcats were swept by defending champions Miami Heat in the first round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs 153 The fourth game was also the last one as the Charlotte Bobcats 2014 present Return of the Hornets edit2014 15 season Return of the Hornets and the birth of Buzz City edit On May 20 2014 the Bobcats became the second incarnation of the Charlotte Hornets At a press conference team officials also announced that the renamed Hornets reclaimed the history and records of the 1988 2002 Hornets while all of the Hornets records during their time in New Orleans from 2002 to 2013 remained with the Pelicans 154 Charlotte had already been using footage of the original Hornets as part of the Buzz City campaign To summarize after the 2002 season the original Hornets moved to New Orleans In 2004 Charlotte was granted a new franchise the Bobcats After the 2013 14 season the Bobcats changed their name back to the Hornets and reclaimed the history and records of the 1988 2002 Hornets As a result the Hornets are now deemed as having suspended operations from 2002 to 2004 while the Pelicans are deemed as having joined the league in 2002 as an expansion team In the 2014 NBA draft the Hornets had the No 9 pick from a trade with the Detroit Pistons which they used to select Noah Vonleh from Indiana 155 In the same draft they acquired UConn Husky Shabazz Napier 24th overall pick Dwight Powell from Stanford and Semaj Christon from Xavier in the second round Napier would later be traded to the Miami Heat for P J Hairston from the Texas Legends of the NBA Development League formerly from UNC the rights to the 55th pick Semaj Christon and their 2019 second round pick and cash considerations 156 Powell and Brendan Haywood were traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Scotty Hopson and cash considerations 157 Christon was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder for cash considerations 158 The Hornets then traded Hopson to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for cash considerations 159 During the 2014 first year of free agency as the renamed Hornets the Hornets signed former Indiana Pacers shooting guard Lance Stephenson for three years at 27 million with a team option in the third year 160 The Hornets also signed former Utah Jazz and Atlanta Hawks forward Marvin Williams to a two year 14 million contract 161 They later added former New Orleans Pelicans guard Brian Roberts who became the first player in the modern day Hornets era to play for both the New Orleans Hornets and the Charlotte Hornets 162 Charlotte finished the 2014 15 season with a 33 49 record 163 2015 2017 Return to the playoffs and struggles edit After the stressful first season as the reborn Hornets the Hornets signed and traded for promising young NBA players such as Nicolas Batum former Knicks star Jeremy Lin Jeremy Lamb Tyler Hansbrough Spencer Hawes and undrafted rookie Aaron Harrison 164 165 166 167 168 169 In the 2015 NBA draft the Hornets selected Wisconsin star Frank Kaminsky with the 9th pick 170 Through the first 16 games of the 2015 16 season the Hornets were 9 7 including a 7 game home winning streak This marked first time they were multiple games above 500 since the 2013 season After Feb 1 the Hornets went 25 9 in the regular season which became the third best winning percentage 736 in that time span with only the Warriors and Spurs having better marks On April 2 the Hornets clinched a playoff spot The Hornets finished 48 34 3rd overall in the division with their most regular season victories since the 1999 00 season 171 Charlotte earned the No 6 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs where they played No 3 seed Miami in the first round The Heat cruised by Charlotte in the first two games however the Hornets won game 3 96 80 172 marking the franchise s first playoff victory since 2002 Charlotte won the next two games including a close game 5 in Miami but lost a crucial game 6 at home Miami promptly beat the Hornets in game 7 ending their 2015 16 season 173 The following year s off season Jeremy Lin would go to sign with the Brooklyn Nets Al Jefferson to the Indiana Pacers and Courtney Lee to the New York Knicks 174 175 176 The Hornets were able to re sign Nicolas Batum and Marvin Williams as well as bring in former All star Roy Hibbert Marco Belinelli and Ramon Sessions for a second stint 177 178 179 180 Hibbert would be traded mid season to the Milwaukee Bucks with Spencer Hawes for center Miles Plumlee 181 Kemba Walker was named an Eastern Conference All star as a reserve the first all star game of his career 182 The Hornets would finish the season with a 36 46 record missing the playoffs 183 2017 2019 The final years of Kemba Walker era edit nbsp Walker became the Hornets all time leading scorer after surpassing Dell Curry The Hornets had a successful off season by sending Miles Plumlee Marco Belinelli and their 41st pick to Atlanta in exchange for Dwight Howard and Atlanta s 31st pick 184 In the 2017 NBA draft the Hornets drafted Malik Monk of Kentucky with their 11th pick Former Duke guard Frank Jackson was originally drafted with their 31st pick before being traded to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for Dwayne Bacon 40th overall pick and cash considerations 185 On July 7 the team signed the 2014 Rookie of the year Michael Carter Williams 186 The Hornets started the season with a 90 102 defeat at the hands of Detroit Pistons 187 The Hornets went on to a 3 game winning streak by victories over Orlando Magic Memphis Grizzlies and the Milwaukee Bucks 188 However the Hornets went on to lose the next six matches they managed to stop the losing streak with victory over Los Angeles Clippers 189 On 4 February Walker broke the franchise record for 3 pointers made with 930 surpassing the previous record holder Dell Curry 190 On 7 February Hornets traded Johnny O Bryant III and two future second round picks to the New York Knicks in exchange for Willy Hernangomez 191 On February 8 Walker made his second consecutive All star appearance by replacing the injured Kristaps Porzingis 192 The team parted ways with GM Rich Cho on February 20 he was replaced by interim general manager Buzz Peterson 193 194 On March 28 Walker surpassed Dell Curry 9 839 points as the franchise s career scoring leader despite the loss against Cleveland Cavaliers 195 On April 8 the team announced that they have reached a deal with Mitch Kupchak to become their new general manager 196 The Hornets finished their season with 36 46 record missing the playoffs for the second consecutive year 197 On April 18 the team announced that they have relieved Steve Clifford from his coaching duties 198 On May 9 the team has reached an agreement with San Antonio Spurs assistant coach James Borrego as their new head coach 199 The following season marks the 30th year of The Hornets in the NBA On June 19 the team announced that Muggsy Bogues would join Dell Curry as the team s ambassador 200 Charlotte was selected as the host for the 2019 NBA All Star Game 201 On the eve of the 2018 NBA draft the Hornets traded Dwight Howard in exchange for Timofey Mozgov two second round picks the 45th pick in 2018 and 2021 second round pick 202 The deal was made official after the moratorium ends on 6 July 203 Through the draft the team acquired forward Miles Bridges 12th overall pick Devonte Graham 34th overall pick and the draft rights to Lithuanian forward Arnoldas Kulboka 55th overall pick 204 On July 23 the Hornets acquired Tony Parker from the free agency 205 The Hornets were 27 30 as the season reached the All Star break after being defeated by the Orlando Magic who were led by the Hornets former coach Steve Clifford 206 Kemba Walker was announced as the starter for the 2019 NBA All Star Game becoming the third Hornets player to start the All Star Game along with Larry Johnson 1993 and Eddie Jones 2000 207 On the final game of the season the Hornets needed to defeat Orlando Magic and for the New York Knicks to defeat the Detroit Pistons The latter were also aiming for the eighth seed Unfortunately the Hornets were defeated by the Magic while the Pistons managed to edge the Knicks to claim the eighth seed meaning that the Hornets missed the 2019 NBA playoffs marking the third consecutive time the team missed the playoffs This was also the first time Tony Parker missed the playoffs in his career 208 On June 11 Parker announced his retirement from the NBA after 18 seasons 209 2019 present Post Walker era edit 2019 20 season Walker s departure and suspension of the season edit The Hornets acquired forwards P J Washington 12th pick Cody Martin 36th pick and Jalen McDaniels 52nd pick from the 2019 NBA draft 210 211 212 On July 6 Walker was traded along a future second round pick to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Terry Rozier and a future second round pick through a sign and trade agreement marking the end of Walker s tenure 213 The new season started with a win over Chicago Bulls on October 23 with new draftee Washington scoring 27 points in his NBA debut 214 The team suffered an eight game losing streak from January 6 until January 24 which includes the NBA game at Paris against Milwaukee Bucks 215 On March 11 the NBA announced the suspension of the season in response to the COVID 19 outbreak 216 217 The Hornets were 23 42 when the season was officially suspended 218 The Hornets were among eight teams that were not invited to play in the 2020 NBA Bubble after owner Michael Jordan reportedly stating that player safety should be the priority and that there were no reason for the lottery teams to continue playing 219 220 The Hornets along with the other uninvited teams however are allowed to hold voluntary workouts with campus settings 221 222 223 2020 present LaMelo Ball era edit This section needs to be updated Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information February 2023 With the 3rd pick of the 2020 NBA draft the Hornets select guard LaMelo Ball Ball previously played with two high schools in the United States Chino Hills and Spire Academy before stints with Lithuanian League team BC Prienai and Australian League team Illawarra Hawks before declaring for the NBA draft 224 In the same draft the Hornets also selected Duke center Vernon Carey Jr 32nd pick and College of Charleston guard Grant Riller 56th pick whilst acquiring Nick Richards from the Pelicans 225 226 On November 29 the Hornets waived Nicolas Batum s 27 1 million contract for 2020 21 season 227 On the same day the team officially acquired forward Gordon Hayward 2023 and 2024 second round draft picks from Boston Celtics through a sign and trade deal while the Hornets sent Celtics their conditional 2022 second round draft pick 228 The following day the team officially signed Ball 229 The Hornets were defeated by the Cavaliers in the first match with new draftee Ball going scoreless on his debut 230 Three days later the Hornets were defeated at home by the Thunder with the scoreline of 109 107 after Shai Gilgeous Alexander scored the tie breaking jumper with only 1 4 seconds left 231 In the 2022 23 NBA season the Hornets faced numerous injuries across their team resulting in a disappointing season with a 27 55 record ranking as the fourth lowest in the league Despite this Mark Williams showed great promise Their subpar performance led to them securing the second overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft which they used to draft Brandon Miller On June 16 2023 Michael Jordan declared his intention to sell his majority share in the team to a consortium led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall The deal valued at 3 billion received NBA approval on July 23 2023 232 References edit Montpelier James Madison University Magazine James Madison University Archived from the original on August 27 2016 Retrieved January 9 2014 Cotton Anthony April 23 1987 NBA accepts Miami Charlotte Orlando Twin Cities The Washington Post Retrieved May 3 2024 Lassiter Emily August 24 2009 Charlotte Hornets University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Libraries Retrieved January 25 2015 Posnanski Joe May 22 2013 A brief history of the Charlotte Hornets and other things NBC Sports Retrieved May 22 2013 Jones Ryan 11 February 2019 The Making of a Classic An Oral History of the OG Hornets Jerseys Slam Retrieved 8 January 2023 Wash Quinton 15 February 2019 How Early Hornets Architect Carl Scheer Left a Lasting Legacy on All Star Weekend Charlotte Hornets NBA Retrieved 22 January 2023 1988 NBA Expansion Draft Basketball Reference Retrieved 22 January 2023 1988 NBA Draft 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2014 Sources Hornets signing Brian Roberts Yahoo Sport Retrieved 8 January 2023 NBA 2014 15 Regular Season standings NBA Retrieved 8 January 2023 Blazers trade Nic Batum to Hornets for Gerald Henderson Noah Vonleh ESPN Charlotte 25 June 2015 Retrieved 9 January 2023 Source Jeremy Lin gets Hornets biannual exception of 2 years 4 3M ESPN Charlotte 9 July 2015 Retrieved 9 January 2023 Highkin Sean 25 June 2015 Thunder trade Jeremy Lamb to Hornets for Luke Ridnour NBC Sports Retrieved 9 January 2023 Hornets bringing ex Tar Heels star Tyler Hansbrough back to Carolina ESPN Charlotte 22 July 2015 Retrieved 9 January 2023 Hornets Acquire Spencer Hawes and Matt Barnes from the Los Angeles Clippers in Exchange for Lance Stephenson Charlotte Hornets NBA 15 June 2015 Retrieved 9 January 2023 Wash Quinton 14 July 2015 Hornets Sign Free Agent Guard Aaron Harrison Charlotte Hornets NBA Retrieved 9 January 2023 Price Satchel 25 June 2015 2015 NBA Draft results Frank Kaminsky picked by Charlotte Hornets SB Nation Retrieved 9 January 2023 NBA 2015 16 Regular Season Standings NBA Retrieved 9 January 2023 Hornets snap 14 year playoff drought beat Heat 96 80 NBA com April 23 2016 Archived from the original on April 24 2016 Retrieved April 23 2016 How the Heat dominated Game 7 ESPN 2 May 2016 Sources Jeremy Lin agrees to 3 year deal with Nets NBA ESPN 1 July 2016 Retrieved 9 January 2023 Pacers Sign Al Jefferson Charlotte 9 July 2016 Retrieved 9 January 2023 Sources Courtney Lee s deal with Knicks worth approximately 48M ESPN 3 July 2016 Retrieved 9 January 2023 MacMahon Tim 1 July 2016 Nicolas Batum agrees to 5 year 120M deal to stay with Hornets ESPN Retrieved 9 January 2023 AP source Hornets re sign F Marvin Williams to 4 year deal Sports Illustrated Charlotte 2 July 2016 Retrieved 9 January 2023 a href Template Cite magazine html title Template Cite magazine cite magazine a Unknown parameter agency ignored help Mutoni Marcel July 5 2016 Hornets to Reportedly Sign Roy Hibbert to One Year 5 Million Deal slamonline com Retrieved June 8 2022 Wash Quinton July 7 2016 Hornets Acquire Marco Bellinelli from Sacramento Charlotte Hornets Retrieved June 8 2022 Herbert James 2 February 2017 Grade the Trade Bucks acquire Spencer Hawes Roy Hibbert for Miles Plumlee CBS Sports Retrieved 9 January 2023 Wash Quinton 26 January 2017 Kemba Walker Named Eastern Conference All Star Charlotte Hornets NBA Retrieved 9 January 2023 NBA 2016 17 Regular Season Standings NBA Retrieved 9 January 2023 Dwight Howard heads to Hornets after one season with hometown Hawks ESPN 21 June 2017 Retrieved 9 January 2023 Pelicans sign 31st overall draft choice Frank Jackson USA Today New Orleans Associated Press 11 July 2017 Retrieved 9 January 2023 Wash Quinton 7 July 2017 Charlotte Hornets Sign Guard Michael Carter Williams Charlotte Hornets NBA Retrieved 9 January 2023 Harris led Pistons beat Hornets 102 90 in return downtown ESPN Detroit Associated Press 18 October 2017 Retrieved 9 January 2023 Walker Monk lead Hornets past Bucks 126 121 ESPN Charlotte Associated Press 1 November 2017 Retrieved 9 January 2023 Walker Hornets beat Clippers 102 87 to snap 6 game skid ESPN Charlotte Associated Press 18 November 2017 Retrieved 9 January 2023 Hornets rally from 21 down to beat Suns 115 110 ESPN Phoenix Associated Press 4 February 2018 Retrieved 9 January 2023 Wash Quinton 7 February 2018 Hornets Acquire Center Willy Hernangomez From Knicks Charlotte Hornets NBA Retrieved 9 January 2023 Wash Quinton 8 February 2018 Kemba Walker Named To Second Consecutive All Star Game Charlotte Hornets NBA Retrieved 9 January 2023 Hornets to Not Extend Contract of GM Rich Cho Charlotte Hornets NBA 20 February 2018 Retrieved 9 January 2023 Reed Steve February 20 2018 Struggling Charlotte Hornets fire general manager Rich Cho Charlotte Hornets NBA Retrieved 9 January 2023 James ties Jordan s double figures streak Cavs top Hornets ESPN Charlotte Associated Press 28 March 2018 Retrieved 9 January 2023 Helin Kurt 8 April 2018 Mitch Kupchak reaches deal to become GM of Charlotte Hornets NBC Sports Retrieved 9 January 2023 NBA 2017 18 Regular Season standings NBA Retrieved 9 January 2023 Wojnarowski Adrian 18 April 2018 Hornets fire coach Steve Clifford ESPN Retrieved 11 January 2023 Wojnarowski Adrian 9 May 2018 Hornets to hire James Borrego as head coach ESPN Retrieved 11 January 2023 Wash Quinton 19 June 2018 Hornets Announce Additional Plans For 30th Anniversary Celebration Add Spectrum As Presenting Partner Charlotte Hornets NBA Retrieved 11 January 2023 NBA announces 2019 All Star game will be held in Charlotte Los Angeles Times Associated Press 24 May 2017 Retrieved 14 January 2023 Wojnarowski Adrian 20 June 2018 Hornets agree to trade Dwight Howard to Nets ESPN Retrieved 11 January 2023 Brooklyn Nets Complete Trade With Charlotte Hornets Brooklyn Nets NBA 6 July 2018 Retrieved 11 January 2023 Hornets Acquire Draft Rights to Miles Bridges and Devonte Graham Charlotte Hornets NBA 22 June 2018 Retrieved 11 January 2023 Charlotte Hornets sign free agent Tony Parker NBA Charlotte 24 July 2018 Retrieved 14 January 2023 Magic win fifth straight end 13 game skid vs Hornets ESPN Orlando Associated Press 14 February 2019 Retrieved 14 January 2023 Kemba Walker Named Starter for 2019 NBA All Star Game Charlotte Hornets NBA 24 January 2019 Retrieved 14 January 2023 Barnett Andrew 11 April 2019 Hornets eliminated from playoff contention after season s final game WBTV Charlotte Retrieved 14 January 2023 Parker announces retirement after 18 seasons in NBA NBA 11 June 2019 Retrieved 14 January 2023 Wash Quinton 20 June 2019 Hornets Select PJ Washington With The 12th Pick In The 2019 NBA Draft Charlotte Hornets NBA Retrieved 14 January 2023 Wash Quinton 31 July 2019 Hornets Sign Second Round Draft Pick Cody Martin and Free Agent Caleb Martin Charlotte Hornets NBA Retrieved 14 January 2023 Wash Quinton 10 October 2019 Charlotte Hornets Sign Jalen McDaniels Charlotte Hornets NBA Retrieved 14 January 2023 Celtics Acquire Three Time All Star Kemba Walker Boston Celtics NBA 6 July 2019 Retrieved 8 January 2023 Hornets rookie Washington nets 27 in 126 125 win over Bulls ESPN Charlotte Associated Press 23 October 2019 Retrieved 14 January 2023 Giannis Antetokounmpo has 30 points 12 boards as Bucks roll in Paris ESPN Paris Associated Press 24 January 2020 Retrieved 14 January 2023 NBA to suspend season following Wednesday s games NBA New York 12 March 2020 Retrieved 14 January 2023 Aschburner Steve 13 March 2020 Coronavirus pandemic causes NBA to suspend season after player tests positive NBA Retrieved 14 January 2023 Hornets top Heat 109 98 as NBA shutdown looms ESPN Miami Associated Press 11 March 2020 Retrieved 14 January 2023 Davis Scott 4 June 2020 The NBA is planning to resume the season with 22 teams here are the 8 teams that didn t make the cut Insider Inc Retrieved 14 January 2023 Shams Charania ShamsCharania May 29 2020 Hornets owner Michael Jordan advocated on the call for player safety and not simply having players return for meaningless games sources said Given the NBA is prioritizing health and safety first and foremost 30 team return is unlikely Tweet via Twitter Shams Charania ShamsCharania August 19 2020 The NBA and NBPA have reached agreement for the eight franchises who were not part of Orlando restart to conduct voluntary group workouts while residing in campus settings Tweet via Twitter Quinn Sam 18 August 2020 NBA teams not invited to Disney bubble will hold voluntary workouts from campus settings per report CBS Sports Retrieved 14 January 2023 Carboni Nick 24 September 2020 Hornets create their own bubble in Charlotte WCNC Charlotte Charlotte Retrieved 14 January 2023 Quinn Sam 18 November 2020 2020 NBA Draft grade Hornets select LaMelo Ball with No 3 overall pick CBS Sports Retrieved 16 January 2023 Hornets Select LaMelo Ball Vernon Carey Jr and Grant Riller in 2020 NBA Draft Charlotte Hornets NBA 18 November 2020 Retrieved 16 January 2023 Pelicans trade Nick Richards to Hornets NBA 19 November 2020 Retrieved 18 January 2023 Hartwell Darren 29 November 2020 How Hornets Waiving Nicolas Batum Impacts Gordon Hayward Sign and Trade NBC Sports Boston Retrieved 18 January 2023 Charlotte Hornets complete sign and trade with Boston Celtics to acquire Gordon Hayward ESPN 30 November 2020 Retrieved 18 January 2023 Charlotte Hornets Sign LaMelo Ball Charlotte Hornets NBA November 30 2020 Retrieved February 8 2023 Withers Tom December 23 2020 LAMELO SCORELESS IN DEBUT CAVS OUTLAST HORNETS IN OPENER NBA Cleveland Associated Press Retrieved February 19 2023 Gilgeous Alexander jumper lifts Thunder past Hornets 109 107 ESPN Charlotte Associated Press December 26 2020 Retrieved February 19 2023 CBS Sports Retrieved July 29 2023 Maloney Jack 3 August 2023 Michael Jordan s 13 year run as NBA team owner ends per report a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link CS1 maint numeric names authors list link Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title History of the Charlotte Hornets amp oldid 1221989719, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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