Charlotte Hornets Biography: Players, Net Worth, History, Stats

The Charlotte Hornets is the NBA team which is based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Even though it can be said that this team is one of the youngest in the franchises, they have been active in the league for a long time. Also, the buzzing fanbase of this NBA team, especially due to the logo, is called ‘The Hive’. However, the nickname mentioned before is an official term for the fanbase. Sometimes, it is also referred to as the ‘The Crown Club’ in the NBA community. This team had a lot of ups and downs that shaped its history and gave them memorable players. However, the hunt for betterment led them to a playoff slump that has not ended yet.

Charlotte Hornets Profile

Charlotte Hornets History

The Hornets were founded as the Charlotte Hornets in 1988 as the expansion team. The first owner of the team was George Shinn, who gathered the business in Charlotte to get hold of an NBA team to represent the big fanbase of the locality. The early years of the team were disappointing until they got Alonzo Mourning, who joined Larry Johnson(first pick from the 1991 Draft). Kendall Gill also joined these young powerhouses to form a trio that went on to record 44–38 in the 1992-93 season. It was their first winning season since their debut in the pro basketball league. After making it to the playoffs in the 1994-95 season, Hornets front office traded Mourning to the Miami Heat for forward Glen Rice, center Matt Geiger, and guard Khalid Reeves. In the 1997-98 season, the team got Muggsy Bogues, David Wesley, and Bobby Phills.

This trio took the team to the playoffs three times straight between 1999 and 2002. Then, in 2004, the original Hornets moved to New Orleans, while the Charlotte franchise got a new name, Charlotte Bobcats. Michael Jordan, after the Bobcats' splashes of success, took over and became the first former NBA player to become the owner of a franchise. In the final years of Bobcats till 2014, the team was equipped with players like Cody Zeller, Al Jefferson, Gary Neal, and Kemba Walker(2011 Draft 9th pick). After the 2013-14 season, upon Michael Jordan's application, the team was rebranded as the Charlotte Hornets, while the New Orleans team received the name New Orleans Pelicans.

From 2014 to 2019, the Charlotte Hornets made it to the playoffs only once in 2015-16 season. In 2023, Jordan sold his majority stake to new owners Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall for $3 billion.

Charlotte Hornets Stats

To date, the Charlotte Hornets have played 35 seasons so far in the NBA. During this long journey, they have earned victory in 1,191 of their total games while losing 1588 games. So overall, in their franchise history, the team has a winning percentage of 42.9%. After making ten playoff participations during their journey, they are yet far away from an NBA title.

Even the current season is not going well for the team so far in the league since they have won 17 games and lost 50 games with a winning percentage of 25.4%. It is their worst season after 2011-12. We have curated the historical seasons of the Charlotte Hornets along with their key performers and coaches according to basketball reference archives:

Charlotte Hornets Famous Players

The Hornets have stayed away from the playoffs for a long time. However, that does not mean that the team never had the capability to get hold of powerhouse players. They had a combination of players from time to time in their young history who embossed their names on the history of the Hornets. Here are the top ones that made a greater impact on the team in the NBA:

Glen Rice

Glen was a consistent performer for the Hornets as he averaged 23.5 points and 4.4 rebounds per game while playing for the team from 1995-1999. He did not compromise according to the condition of the team at that time and made it to the All-Star three times based on his performance. That's why he was able to play 240 games for the franchise without even flinching a finger.

Larry Johnson

He was the first overall pick in the 1991 Draft class who earned the Rookie of the Year award while playing for the Hornets. Still to this day in the franchise rankings, Larry "Grandmama" Johnson ranks second in rebounds, third in free throws made, and fourth in points. With the assistance of Alonzo Mourning, Johnson led the franchise to postseason two times in 1993 and 1995. He even played with the franchise for a longer period than any other star player of his time.

Dell Curry

Dell played with the Hornets for a long period of ten seasons and even treaded along with the team to the playoffs four times. He is number two on the list of the franchise's all-time scoring leaders with his 9,839 points. Even when it comes to the number of minutes played on the floor for the team, Dell Curry stands third on the chart.

Kemba Walker

The 9th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, Walker was a walking legend for the franchise. He led the team to the playoffs two times in 2014 and 2016. He was also a 4X All-Star honoree along with franchise stat leadership in many categories. He still leads the team in the total number of points (12,009), number of field goals, three-pointers, and minutes played on the court. Walker displayed his best when he 60 points against the Philadelphia 76ers on November 7, 2018. Then, after retirement, he continued as a player enhancement coach for the team's development. His 60-point game is still the highest score dished out by a Charlotte Hornets player in a single game so far.

Charlotte Hornets Roster

The Hornets' management has not made many off-season changes to the core roster in terms of additions. The most important of them all is the trade of Nick Richards for Josh Okogie. Apart from this recruitment, they have waived most of the players like Duane Washington Jr., Marcus Garrett, Caleb McConnell, Charlie Wong, and Isaiah Wing among others. After all the changes that have been made to the team, the Charlotte Hornets roster looks something like this in the current season.

Charlotte Hornets Head Coach

The Hornets management appointed Charles Lee as the head coach of the team on May 9, 2024. Lee's coaching career started with the Atlanta Hawks, where he served from 2014 to 2018. He took the Hawks squad to three straight playoffs. The most notable of them was the 60-win 2014-2015 NBA Season. After the Hawks, he worked in the coaching department of the Milwaukee Bucks. It was a championship-winning(2020-21) stint for Lee, and he worked with them from 2018 to 2023. For the 2023-24 season, Charles was associated with the Boston Celtics, and the team won the NBA championship with a regular season record of 64 wins.

Charlotte Hornets Owner

For a long time, Michael Jordan was the majority owner of the Charlotte Hornets. But then he sold the majority stake to Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall on August 3, 2023. Jordan sold the majority stake for about $3 billion and even made an address after signing. “Through the years, the unwavering commitment, passion, and loyalty of our Hornets fans has been incredible. As I transition into a minority ownership role, I’m thrilled to be able to pass the reins to two successful, innovative and strategic leaders in Gabe and Rick,” His Airness said during the press conference. Even Rick and Gabe were excited about this new opportunity since they have a vision to take the Hornets to the “next level,” both on and off the court. The ownership of the team will rotate between these two owners. Plotkin and Schnall will serve as co-chairmen of HSE and will rotate the team’s governorship every five years. Notably, the sequence will start with Schnall.

Charlotte Hornets Net Worth

The Charlotte Hornets' valuation has seen significant growth over the years. The recent sale of the majority stake valued the franchise at approximately $3 billion. This increase reflects the team's brand strength, market dynamics, and the overall growth of the NBA.

Charlotte Hornets' net worth is estimated to be $3.3 Billion, according to Forbes. The franchise generates about $308 in revenue from the fans, of which $35M comes from the gate receipts. Overall, the team earns $38 from each fan as earnings that later add to its net worth.

Charlotte Hornets Records

Charlotte Hornets is still a young team in the NBA in comparison to other teams since they were founded in 1988 as an expansion team. However, in this short period of time, they have given two generational players who made sure that the Hornets remain a team that is competitive enough to appear in the playoffs. These players were Glen Rice and Kemba Walker. During the era of Glen Rice, the Hornets were more about making it to the playoffs and then posing a threat to teams in the early rounds.

In the later period, Kemba Walker entered the team after it transitioned from Charlotte Bobcats to Charlotte Hornets and proved himself as a powerhouse performer. That's how he earned the title of the points and assist leader for the franchise. Walker was an exceptional point guard during his stint, as he had above 35% of beyond the arc shooting percentage. Here are the records in terms of stats that the Charlotte Hornets have available as a team.

Charlotte Hornets Stadium

Currently, the stadium in which Charlotte Hornets play their home games at the Spectrum Center, Uptown Charlotte. This indoor arena was established in October 2005 by the name of Charlotte Bobcats Arena in accordance with the name of the franchise. However, after the settlement of the naming rights in 2008, it was changed to Time Warner Cable Arena. In 2016, Charter Communications took over the Time Warner Cable organization and thereafter renamed the arena the Spectrum Center.

The arena has a seating capacity of 19,077 for the NBA games. But in the case of the college basketball games, the capacity of the arena for the fans can be increased up to 20,200. It has hosted the 2019 All-Star Game along with the Democratic National Convention and mixed martial arts events like UFC.

Charlotte Hornets Championships

The Charlotte Hornets have been able to challenge the top-seeded team in the Eastern Conference through deep postseason appearances in 1992-93, 1997-98, 2000-01 and 2001-02. But they could only reach the Conference Semi-Finals in all these years. That's why an NBA Championship and lifting the Larry O'Brien trophy is still a dream for the Charlotte Hornets staff and the players. The franchise has made it to the playoffs in the NBA ten times in total so far, and the milestones during their journey can be mentioned as follows:

1992-93 Season: After their debut in the league, the Hornets made their first playoff appearance. Surprisingly, they went past the Boston Celtics through their first-ever first-round series win.

2001-02 Season: The team reached the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals again. Unfortunately, they faced the Milwaukee Bucks there and lost the series by 4-3.

2015-16 Season: In the latest era of the Charlotte Hornets after 2000, this season was the best so far for the franchise. The team ended the regular season with a 48-34 record. However, they got eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.