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Basketball / Teams
FRANCHISE

NBA franchise story

Charlotte Hornets

Charlotte's history joins the electric original Hornets, an expansion rebirth as the Bobcats, Kemba Walker's franchise records and another youth movement built around LaMelo Ball.

Every era · The defining players · Five essential games

The franchise timeline

Every era of the Charlotte Hornets.

Move through the franchise chronologically. The jerseys identify each chapter’s central cast, and every curated card opens the complete story of that era.

Historical reference: Charlotte Hornets official team history ↗
The beginning↓
01▼

Franchise era

1988–89—1994–95

01
CHAJOHNSON2Larry Johnson
CHAMOURNING33Alonzo Mourning
CHABOGUES1Muggsy Bogues

Grandmama, Zo and a city in love

The original Hornets

Charlotte became an attendance phenomenon and playoff team behind Johnson, Mourning and Bogues before the young stars were traded.

Read the era story →

Chapter 01

1988–89—1994–95

02▼

Franchise era

1995–96—2001–02

02
CHARICE41Glen Rice
CHAJONES6Eddie Jones
CHADAVIS1Baron Davis

Rice, Jones and Davis keep winning

A steady playoff team leaves

The Hornets remained competitive through multiple cores, but a damaged ownership relationship ended with relocation to New Orleans.

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Chapter 02

1995–96—2001–02

03▼

Franchise era

2004–05—2011–12

03
CHAWALLACE3Gerald Wallace
CHAJACKSON1Stephen Jackson
CHAOKAFOR50Emeka Okafor

Expansion again and a historic low

The Bobcats

The replacement franchise reached the 2010 playoffs around Wallace before a teardown produced the lockout season's 7–59 record.

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Chapter 03

2004–05—2011–12

04▼

Franchise era

2012–13—2019–20

04
CHAWALKER15Kemba Walker
CHAJEFFERSON25Al Jefferson
CHABATUM5Nicolas Batum

A beloved guard restores the name

Kemba and the Hornets return

The franchise reclaimed the Hornets identity, while Walker became its career scoring leader and led two playoff appearances.

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Chapter 04

2012–13—2019–20

05

Franchise era

2020–21—present

05
CHABALL1LaMelo Ball
CHABRIDGES0Miles Bridges
CHAMILLER24Brandon Miller

Playmaking and another rebuild

The LaMelo era

Ball's passing brought immediate excitement, but injuries and roster churn have kept Charlotte focused on assembling a durable young core.

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Chapter 05

2020–21—present

◆Present day

The essential watchlist

Five Charlotte Hornets games to start with.

Curated from the franchise’s defining eras, championship stakes and the games that still carry its story.

#01 · Eastern Conference Semifinals

Eastern ConferenceSemifinals
1993
GAME5
CHARLOTTEHORNETS
NEW YORKKNICKS
1993-05-18

Charlotte Hornets vs New York Knicks

1993-05-18

#02 · Eastern Conference Semifinals

Eastern ConferenceSemifinals
2001
GAME7
CHARLOTTEHORNETS
MILWAUKEEBUCKS
2001-05-20

Charlotte Hornets vs Milwaukee Bucks

2001-05-20

#03 · Eastern Conference First Round

Eastern ConferenceFirst Round
2010
GAME4
ORLANDOMAGIC
CHARLOTTEHORNETS
2010-04-26

Orlando Magic vs Charlotte Hornets

2010-04-26

#04 · Eastern Conference First Round

Eastern ConferenceFirst Round
2016
GAME7
CHARLOTTEHORNETS
MIAMIHEAT
2016-05-01

Charlotte Hornets vs Miami Heat

2016-05-01

#05 · Eastern Conference Semifinals

Eastern ConferenceSemifinals
1993
GAME4
NEW YORKKNICKS
CHARLOTTEHORNETS
1993-05-16

New York Knicks vs Charlotte Hornets

1993-05-16

Season history

Past seasons

36 seasons · newest first

Game archive

Charlotte Hornets games

2,940 total · loaded 10 at a time