Charlotte Hornets Name Brings Back Rich History & Prosperous Future

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May 20th is known as a historical day to any true Charlottean with a sense of history and perspective. May 20th,1775 was a landmark day for the city of Charlotte, on that day the Mecklenburg decleration of independence was signed in the city of Charlotte. It is known by many as the first declaration of the 13 colonies during the american revolution which was signed by a comittee of citizens from Mecklenburg county. A cities identity was forged and today that same city got part of its identity back when today the organization formerly known as the Charlotte Bobcats announced that they are now officially the Charlotte Hornets. The date of May 20th now has a double meaning to natives of Charlotte, North Carolina and no basketball fan in this city will ever forget this day. From the orginal Charlotte Hornets to the Charlotte Bobcats to the rejuvanation of the Charlotte Hornets again, we will cover all things Charlotte basketball in this article. From what was, what is, what never happend and what could happen.

1988 was the year when the NBA had rewarded the Queen City a pro basketball team. Many people were skeptical if basketball could succeed in what is college basketball country. All doubts were put immediatley to rest after year one when the Hornets led the league in attendence for 4 years straight while they never won more than 31 games. The city had rallied around this team and had supported pro basketball like very few cities ever have. The popularity of the Hornets reached its apex when they struck gold back to back years in 1991 and 1992 drafting Larry Johnson and Alonzo Mourning. Those 2 moves would change the franchise forever and make them one of the more iconic teams of the 1990’s.



The 1992-93 NBA season would be the year basketball in 704 would be put on the map. The team was loaded with good young talent such as Larry Johnson, Alonzo Mourning, Kendall Gill, Muggsy Bouges, Dell Curry and Kenny Gattison. This was the year the Hornets would announce themselves to the basketball world. The world was finding out about that team in Charlotte as LJ and ZO made the 1992-93 all-star team in the same year while both players finished the season averaging 20+ points and 10+ rebounds. Both were bonafide stars and it looked as if we were watching what would be the best frontcourt in the NBA for years to come. The Hornets finished that season 44-38 that season and cliched the first playoff berth in franchise history where they would meet the Boston Celtics.

It was a great series that saw the Hornets beat the Celtics 3-1 and win in dramatic fashion. On May 5th, 1993 the signature moment in the career of Alonzo Mourning was made when he drained a 20-footer at the buzzer to give the Hornets the 104-103 win over the Celtics in game 4 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. That was the greatest moment of Hornets basketball and the crescendo of Mourning and Johnson’s playoff success.

two seasons later the Hornets had their only 50-win season in frachise history when they complied a record of 50-32. They got knocked out in the first round of the playoffs that year by Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in a hard fought 3-1 series. after that 3rd season the Alonzo Mourning/Larry Johnson was effectivley split up as Mourning was traded to the Miami Heat following a contract dispute. Although they played great together on the court Alonzo and Larry hated each other off of it, they both wanted to be the star in Charlotte and neither would take any joy in being the 2nd option. When it came to re-sign with the team Mourning demanded$13 million per year on his contract and held the organization hostage. Mourning rejected a 7-year deal worth $70 million, owner George Shinn upped his offer to $11.2 million per year and it still wasnt enough for Alonzo Mourning. “It just broke my heart” said owner George Shinn after the contract rejection by Mourning. Not to long after that the once franchise cornerstone was traded to the Miami Heat for Glen Rice and a cast of others. The move changed the entire course of history for the team.

When you sit back and think about what the Hornets had at that time you are talking about 2 of the top 10-15 college prospects of the 1990’s on one team. The statistics of the 1992-93 season for the 2 players accuratley depict what they would have been had they both stayed healthy and played with each other. They only played 3 seasons together and compiled a record of 135-111 which is pretty good, had they stayed together they were on the verge of more 50-win seasons and becoming championship contenders. They had all the makings to be the best frontcourt in NBA history. Larry could jump out the gym, dominate the low block and was a man possesed just about anytime he steped on the floor- “Grandmama” was the 1992-93 rookie of the year and was a superstar before the injuries slowed him down. Alonzo Mourning was a bulldog in the post who had enough finesse to hit anything from 10-15 feet, he was a lunch pale guy on defense who would go on to capture 2 defensive player of the year awards- He is a hall of famer. Not to take anything away from Alonzo’s accomplishments in Miami but one has to think that with a healthy Larry Johnson he had a chance to be even greater then he is now, both could have went down as all-time greats in the league and the best frontcourt tandem to ever play the game. We will never know but its just something to ponder.

The great thing about the Hornets is that they were able to maintain being a competitive team despite devloping a reputation around the league for being cheap and not resigning players. Players like Glen Rice, Baron Davis, Anthony Mason, Jamal Mashburn, David Wesley and Elden Campbell helped the team make 5 playoff appearence post Larry Johnson/Alonzo Mourning era. Many people forget that the Hornets were a quarter and a half from going to the conference finals in 2001 as they were leading in the middle of the 3rd quarter of game 7 in the conference sem-finals against the Ray Allen led Milwaukee Bucks. It was a fun time but support for the team was wavering due to the ineptittude of owner George Shinn.

The team left Charlotte and relocated to New Orleans prior to the 2002-03 season. There was no NBA in Charlotte for 2 seasons until Bob Johnson brought NBA basketball back to the city naming a team after himself titled the “Charlotte Bobcats”. It was great to have basketball back in the city but people never got behind the Bobcats. It wasn’t the same so even though they had a few exciting teams with Gerald Wallace and Emeka Okafor it was going to take some serious winning for the city to truly ever be invested in the team emotionally again. The Bobcats were horrible for many years particularly in the draft whiffing in the first round on guys like Adam Morrison, Sean May, D.J Augustin and Alexis Ajanica. They were mired in mediocrity for 8 of their 10 seasons which included a 7-59 finish during the NBA lockout shortened season in 2010-2011 season which was the worst in NBA history. It was a dark time for the franchise look to be going nowhere fast.

Last year around this time the NBA had approved the name change for the Bobcats to become the Hornets. The change would be effective as of the 2014-2015 season which basically meant that the team had one more season under the Bobcats moniker. A name change is nothing without a solid product on the court so the Bobcats did everything they could to out a good team on the floor. They landed Al Jefferson to give them a post presence and it pay divdends in a very large way this season. Al Jefferson played at a top 5 MVP candidate level and helped lead the Bobcats to only their 2nd franchise berth in franchise history. He would eventually get injured in the playoffs while the Bobcats would get swept by the Miami Heat. Make no mistake about it though the new version of the now Charlotte Hornets have the best young nucleaus they have ever had since 1992-93 led by 2 all-star caliber players in Al Jefferson and Kemba Walker. For the first time ever Charlotte is more of a destination then it is as a wasteland for players past their prime. You have a dominant big man in Jefferson, a rising young star in Kemba Walker a top 5 finisher in coach of the year voting in Steve Clifford in a city that continues to grow every single year at a rapid pace. Its an enticing place thats slowly but surely establishing a winning culture.

Gone are the days of nostalgia and wishing for Time Warner Cable Arena to be filled in a sea full of teal and purple. That will soon be a reality due to the fact that the Hornets are #1 in the NBA for season ticket sales. Nostalgia is no more, campaigning to get our identity is no more and now we have a chance to cheer for new greats of the teal and purple. Guys like Al Jefferson, Kemba Walker, Cody Zeller and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist will carry on the tradition and winning culture of all the Hornets greats who came before them. The team has a foundation in place, assests to work with and cap flexibility to add another maquee player. Market size is irrelevant when speaking about Charlotte because anybody who has played great basketball in this city has been revered and remembered long after they played. Its one of the fastest growing cities in america and the 17th largest in the country so who is to say that in 5-7 years Charlotte isn’t a much bigger market? At the end of the day its all about winning and being in an enviroment where you will floursih and guys like Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Love shouldn’t rule out playing in this great city. We are the only city in pro sports history to get a name to come back to its original home after it left, thats a fact. No city in the world loves their team like Charlotte does with the Hornets, they never needed to win to start a sellout streak. Now that we got our identity and culture back as the Hornets its time forge a new one as champions and hang some teal and purple banners up in the Time Warner Cable Arena.

They told us we couldn’t do a lot over these last 2-3 years. They said that the name doesn’t matter, the city proved the doubters wrong. They said the Bobcats had no shot to be a playoff team in the next 3 years following the worst season in NBA history, the team proved the doubters wrong this year. Michael Jordan is going to make sure that the product on the floor matches the product off the floor and at this point anything less than top-notch is unacceptable. So it’s time to bring Charlotte the NBA title it deserved years ago and make some moves this off-season. Until then enjoy the name change and what the future holds from now till that illustrious day in October when Charlotte reannouces itself to the basketball world.

I thought the video above was apporpriate for the return of the Hornets.