LINK: Alonzo Mourning Interview

November 4, 2015 – Hornets Sports & Entertainment announced today that the team will honor former players Dell Curry and Alonzo Mourning for their achievements during their Hornets careers at special halftime ceremonies on a pair of Buzz City Nights during the 2015-16 season. Curry will be recognized on Wednesday, Dec. 2, when the Hornets take on his son Stephen and the Golden State Warriors, while Mourning will be acknowledged on Friday, Feb. 5, when the team hosts the Miami Heat, for whom he currently serves as Vice President of Player Programs. The Hornets this season will begin commemorating the contributions of legendary players, with plans for more players to be honored in the future.

“I am pleased to announce our plans to celebrate the careers of Hornets legends that have left an indelible mark on our franchise,” said Hornets Sports & Entertainment President & COO Fred Whitfield. “With our Buzz City Nights being a reflection of our fans’ enthusiasm for the Hornets, we are excited to have this opportunity for our organization and our fans to show appreciation to Dell and Alonzo for the immense impacts they made on this community, both on and off the court.”

Curry, who currently serves as the organization’s Hornets Ambassador and Special Project Advisor and as a Hornets color analyst on Fox Sports Southeast, was the first player selected by the Charlotte Hornets in the 1988 NBA Expansion Draft. He spent 10 seasons with the Hornets (1988-98), averaging 14.0 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists, and remains the all-time leader in Charlotte NBA history in games played (701), points scored (9,839), field goals (3,951), three-point field goals (929) and double-figure scoring games (592). The 1993-94 NBA Sixth Man of the Year, Curry ranked in the NBA’s top 10 in three-point percentage in five of his 10 seasons in Charlotte and represented the franchise in the Three-Point Shootout at NBA All-Star Weekend in both 1993 and 1995. He currently ranks 27th among the NBA’s career leaders in three-point percentage (.402), 42nd in three-point field goals (1,245) and 63rd in free throw percentage (.844).

A 2014 inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Mourning was selected by the Hornets with the second overall pick in the 1992 NBA Draft. He spent three seasons in Charlotte (1992-95), appearing in 215 games with averages of 21.3 points, 10.1 rebounds and 3.2 blocks in 35.2 minutes. Mourning is the all-time leader in Charlotte NBA history in both blocks (684) and blocks per game (3.2), while ranking second in points per game (21.3) and rebounds per game (10.1). A member of the NBA’s All-Rookie First Team following the 1992-93 season, he represented Charlotte in a pair of NBA All-Star Games in 1994 (DNP-left calf injury) and 1995. Mourning was also responsible for one of the iconic moments in Charlotte NBA history, knocking down a buzzer-beating, series-clinching jump shot in Game Four of the First Round of the 1993 NBA Playoffs against the Boston Celtics to send the Hornets to the next round in their first-ever playoff series.

Both games will be among the six Buzz City Nights scheduled for the 2015-16 season, in which the Hornets will wear the new black “Buzz City” Pride uniforms. Like the “Buzz City” uniforms, Buzz City Nights serve as a celebration of the fans’ excitement around the Hornets, past and present, and the city of Charlotte. On Dec. 2 and Feb. 5 when Curry and Mourning are honored, the first 10,000 fans entering Time Warner Cable Arena will receive a black “Buzz City” jersey T-shirt featuring the player’s name and number.