Charlotte Hornets LINES, ODDS, PICKS AND REVIEWS

The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and play their home games at the Spectrum Center. The Charlotte Hornets are mainly owned by Basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan, who acquired a controlling interest in the team in 2010.

 How is the Charlotte Hornets History?

The original Charlotte Hornets franchise was established in 1988 as an expansion team owned by George Shinn. In 2002, Shinn's franchise relocated to New Orleans; two years later, the Charlotte Bobcats were founded in their place as an expansion team.  In 2013, the Bobcats announced that they would change their name to the Charlotte Hornets for the 2014–15 season, acquiring the history and records of the original Hornets (spanning from 1988 to 2002), while the New Orleans team would be renamed the Pelicans.

The team joined the NBA in 2004 as the league’s 30th franchise. The team’s owner was Robert L. Johnson, an American media mogul who, with the founding of the Bobcats, became the first African American majority owner of a franchise in one of the four major team sports leagues in the United States.

1988-1992era; the Hornets' first NBA game took place on November 4, 1988, at the Charlotte Coliseum, losing 133–93 to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Four days later, the team notched its first-ever victory over the Los Angeles Clippers, 117–105.      

The Hornets' second season was a struggle from start to finish. Members of the team rebelled against Dick Harter's defense-oriented style, and he was replaced mid-season by assistant Gene Littles following an 8–32 start. Despite the change, the team continued to struggle, finishing the season with a disappointing 19–63 record.

The team showed improvement during the following season. They won eight of their first fifteen games, including a 120–105 victory over the Washington Bullets. However, the team went cold, losing their next eleven games. The Hornets, who hosted the 1991 NBA All-Star Game, finished with a 26–56 record. Gene Littles was fired at the end of the season and replaced by general manager Allan Bristow.  The team stayed in contention for a playoff spot until March, but finished the year with a 31–51 record. 

How is Charlotte Hornets Founded?

In 1985, the NBA was looking to expand the league by four teams and was shooting for the 1988 season to debut these organizations.

Businessman George Shinn, from Kannapolis, was interested in establishing a team in Charlotte and rightfully wanted to establish a professional team in the city. North Carolina was an extremely rich state for basketball with four ACC teams including the University of North Carolina, North Carolina State, Duke University and Wake Forest. 

Shinn was also building the Charlotte Coliseum which seated nearly 24,000 fans, which was the largest basketball-specific arena for an NBA team.

On April 5, 1987, then-NBA Commissioner David Stern called Shinn to tell him his group had been awarded the 24th NBA franchise, to begin play in 1988. Franchises were also granted to Miami, Minneapolis-Saint Paul, and Orlando.

Originally, the new team was going to be called the Charlotte Spirit, but a name-the-team contest yielded "Hornets" as the winning choice. The name originates from British General Cornwallis, who allegedly described the city as "a hornet's nest of rebellion" following the Battle of Charlotte in 1780, though it was first attested in 1819.

What are the Symbols of Charlotte Hornets?

The history of the team from North Carolina can be divided into two periods; the Hornets, which started in 1988, and then again in 2014, and the Bobcats, which lasted for only ten years, from 2004 to 2014.  The variations of the visual identity defining the Hornets (logo) was based on a wasp image, while the Bobcats insignia featured a sharp wild-cats drawing.

Due to frequent movements, the club changed its logo many times, following the next name. In particular, they were based on two images - a hornet and a lynx. The latter is an aggressive insect with a powerful sting.

In different seasons, the typeface of the logo had a different type of spelling. The Charlotte Hornets emblem uses elongated serif letters from the start. On the Charlotte Bobcats logo, the symbols on the contrary, are chopped, grotesque.

The official team palette is turquoise, navy and white. Some versions also contain red, orange and gray.

The Hornet mascot

Hugo (or Hugo the Hornet) is the mascot of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association. Designed by Cheryl Henson, daughter of Jim Henson, Hugo the Hornet was created in 1988, one year before Hurricane Hugo hit the Carolinas. The Hugo moniker was selected from a pool of more than 6,000 fan suggestions, Hugo originally served as the Charlotte Hornets' mascot from 1988 to 2002, and was the mascot for the New Orleans Hornets from 2002 to 2013. When the New Orleans Hornets changed their name to the New Orleans Pelicans, Hugo once again became the mascot of the Charlotte Hornets. 

Hugo is a 4-time winner of the NBA Mascot Slam Dunk Championship. Hugo is also a 2-time winner of the NBA Best Mascot Award by NBA Inside Stuff.

Who are the Charlotte Hornets' Players?

The official 2021-22 Season Roster includes;    

An official team can have multiple players, but only five can play in a game at any one time. Each player is assigned a basketball position: center, power forward, small forward, point guard, and shooting guard.

       The center is the tallest player on each team, playing near the basket.

       The power forward does many of the things a center does, playing near the basket while rebounding and     

       defending taller players. But power forwards also take longer shots than centers.

      The small forward plays against small and large players. They roam all over on the court. Small forwards can 

      score from long shots and close ones.

      The point guard runs the offense and usually is the team’s best dribbler and passer. The point guard 

      defends the opponent’s point guard and tries to steal the ball.

 The shooting guard is usually the team’s best shooter. The shooting guard can make shots from a long      distance and also is a good dribbler.

Who are the retired players of the Charlotte Hornets?

The Charlotte Hornets retired Phills' number on February 9, 2000 after his death in an automobile accident in Charlotte. His jersey hung from the rafters of the Charlotte Coliseum until the franchise relocated in May 2002; it was then displayed in the New Orleans Arena until 2013. On November 1, 2014, Phills' jersey was returned to Charlotte, where it was re-honored and currently hangs in the Spectrum Center.

Charlotte Hornets retired numbers

Franchise all-time best players (Playoffs)

Who are the Rivals of Charlotte Hornets?

1. Miami Heat

When you think of the Miami Heat, you think of three NBA Titles in five appearances. Though the two rival teams came into the league together back in 1988 and swapped a number of players back in the 90s, the Heats’ is still the Charlotte Hornets number 1 rival. The teams played two playoff series against one another and the Charlotte Hornets lost both.

LeBron James absolutely dominated the Charlottes’ in his four years in Miami, never losing a single game against the Bobcats,  his domination of Charlotte was a borderline work of art.

In 110 regular-season games against the Heat, the Hornets are 44-66. LeBron and company are responsible for 15 of those losses, all coming from the time he entered Miami right up until he left. Charlotte has played Miami three different times in the NBA playoffs, winning the first series way back in the 2001 playoffs. That team nearly went to the Eastern Conference Semifinals, but first dealt with the Heat in quick fashion in the first round.

2. Atlanta Hawks

Both teams; the Hawks and Hornets made a combined 13 playoff appearances and faced off against each other one time in 1998, with the Hornets taking that series in five games.

Atlanta has made the postseason 10 of the last 13 seasons, including a trip to the Conference Finals in 2015, the Hornets have only won the season series between the teams twice. 

What is the Charlotte Hornets Agenda for future matches?

Banking on Bridges, the Charlotte Hornets are back on track with two wins in a row. After having started the season on a successful note with five wins in seven games, they lost five in a row. Four of those five losses were on the road.

But they did win their final road game against the Grizzlies. It would be a big victory for the Hornets if they did end up qualifying with sophomore point guard LaMelo Ball leading the team, with just one former All-Star in Gordan Hayward.

Miles Bridges has been one of the X-factors for Charlotte to be on .500, in their match against the Knicks they trailed by as much as 16 after the first quarter, the Hornets made a comeback after the 3rd quarter, Bridges’ 24-points were crucial for them.

Raptors defeated the Hornets 116-101 on Monday night (Feb 7th, 2022) for their sixth straight win. Miles Bridges scored 25 points to lead the Hornets, who lost their fifth consecutive game. Charlotte struggled through yet another poor offensive performance, shooting 41.1% from the field and 22.5% from 3-point range.

LaMelo Ball, named as an All-Star game replacement a few hours before the game, finished with 15 points and nine assists for the Hornets.

Charlotte (28-27) battled back to cut the lead to three in the third quarter after getting a big boost from Terry Rozier, who had 20 points, and P.J. Washington. 

The struggling Hornets, who were without Cody Martin and James Bouknight due to injuries, lost Gordon Hayward for the game after he sprained his left ankle in the first quarter. Hayward had struggled since he missed six games while in COVID-19 protocols, making just 3 of 23 shots from the field. But, coach James Borrego was counting on him to help a young team break out of a slump.

The team is  under a lot of pressure to deliver like the players in Chicago, Celtics and Lakers, and it looks like the Hornets team may be up for the job.

How is the Charlotte Hornets schedule?

Charlotte Hornet Schedule 2021-22

* Game played at neutral location

Do the Charlotte Hornets exist within Fantasy Basketball?

In January 2021, The Charlotte Hornets named DraftKings Inc. as the exclusive Official Daily Fantasy Sports Partner of the franchise.

The Charlotte Hornets are represented in the NBA fantasy via DraftKings.

Along with access to Hornets trademarks and logos, the deal provides that DraftKings-branded LED signage will be featured courtside and on the basket stanchion at Spectrum Center, 

As part of the collaboration, the Hornets and DraftKings plan to develop a free-to-play, Hornets-themed predictive game that will integrate within the team’s mobile app. Additionally, the partnership includes VIP experiential events at games including press conference access, courtside shootarounds, coach and staff meet and greets and more.

What is the average cost for Charlotte Hornets tickets?

Charlotte Hornets Ticket Prices 2014-22

Where to buy Charlotte Hornets tickets?

The average ticket cost for a Charlotte Hornets game runs about $46 for a single game and is dependent on seating location. Season tickets are available starting at the minimum of $450. 

Ticketmaster is the official ticket purveyor for Spectrum Center events. Hornets Sports & Entertainment.

https://www.nba.com/hornets/tickets