The original Hornets franchise was established in 1988 as an expansion team, owned by George Shinn. In 2002, Shinn's franchise relocated to New Orleans and became the New Orleans Hornets. In 2004, the NBA established the Charlotte Bobcats, which was regarded as a new expansion team at the time. In 2013, the New Orleans franchise announced it would rebrand itself the New Orleans Pelicans, ultimately returning the Hornets name, records, and official history (spanning from 1988 to 2002) to Charlotte. The Bobcats were officially renamed the Charlotte Hornets for the 2014-15 season.

Shooting guard Rex Chapman was selected with the 8th overall pick in the 1988 NBA draft and became the first player ever drafted by the Charlotte Hornets. Chapman averaged 16.9 points per game in his rookie season and earned NBA All-Rookie Second Team honors.

Designed by Cheryl Henson, daughter of Muppets creator Jim Henson, Hugo the Hornet was created in 1988, one year before Hurricane Hugo hit the Carolinas.

With his 250th 3-pointer on April 7, 2019 against the Detroit Pistons, Kemba Walker became just the ninth player in NBA history to connect on 250+ 3-pointers in a season. He finished the 2018-19 season with a franchise-record 260 3-pointers.

LJ earned the nickname "Grandmama" for a popular series of Converse commercials that had him dunking all over the place in a granny wig and Mrs. Doubtfire dress. In 1993, Johnson appeared in an episode of the sitcom Family Matters as his alter ego "Grandmama", who becomes Steve Urkel's teammate in a basketball tournament.

Dave Cowens was head coach of the Charlotte Hornets from 1996 to 1999. He finished his tenure with a record of 109-70 and a franchise-leading .609 winning percentage.

The shortest player ever to play in the National Basketball Association, the 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) Muggsy Bogues played point guard for the Charlotte Hornets from 1988 to 1997. After his NBA career, he served as head coach of the now-defunct Charlotte Sting of the WNBA.

Bogues finished the 1989-90 season with a franchise-record 867 assists. He is the Hornets' career leader in minutes played (19,768), assists (5,557), and steals (1,067).

With the first pick in the 1991 NBA draft, the Hornets drafted power forward Larry Johnson from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Johnson had an impact season, finishing among the league leaders in points and rebounds, and winning the 1992 NBA Rookie of the Year Award. He also competed in the 1992 Slam Dunk Contest at the NBA All-Star Weekend in Orlando, finishing second to Cedric Ceballos of the Phoenix Suns.

On January 12, 2000, while a member of the Charlotte Hornets, shooting guard Bobby Phills was killed in a car accident in Charlotte, North Carolina. Phills was traveling behind teammate David Wesley at over 100 mph (160 km/h) when his Porsche spun and crossed into oncoming traffic. It hit another car, which in turn was struck in the rear by a minivan. The drivers of the other two vehicles recovered, but Phills was pronounced dead at the scene. The Hornets retired his #13 jersey on February 9, 2000, in a game vs. Phills' former team, the Cavaliers.