On November 3, 1995, after Mourning rejected Charlotte's contract extension offer worth an average of $11.2 million for seven years and knowing they would not be able to re-sign him, the Hornets traded him, along with reserves Pete Myers and LeRon Ellis in exchange for Glen Rice, Matt Geiger, Khalid Reeves and a first-round pick in the 1996 NBA draft.
In his rookie season (1992-93), Alonzo Mourning shattered Charlotte's blocked-shots records, becoming the Hornets' all-time career leader in just the 49th game of the season. He finished the season with a franchise-record 271 blocked shots.
In 1996-97, Charlotte small forward Glen Rice led the league in three-point shooting (47%) and minutes played. He was third in the league in scoring, but his 2,115 points was enough to set a franchise single-season record.
Shooting guard Dell Curry spent 10 seasons in Charlotte, mostly coming off the bench to provide instant offense, utilizing three-point shooting. He was a regular in the discussions for Sixth Man of the Year, but did not actually win the award until the 1993-94 season.
In 2011-12, Charlotte (then the Bobcats) set an unfortunate record with a .106 winning percentage, surpassing the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers (.110) for worst winning percentage in NBA history. They finished the shortened seaston (due to the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement) with a record of 7-59.
Rickey Green took the first shot in Hornets history, but it was longtime Detroit Piston Kelly Tripucka who gave the team its first points. Tripucka later became the first Hornet to cry in public when he questioned the hearts of the fans during his second season.
In 2010, NBA legend Michael Jordan bought a controlling interest in the Hornets, making him the league's only African-American majority owner of an NBA team.
Miles Bridges was selected 12th overall by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2018 NBA draft, but was traded to the Hornets on draft night for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
In his only season with the Hornets (1999-2000), Eddie Jones led the league with a franchise-record 192 steals. He also averaged 20.1 points, 4.2 assists, and 4.8 rebounds per game.
On October 23, 2019, Charlotte power forward P.J. Washington made his debut in the NBA, starting in a 126-125 win over the Chicago Bulls with 27 points, 4 rebounds, an assist, a steal and a block. He also made 7 three-pointers, the most ever in an NBA debut.
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