Charlotte Hornets Tickets

Since joining the NBA in 1988 it would be fair to say that the Charlotte Hornets have not exactly set the league alight, but that isn't to say that the Spectrum Center franchise don't have a solid following and they have, on occasion, make an impact.

Poor Start

The team is primarily owned by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall, who took over from Michael Jordan in 2023.

In their first season in the league they finished with just 20 regular season wins and the following season, in 1989-90 this dipped to 19.

The Charlotte Hornets lost their first ever NBA game, which took place on November 4, 1988, 133-93 to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

First NBA Playoff Berth

Fortunately head coach Allan Bristow achieved a great deal more, taking the team to the NBA playoffs for the first time in 1992-93, where they saw off the Boston Celtics in the first round before losing to the New York Knicks in five games.

Key players in this period include Larry Johnson and former NBA champion Alonzo Mourning, who played for the Charlotte Hornets between 1992 and 1995 before he collected his championship ring with the Miami Heat.

Bristow secured another play-off berth two seasons later but was replaced by Dave Cowens in 1996 and the team, in his first season in charge, racked up an impressive 54 regular season wins and were then eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Knicks in four games.

Another postseason place was achieved the following year and the Charlotte Hornets managed to get to the Conference Semifinals on three occasions between 1997-98 and 2001-02 but never managed to get further, losing to the Chicago Bulls, the Milwaukee Bucks and the New Jersey Nets in that period.

Becoming the Bobcats

They were inactive between 2002 and 2004 and they returned to the league in 2004-05 as the Charlotte Bobcats, a period that was very little in the way of progress, the team managing just two winning record seasons out of ten, including a horrendous 2011-12 campaign that saw Paul Silas's side rack up just seven wins. In doing so they acquired the historical record of the New Orleans Pelicans.

Lack of Postseason Action

In 2014 they reverted to Charlotte Hornets and have not managed to get back to the playoffs since 2016.

Spectrum Center Guide

The Charlotte Hornets play their home court games at the Spectrum Center, which has been their home since 2005, with the team previously having played at the Charlotte Coliseum.

The arena is based in uptown Charlotte NC and has a seating capacity of 19,077.