The Charlotte Bobcats, considered a new expansion franchise at the time, were founded by the NBA in 2004. The Bobcats were renamed the Charlotte Hornets in 2014, and they purchased the official history and records of the old Hornets (from 1988 to 2002) from New Orleans' organization.
They play their home games at the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina. The team's owner is Michael Jordan, who also owns the Chicago Bulls. The Bobcats' general manager is Rod Higgins; former player Larry Brown is an assistant coach.
In their first season, the Bobcats finished with a record of 36-46, good for fourth place in the Southeast Division. They made the playoffs as a wild card entry, where they lost to Miami in six games.
During their second season, the Bobcats improved their record to 42-40 before falling short of making the playoffs as a wild card entry.
In 2006, the Bobcats had one of the best seasons in NBA history, finishing with a record of 60-22 - the most wins ever recorded by a single team. They won the Southeast Division title with ease, beating out Miami by 14 games. Their 60 wins are still a league record today. The Bobcats went on to face the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals, losing in five games.
George Shinn founded the first Hornets franchise in 1988 as an expansion club. Shinn's franchise relocated to New Orleans in 2002, becoming the New Orleans Hornets. The Charlotte Bobcats were founded in 2004, and were considered a new expansion franchise at the time. Hornets of Charlotte
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The Charlotte Bobcats are a professional basketball club in the National Basketball Association that plays in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The franchise was formed in 2004 as an expansion team, two years after the Charlotte Hornets (the previous NBA team based in Charlotte) relocated to New Orleans. The Bobcats are the only major-league sports team to be based in North Carolina without a connection to the NFL's Carolina Panthers or the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes.
They played their first game on October 8, 2005, at Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where they lost to the Chicago Bulls 101-95. They have not yet beaten any of the other current playoff teams, losing their first playoff series last year to the Miami Heat in seven games.
Charlotte has one of the smallest markets in the NBA, and while it was once known for auto manufacturing, now it is mostly based on tourism and education. The city is about 70 miles north of Richmond, Virginia.
The team's name comes from the Bobcats' original owner, Benjamin E. "Bill" Jordan, who was also the principal founder of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The nickname "Bobcats" was chosen by fans when Mr. Jordan announced that he was selling the team to move it out of its home in New York City. One of the conditions of the sale was that the new owners change the name to something else.
The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball club headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, that competes in the National Basketball Association's Eastern Conference (NBA). The team, once known as the Bobcats, became the NBA's 30th franchise in 2004. The name "Bobcats" was chosen by fans through an online poll; "Cats" was also considered as a possible name. The team is owned by Michael Jordan who serves as chairman of the board.
The Hornets play their home games at Time Warner Cable Arena, which they share with the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League and the defunct Carolina Hurricanes of the NHL. The team's original name was the New Orleans Jazz, but they moved to Charlotte before the start of the 1979 season. The new owners changed the name to the Hornets because they wanted a more aggressive identity than the Jazz had developed over the years.
Charlotte has a large African-American population and is known for its annual NASCAR race. The city is also the location of Bankers Life Fieldhouse, the home court of the NBA's Charlotte Hornets and the Charlotte Knights of Major League Baseball. Before moving to their current stadium in 2005, they played at the Charlotte Coliseum, now used by the Checkers of the AHL.
The team's mascot is called Hornet Jr. and his colors are orange and black.
The New Orleans team stated in 2013 that it will rebrand as the New Orleans Pelicans, thereby returning the Hornets' name, records, and formal history (from 1988 to 2002) to Charlotte. For the 2014–2015 NBA season, the Bobcats were officially renamed the Charlotte Hornets. The change was made to reflect the fact that the franchise is based in Charlotte rather than New Orleans.
The Bobcats were one of four teams that moved from their original city before the start of the 2003 NBA season to new cities within their current states. The others are the Sacramento Kings, who moved to Seattle in 1968; the Vancouver Grizzlies, who moved to Memphis in 2001; and the Indiana Pacers, who moved to Indianapolis in 1976. The Bobcats played their first two seasons at the Pyramid Arena in downtown Charlotte before moving to the Charlotte Coliseum for the 1994-95 season. They have played their home games at Time Warner Cable Arena since 1998.
The Bobcats were founded on April 13, 1972, by owner Walter Brown as an expansion team in the American Basketball Association. The team initially had difficulty attracting fans to its games due to its location more than 300 miles from New York City and Philadelphia, the other two existing ABA teams that would later join the NBA. After finishing with a record of 24-58 in their first season, the Bobcats won their first game against the Virginia Squires on April 20, 1973.
The team was purchased in January 2003 by Robert L. Johnson, founder of Black Entertainment Television, shortly after he was announced as the principal owner of an NBA expansion franchise later named the Charlotte Bobcats, now known as the Charlotte Hornets as of 2014, when Michael Jordan renamed the Bobcats. The Bobcats have never had a player represent the United States in Olympic play.
Johnson acquired the rights to the Charlotte Hornets name from Jerry West, who had previously used it while with the New Orleans Jazz. The Jazz relocated to Salt Lake City following the 1979-80 season, so West could bring the title home with him. Before the move, however, the Jazz won the 1978 NBA Championship under the name "Charlotte".
In May 2009, Robert L. Johnson sold his majority stake in the team to William B. Davidson and his family trust for $70 million. Davidson is also the principal owner of the Nashville Predators ice hockey team and chairman/CEO of Radio Shack.
Besides being a sports entrepreneur, Davidson has also been involved in other business ventures including a failed bid for NFL team Carolina Panthers. He had also attempted to buy out Johnson's share of the basketball team but was outbid by George Shinn.
Shinn had originally bought the Charlotte Hornets in 1967 and had been the sole owner until 2001, when he sold half of his shares to raise money for charity.
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