Did You Know: Charlotte Hornets Edition

From The Top

The original Charlotte Hornets moved to New Orleans in 2002 and became the New Orleans Hornets. They eventually moved back to Charlotte in 2004 as the Charlotte Bobcats. Michael Jordan eventually purchased a majority stake in the franchise and changed the name back to Hornets for the 2014-2015 season.

Name History

The name “Hornets” came from British General Cornwallis who referred to Charlotte, NC as “a hornet’s nest of rebellion” after the Battle of Charlotte in 1780. They originally were going to name the team the Charlotte Spirit but eventually scrapped the idea after a team naming contest.

Uniform

The Charlotte Hornets are the only team in the NBA without Nike on their jerseys. They instead have the Jumpman logo for Michael Jordan, the owner of the team. When the team went back to their original “Hornets” name, the logo was updated and is now their current uniform logo.

Mascot

Hugo the Hornet was created in 1988 and Hurricane Hugo hit the Carolinas one year later. It was decided that the mascot’s name would not change despite Hurricane Hugo. Hugo was designed by Cheryl Henson, daughter of Jim Henson. Through over 6,000 fan suggestions, they selected Hugo the Hornet as their mascot. During an intermission in 2008, Hugo the Hornet jumped through a ring of fire to dunk a basket. The cleanup crew could not clean up fast enough, causing the arena to fill with smoke and resulting in a 19-minute delay.

Players

As of February 2023, 296 players have played one or more games with the Hornets. Some notable players include Glen Rice, Kemba Walker, Larry Johnson, Robert Parish, Vlade Divac, and Alonzo Mourning.

Games

In total, the Hornets have won over 1,174 times. They played their first game on November 4th, 1988, losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers. They won their first game against the LA Clippers only 4 days later, beating Michael Jordan at his first NBA game in North Carolina.