The original Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA) were established in 1988 as an expansion team, based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The team's roster was filled with unprotected players at the 1988 NBA expansion draft, and five days later the Hornets made their first picks out of college players at the 1988 NBA draft. The Hornets remained in Charlotte for 14 seasons before relocating to New Orleans in 2002. Two years after the Hornets' departure, the Charlotte Bobcats were established in 2004. The Bobcats first participated in the 2004 NBA draft, two days after their expansion draft was held. The franchise's name was changed back to the Hornets at the conclusion of the 2013–14 season, one year after the team in Louisiana renamed itself the New Orleans Pelicans. The history and records of the original Charlotte Hornets were conveyed to the newly named Charlotte Hornets.
In 1989, the NBA agreed with the National Basketball Players Association to reduce drafts to two rounds, an arrangement that has remained the same up the present time. Before each draft, an NBA draft lottery determines the first round selection order for the teams that missed the playoffs during the prior season. Teams can also trade their picks, which means that in some drafts, teams may have more or less than two draft picks, although they must have at least one first-round pick every other year.
The first pick in the Hornets' history was Rex Chapman, a shooting guard from the University of Kentucky. The Hornets had three top-four picks and all of them have participated in the NBA All-Star Game: Larry Johnson, Alonzo Mourning, and Baron Davis. In 1996, the Hornets drafted Kobe Bryant 13th overall, but traded him for Vlade Divac. Bryant finished his career as an MVP, a four-time All-star game MVP, a two-time Finals MVP, an eleven-time all-NBA first team, and a five-time NBA Champion. The first player picked by the Bobcats, Emeka Okafor, was named the 2004–05 Rookie of the Year and voted to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.
Key Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer First overall NBA draft pick Selected for an NBA All-Star Game
Selections
+Charlotte Hornets draft picksYear Round Pick Player Nationality Position From 1988-11988 1 8 Shooting guard Kentucky 1988-21988 2 34 Power forward/center Arizona 1988-31988 3 58 Power forward/center Auburn 1989-11989 1 5 Power forward North Carolina 1989-21989 2 29 Power forward Tennessee 1990-11990 1 5 Shooting guard Illinois 1990-21990 2 39 Power forward/center Purdue 1991-11991 1 1 Small forward/power forward UNLV 1991-21991 2 28 Small forward Minnesota 1992-11992 1 2 Center Georgetown 1992-21992 2 35 Point guard Wisconsin–Green Bay 1993-11993 1 17 Shooting guard Indiana 1993-21993 1 20 Small forward Connecticut 1994-11994 2 38 Shooting guard/small forward Kansas 1995-11995 1 22 Center UCLA 1996-11996 1 13 Shooting guard Lower Merion (H.S.) 1996-21996 1 16 Point guard/shooting guard Kentucky 1996-31996 2 44 Power forward Drexel 1998-11998 1 21 Shooting guard/small forward Iowa 1998-21998 2 50 Center Long Beach State 1999-11999 1 3 Point guard UCLA 1999-21999 2 43 Power forward TCU 2000-12000 1 19 Power forward/center Kentucky 2001-12001 1 16 Power forward Indiana 2004-12004 1 2 Power forward/center Connecticut 2004-22004 2 45 Power forward Michigan 2005-12005 1 5 Point guard North Carolina2005-22005 1 13 Power forward North Carolina 2006-12006 1 3 Small forward Gonzaga 2006-22006 2 50 Ryan Hollins Center UCLA 2007-12007 1 8 Small forward North Carolina 2007-22007 1 22 Small forward Boston College 2008-12008 1 9 Point guard Texas 2008-22008 1 20 Center Hyères-Toulon 2008-32008 2 38 Point guard Washington State 2009-12009 1 12 Shooting guard Duke 2009-22009 2 40 Power forward Xavier 2009-32009 2 54 Shooting guard UAB 2011-12011 1 9 Point guard Connecticut 2011-22011 1 19 Small forward Tennessee 2011-32011 2 39 Center Tokyo Apache 2012-12012 1 2 Small forward Kentucky 2012-22012 2 31 Small forward Vanderbilt 2013-12013 1 4 Power forward/center Indiana 2014-12014 1 9 Power forward Indiana 2014-12014 1 24 Point guard Connecticut 2014-22014 2 45 Power forward Stanford 2015 1 9 Power forward/center Wisconsin 2015 2 39 Small forward Estudiantes de Bahía Blanca 2016 1 22 Shooting guard Syracuse 2017 1 11 Shooting guard Kentucky 2017 2 31 Point guard Duke 2018 1 11 Point guardKentucky 2018 2 55 Small forwardOrlandina Basket (Italy) 2019 1 12 Power forwardKentucky 2019 2 36 Small forwardNevada 2019 2 52 (from Oklahoma City)Power forwardSan Diego State 2020 1 3Point guardIllawarra Hawks (Australia) 2020 2 32 (from Cleveland via Portland, Orlando, and L. A. Clippers)Power forwardDuke 2020 2 56 (from Boston)Shooting guardCollege of Charleston 2021 1 11Shooting guardConnecticut 2021 2 56 (from LA Clippers)Shooting guardFlorida 2021 2 57 (from Brooklyn)CenterFlorida State 2022 1 13 (traded to Detroit)CenterMemphis 2022 1 15CenterDuke 2023 1 2 Small Forward Alabama 2024 1 6 Small Forward France 2024 2 42 Point Guard Colorado2025 1 4 Small ForwardDuke2025 2 33 Shooting GuardDuke2025 2 34 Center Creighton2026 1 14 Power ForwardWashington2026 1 18 GuardTexas Tech
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