The 1988–89 Charlotte Hornets season was the inaugural season for the Charlotte Hornets in the National Basketball Association. The "Charlotte Hornets", along with the Miami Heat, joined the NBA as expansion teams during the 1988–89 season; the team was originally going to be named the "Spirit", but later on changed it to the "Hornets".
Season summary
Off-season The Hornets revealed their new primary logo, adding teal, blue, purple, green and white to their color scheme. The team's primary logo featured a teal hornet with blue eyes and blue stripes bouncing an orange basketball, surrounded by the city and team name in teal letters; the hornet also has a blue letter "H" on its chest underneath the city name "Charlotte" in white letters. The team also revealed new white home uniforms with teal, blue, green and purple pinstripes, and new teal road uniforms with white, blue, green and purple pinstripes; both uniforms featured a teal, purple and blue trim, while the home uniforms featured teal side panels on the bottom of their shorts, and the road uniforms featured white side panels. The Hornets played their home games at the Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The team's new primary logo would remain in use until 2002, while the new uniforms would last until 1997, where they added side panels and additional pinstripes to their jerseys.
In the 1988 NBA expansion draft, the Hornets selected veteran players like Dell Curry, second-year guard Muggsy Bogues, Mike Holton, Dave Hoppen, Rickey Green, and Mike Brown, who was then traded to the Utah Jazz in exchange for Kelly Tripucka. The team also signed free agents, Kurt Rambis, who won four NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, Earl Cureton, Tim Kempton and Brian Rowsom, and acquired Robert Reid from the Houston Rockets. The Hornets received the eighth overall pick in the 1988 NBA draft, and selected shooting guard Rex Chapman from the University of Kentucky, and hired Dick Harter as their first ever head coach.
Regular season The Hornets made their NBA regular season debut on November 4, 1988, in which the team lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers at home, 133–93 at the Charlotte Coliseum; Tripucka and Rambis both led the team with 16 points each. After losing their first two games of the season, the Hornets defeated the Los Angeles Clippers at the Charlotte Coliseum, 117–105 on November 8; it was the team's first ever win in franchise history. Tripucka scored 24 points along with 3 steals, while Chapman scored 18 points off the bench, and Rambis had a double-double of 17 points and 14 rebounds.
The Hornets struggled losing ten of their first twelve games of the regular season, and held an 8–19 record at the end of December. The team lost 10 of their 13 games in January, and later on held a 13–35 record at the All-Star break. The Hornets posted two nine-game losing streaks between February and March, and between March and April; the team lost 13 of their 16 games in March, and lost 20 of 22 games between February 28 and April 10, 1989. In March, the team signed free agents Sidney Lowe and Greg Kite; Kite was previously released by the Clippers. The Hornets finished their inaugural season in last place in the Atlantic Division with a record of 20 wins and 62 losses.
Tripucka led the Hornets in scoring averaging 22.6 points per game, while Chapman averaged 16.9 points per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, and Reid provided the team with 14.7 points per game. In addition, Rambis provided with 11.1 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game, while Curry contributed 11.9 points per game, but only played just 48 games due to a wrist injury, and Holton provided with 8.3 points and 6.3 assists per game. Meanwhile, Cureton averaged 6.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, Rowsom contributed 6.6 points and 4.0 rebounds per game, but only appeared in just 34 games due to injury, Hoppen provided with 6.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, Kempton averaged 6.1 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, and Bogues contributed 5.4 points, 7.8 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Tripucka also finished tied in fourth place in Most Improved Player voting.
The Hornets led the NBA in home-game attendance, becoming the first expansion team to do so, with an attendance of 949,858 at the Charlotte Coliseum during the regular season; it was also an all-time NBA attendance record, which would be broken by one of the two next season's expansion teams, the Minnesota Timberwolves the following season.
Notable highlights One notable highlight of the inaugural season occurred on December 23, 1988, in which the Hornets defeated All-Star guard, and former University of North Carolina star Michael Jordan, and the Chicago Bulls at the Charlotte Coliseum by a score of 103–101, in front of a sellout crowd of 23,388 fans in attendance. With the score tied at 101–101, Rambis made a game-winning layup from Reid's missed shot at the buzzer; Tripucka scored 30 points while Jordan scored 33 points along with 6 steals.
Offseason Expansion draft The team's roster was filled as a result of an expansion draft in 1988. In a coin flip, the Hornets earned the right to choose either the higher choice in the college draft or the first pick in the expansion draft, picking the former. Most teams use such drafts to pick young players and guarantee a future, but Charlotte chose veterans in order to get a competitive lineup right away.1988-89: Charlotte Stocks Roster With Veterans nba.com/hornets, accessed 25 April 2008.
Pick Player Position Nationality Former Team2Dell CurryGuard-Forward Cleveland Cavaliers4Dave HoppenCenter-Forward Golden State Warriors6Tyrone BoguesPoint Guard Washington Bullets8Mike BrownForward-center Chicago Bulls10Rickey GreenPoint Guard Utah Jazz12Michael HoltonPoint Guard Portland Trail Blazers14Michael BrooksSmall ForwardDenver Nuggets16Bernard ThompsonGuard-ForwardPhoenix Suns18Ralph LewisGuard-Forward Detroit Pistons20Clinton WheelerPoint Guard Indiana Pacers22Sedric ToneyPoint Guard New York Knicks Traded for Kelly Tripucka from the Utah JazzExpansion Drafts Revisited, HoopsAnalyst Waived before the season. Traded for Robert Reid from the Houston Rockets. Sent to Portland Trail Blazers.
Also sent were Kurt Rambis of the Los Angeles Lakers and Earl Cureton of the Philadelphia 76ers.
NBA draft Subsequent to the expansion draft, the Hornets were given the eighth overall pick in the 1988 NBA draft. They selected Rex Chapman, a shooting guard from the University of Kentucky.
Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club team 1 8 Rex Chapman Shooting Guard Kentucky 2 34 Tom Tolbert Forward/center Arizona 3 53 Jeff Moore Power Forward Tennessee State
Roster
Preseason The Hornets' first official NBA game took place on October 14, 1988, at the Madison Square Garden, and was a 118–97 preseason loss to the New Jersey Nets."Charlotte Buzzing Over the Hornets" The New York Times.
Regular season The Hornets played their first season in the Eastern Conference's Atlantic Division.1988–89 Standings , nba.com/history, accessed 16 June 2007. The team's first regular season NBA game took place on November 4, 1988, at the Charlotte Coliseum, and was a 133–93 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.Cleveland Cavaliers at Charlotte Hornets, basketball-reference.com, 4 November 1988, accessed 25 April 2008. Despite the huge loss, the Hornets received a standing ovation at the end of the game. November 8, 1988, the team won their first game over the Los Angeles Clippers, 117–105.Los Angeles Clippers 105, Charlotte Hornets 117 On December 23, 1988, the Hornets defeated Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls 103–101 at the buzzer in Jordan's first return to North Carolina as a professional. During the season, Kelly Tripucka led the franchise with 22.6 points per game. Despite the Hornets mostly poor play (typical for an expansion franchise), the Hornets led the NBA in attendance during the season, selling out 36 of 41 home games (including the final 30).
Season standings
z – clinched division title y – clinched division title x – clinched playoff spot
Game log
| 1 || November 4, 1988 || Cleveland || L 93–133 || Charlotte Coliseum || 23,338 || 0–1 |- | 2 || November 5, 1988 || @ Detroit || L 85–94 || The Palace of Auburn Hills || 21,454 || 0–2 |- | 3 || November 8, 1988 || L.A. Clippers || W 117–105 || Charlotte Coliseum || 18,865 || 1–2 |- | 4 || November 11, 1988 || @ Washington || L 87–96 || Capital Centre || 12,731 || 1–3 |- | 5 || November 12, 1988 || @ Atlanta || L 111–132 || The Omni || 16,155 || 1–4 |- | 6 || November 15, 1988 || New Jersey || L 99–106 || Charlotte Coliseum || 21,748 || 1–5 |- | 7 || November 17, 1988 || @ Dallas || L 93–105 || Reunion Arena || 16,512 || 1–6 |- | 8 || November 19, 1988 || @ San Antonio || W 107–105 || HemisFair Arena || 10,863 || 2–6 |- | 9 || November 22, 1988 || Detroit || L 93–99 || Charlotte Coliseum || 23,388 || 2–7 |- | 10 || November 23, 1988 || @ Boston || L 109–114 || Boston Garden || 14,890 || 2–8 |- | 11 || November 25, 1988 || @ Philadelphia || L 116–123 || Spectrum || 10,588 || 2–9 |- | 12 || November 26, 1988 || Washington || L 113–120 || Charlotte Coliseum || 23,388 || 2–10 |- | 13 || November 29, 1988 || Miami || W 99–84 || Charlotte Coliseum || 23,388 || 3–10
| 14 || December 1, 1988 || Philadelphia || W 109–107 || Charlotte Coliseum || 21,716 || 4–10 |- | 15 || December 3, 1988 || @ Houston || L 104–108 || The Summit || 16,611 || 4–11 |- | 16 || December 9, 1988 || New Jersey || W 96–95 || Charlotte Coliseum || 23,388 || 5–11 |- | 17 || December 10, 1988 || @ New Jersey || L 112–121 (OT) || Brendan Byrne Arena || || 5–12 |- | 18 || December 13, 1988 || @ Indiana || L 104–115 || Market Square Arena || || 5–13 |- | 19 || December 14, 1988 || Indiana || W 115–106 || Charlotte Coliseum || 22,601 || 6–13 |- | 20 || December 16, 1988 || Dallas || L 98–107 || Charlotte Coliseum || 23,388 || 6–14 |- | 21 || December 17, 1988 || @ Detroit || L 91–100 || The Palace of Auburn Hills || 21,454 || 6–15 |- | 22 || December 20, 1988 || @ Milwaukee || L 115–125 || Bradley Center || 15,075 || 6–16 |- | 23 || December 21, 1988 || Milwaukee || L 100–112 || Charlotte Coliseum || 23,010 || 6–17 |- | 24 || December 23, 1988 || Chicago || W 103–101 || Charlotte Coliseum || 23,388 || 7–17 |- | 25 || December 26, 1988 || Houston || L 95–97 || Charlotte Coliseum || 23,388 || 7–18 |- | 26 || December 28, 1988 || @ Cleveland || L 98–122 || Richfield Coliseum || 17,353 || 7–19 |- | 27 || December 30, 1988 || New York || W 122–111 || Charlotte Coliseum || 23,388 || 8–19
| 28 || January 3, 1989 || New Jersey || L 106–109 || Charlotte Coliseum || 23,388 || 8–20 |- | 29 || January 4, 1989 || @ Washington || L 86–109 || Capital Centre || || 8–21 |- | 30 || January 6, 1989 || @ Boston || L 92–115 || Boston Garden || 14,890 || 8–22 |- | 31 || January 7, 1989 || Washington || W 107–104 || Charlotte Coliseum || 23,388 || 9–22 |- | 32 || January 9, 1989 || Utah || L 92–114 || Charlotte Coliseum || 23,388 || 9–23 |- | 33 || January 11, 1989 || Chicago || L 101–106 || Charlotte Coliseum || 23,388 || 9–24 |- | 34 || January 12, 1989 || @ New York || L 89–106 || Madison Square Garden || 16,943 || 9–25 |- | 35 || January 15, 1989 || Philadelphia || L 109–116 || Charlotte Coliseum || 23,388 || 9–26 |- | 36 || January 16, 1989 || @ Philadelphia || W 127–122 (OT) || Spectrum || 10,116 || 10–26 |- | 37 || January 18, 1989 || @ Milwaukee || L 106–118 || Bradley Center || 16,145 || 10–27 |- | 38 || January 19, 1989 || Phoenix || L 112–126 || Charlotte Coliseum || 23,388 || 10–28 |- | 39 || January 21, 1989 || @ Atlanta || L 113–137 || The Omni || 16,371 || 10–29 |- | 40 || January 24, 1989 || @ Phoenix || L 103–106 || Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum || 11,089 || 10–30 |- | 41 || January 26, 1989 || @ Utah || W 89–88 || Salt Palace || 12,444 || 11–30 |-