NBA
Charlotte Reclaims Hornets
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
Twelve years after the losing their original nickname to New Orleans, Charlotte’s NBA franchise is once again the Hornets.
The Hornets officially returned to Charlotte on Tuesday. Gone are the Bobcats in what the team called a re-branding.
“Today is truly an historic day for our franchise, our city and our fans as we mark the official return of the Charlotte Hornets,” Hornets owner Michael Jordan said. “Thanks to our fans who were the driving force behind the Hornets name returning. We are thrilled to be able to bring the Hornets name back to the Carolinas.”
The Hornets will unveil their new uniforms for next season on June 19. The franchise will participate in the NBA Summer League in July as the Hornets.
Charlotte entered the NBA as an expansion team and played as the Hornets from 1988 to 2002. After the franchise left, the NBA returned to Charlotte in 2004 as the Bobcats and used that name from 2004 to 2014. New Orleans dropped the Hornets’ name last year in favor of the Pelicans.
Jordan announced last May that the organization would reclaim the Bobcats’ name after the 2014 season and the move was approved unanimously by the NBA Board of Governors in July 2013.
The team also will reclaim the statistics from 1988 to 2002 to be merged with the team records and stats from the 10 years as the Bobcats.
Tuesday’s announcement was made before the NBA Draft Lottery. Charlotte has a small chance of getting a pick.
In the 10 seasons as the Bobcats, Charlotte compiled a 293-511 record.
