The Charlotte Hornets is a professional American basketball team that plays in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association(NBA). The Hornets plays its home games at the Spectrum Center, based in Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina.
Currently the Hornets are mainly owned by legendary basketball Hall of Famer, Michael Jordan, who bought a controlling interest in the squad in 2010 – after his departure from the Wizards.
The Hornets were originally established by George Shinn as an expansion team back in 1988. It was in 2002 that the team relocated to New Orleans and became the New Orleans Hornets. Meanwhile, in Charlotte in 2004, the NBA established another expansion team – the Charlotte Bobcats.
Ten years later, the Bobcats were renamed the Charlotte Hornets and they acquired the official records and history of the original New Orleans Hornets (from 1988 to 2002) and the New Orleans team was renamed the Pelicans.
The Charlotte Hornets are one of the few teams to have never won any titles – no Division titles, no Conference titles and no NBA Finals.
Interesting Fact
The Hornets were the team that originally drafted Kobe Bryant – but then had to immediately trade him to the Los Angeles Lakers. They had already made the deal before the draft night and only knew who they would draft five minutes before it happened.
Charlotte Hornets 2021 NBA Draft Picks
The Hornets left Thursday night draft night with four picks: James Bouknight with 11th pick, Kai Jones via New York Knicks with 19th pick, JT Thor with the 37th pick and Scottie Lewis with the 56th pick.
How Will it Work?
The Hornets got James Bouknight – a UConn standout who was projected to be a top ten pick but the Hornets managed to snag him with the 11th pick. He has a huge amount of talent that selecting him was a no-brainer for the team.
The Shooting Guard from New York had an excellent 2020-21 campaign for the Huskies, averaging 18.7 points per game, 5.7 rebounds per game and 1.8 assists in 15 appearances in his Sophomore Year last season. This will be a great addition for the Hornets as this will give them a good backcourt duo who could cause problems for the opposition.
They also traded away a future first-round pick in exchange for 19th pick in this year’s draft, and he used this to select 6ft 11 Bahamian Center, Kai Jones. Last season he selected 8.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in 26 games for the Texas Longhorns.
With the 37th pick, they selected JT Thor, a Power Forward from Auburn – another player packed with potential – a good size and length.
They finished their 2021 haul with Scottie Lewis, a Shooting Guard from Florida with the 56th pick. He is as of yet an untapped talent – with incredible athleticism but needs work.
Charlotte Hornets 2021 NBA Draft
- First-round pick no. 11: James Bouknight from UConn
- First Round Pick no. 19 (via NYK): Kai Jones from Texas
- First Round pick no. 37: JT Thor from Auburn
- Second Round pick no. 56: Scottie Lewis from Florida
Moving Forward as a Team
With a promising young core, things are looking good for the Hornets. It’s an athletic team this year – LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier should cause excitement… and they will be very entertaining.
With the new drafts adding some much needed, depth they should be aiming to reach the playoffs – with a higher seeding than last years 10th seed… although other teams are also looking strong to balance it out.
They will certainly be looking for improvement and moving up the standings. They should probably end up with a record of around 37-45 or somewhere around that.
Current Charlotte Hornets Players Under Contract
- Gordon Hayward
- Terry Rozier
- LaMelo Ball
- Mason Plumlee
- Kelly Oubre Jr.
- James Bouknight
- Miles Bridges
- Kai Jones
- PJ Washington
- Ishmael Smith
- JT Thor
- Vernon Carey Jr.
- Jalen McDaniels
- Cody Martin
- Nick Richards
- Cody Zeller
- Joe Chealey
- Arnoldas Kulboka
- Scottie Lewis
Charlotte Hornets Free Agency Players 2021
- Bismack Biyombo
- Nate Darling
- Devonte’ Graham (restricted)
- Malik Monk
- Grant Riller
- Brad Wanamaker
- Cody Zeller
Previous Hornets Draft Selections Since 2000
Year Round Pick Player Pos Age Pre-Draft Team
2020 1 30 LaMelo Ball G 19 Illawarra (Australia)
2020 2 32 Vernon Carey Jr PF 19 Duke
2020 2 56 Grant Riller SG 23 Charleston
2019 1 12 PJ Washington PF 20 Kentucky
2019 2 36 Cody Martin F 23 Nevada
2019 2 52 Jalen McDaniels PF 21 San Diego State
2018 1 11 S.G-Alexander PG 19 Kentucky
2018 2 55 Arnoldas Kulboka SF 20 Orlandina Basket
2017 1 11 Malik Monk SG 19 Kentucky
2017 2 31 Frank Jackson SG 19 Duke
2016 1 22 Malachi Richardson SF 20 Syracuse
2015 1 9 Frank Kaminsky F 22 Wisconsin
2015 2 39 Juan Vaulet F 19 Weber Bahia Estudiantes
2014 1 9 Noah Vonleh FC 18 Indiana
2014 1 24 Shabazz Napier PG 22 Connecticut
2014 2 45 Dwight Powell PF 22 Stanford
2013 1 4 Cody Zellar F 20 Indiana
2012 1 2 M Kidd Gilchrist SF 18 Kentucky
2012 2 31 Jeffery Taylor SF 23 Vanderbilt
2011 1 9 Kemba Walker G 21 Connecticut
2011 1 19 Tobias Harris F 18 Tennessee
2011 2 39 Jeremy Tyler PF 20 Tokyo Apache (Japan)
2009 1 12 Gerald Henderson SG 21 Duke
2009 2 40 Derrick Brown F 21 Xavier
2009 2 54 Robert Vaden SG 24 UAB
2008 1 9 DJ Augustin G 20 Texas
2008 1 20 Alexis Ajinca C 20 Hyeres-Toulon France
2008 2 38 Kyle Weaver SG 22 Washington State
2007 1 8 Brandan Wright F 19 North Carolina
2007 1 22 Jared Dudley PF 21 Boston College
2006 1 3 Adam Morrinson SF 21 Gonzaga
2006 2 50 Ryan Hollins C 21 UCLA
2005 1 5 Raymond Felton P 21 North Carolina
2005 1 13 Sean May PF 21 North Carolina
2004 1 2 Emeka Okafor FC 21 Connecticut
2004 2 45 Bernard Robinson GF 23 Michigan
2001 1 16 Kirk Haston PF 22 Indiana
2000 1 19 Jamaal Magloire C 22 Kentucky
Charlotte Hornets Draft Picks FAQs
How Many Picks do the Wizards have in 2021
The Hornets originally had three draft picks – 11th, 56th and 57. However, after making some trades they walked away with four of the draft picks- their own 11th pick, 19th pick from the Knicks, 36th pick from the Pistons and their own 56th pick. They traded their 57th pick to the Pistons.
Where Did Caleb Martin Move To?
Caleb Martin has moved from the Hornets to the Heat. He signed for the team in 2019 with his brother Cody Martin but in September 2021, he signed with Miami Heat on a twp way contract with Sioux Falls Skyforce.
