The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team is largely owned by retired NBA player Michael Jordan, who acquired a controlling interest in the team in 2010. The Hornets play their home games at the Spectrum Center in Uptown Charlotte.
Charlotte Hornets Team Salary Range
| Player | Age | Avg. Salary |
| Nicolas Batum | 30 | 24,000,000 |
| Bismack Biyombo | 27 | 18,000,000 |
| Terry Rozier | 25 | 18,900,000 |
| Cody Zeller | 27 | 14,000,000 |
| Marvin Williams | 33 | 13,628,125 |
| Micheal Kidd-Gilchrist | 26 | 13,000,000 |
| Malik Monk | 21 | 3,931,512 |
| Miles Bridges | 21 | 3,632,120 |
| PJ Washington | 21 | 3,927,720 |
| Jalen McDaniels | 21 | 1,532,398 |
| Willy Hernangomez | 25 | 1,508,109 |
| Cody Martin | 24 | 1,491,304 |
| Caleb Martin | 24 | 1,399,637 |
| Devonte’ Graham | 24 | 1,356,392 |
| Dwayne Bacon | 24 | 1,270,792 |
| Marcus Paige | 26 | 1,270,792 |
| Kobi Simmons | 22 | – |
| Robert Franks | 23 | – |
The original Hornets franchise was established in 1988 as an expansion team, owned by George Shinn. In 2002, Shinn’s franchise relocated to New Orleans and became the New Orleans Hornets. In 2004, the NBA established the Charlotte Bobcats, which was regarded as a new expansion team at the time. In 2013, the New Orleans franchise announced it would rebrand itself the New Orleans Pelicans, ultimately returning the Hornets name, records, and official history (spanning from 1988 to 2002) to Charlotte. The Bobcats were officially renamed the Charlotte Hornets for the 2014–15 season.
The Hornets had a successful 2017 off-season. They shipped Plumlee and Belinelli and the 41st pick in the 2017 NBA draft to the Atlanta Hawks for former All-star Dwight Howard and the 31st pick in the 2017 draft. The trade reunited Howard with head coach Steve Clifford, both of whom worked together during Howard’s time in Orlando and Los Angeles. In the draft, Charlotte selected Malik Monk with the 11th overall pick, as well as Frank Jackson with the 31st pick. They then sent Jackson to the New Orleans Pelicans for cash considerations and swingman Dwayne Bacon who was drafted 40th overall. Sessions signed with the New York Knicks, and, to replace the backup guard, they brought in former rookie of the year Michael Carter-Williams from the Chicago Bulls.
In the 2017–18 season Kemba Walker was selected for his second NBA All-Star appearance and passed Dell Curry for most three-pointers and the all-time leading scorer. At the end of the 2017–18 season, the Hornets did not renew the contract of general manager Rich Cho. In April 2018, Mitch Kupchak was named as the new president of basketball operations and general manager. On April 13, 2018, the Hornets fired head coach Steve Clifford after five seasons, who coached the team to a 196–214 record total,[60] and named James Borrego as his replacement on May 10.[61]
On July 23, 2018, Tony Parker, who spent the previous 17 years of his career with the San Antonio Spurs, signed with the Hornets. In January 2019 Kemba Walker was named an All-Star Game starter for the Eastern Conference, his first starting role in an All-Star Game, and matched only Glen Rice for his third All-Star Game appearance in his Hornets career.