1988–89 Charlotte Hornets season


The 1988–89 Charlotte Hornets season was Charlotte's inaugural season in the National Basketball Association. The Hornets, along with the Miami Heat, began play as expansion teams during the season. Dick Harter was hired to be the team's head coach. The Hornets finished the season last place in the Atlantic Division with a record of 20 wins and 62 losses, and led the NBA in attendance, becoming the first expansion team to do so. Charlotte also set an all-time NBA attendance record, which was broken by Minnesota the following season. Kelly Tripucka led them in scoring averaging 22.6 points per game, and top draft pick Rex Chapman averaged 16.9 points per game while making the All-Rookie Second Team.

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.
PickPlayerPositionNationalityFormer Team
2Dell CurryGuard-ForwardUnited StatesCleveland Cavaliers
4Dave HoppenCenter-ForwardUnited StatesGolden State Warriors
6Tyrone BoguesPoint GuardUnited StatesWashington Bullets
8Mike BrownForward-CenterUnited StatesChicago Bulls
10Rickey GreenPoint GuardUnited StatesUtah Jazz
12Michael HoltonPoint GuardUnited StatesPortland Trail Blazers
14Michael BrooksSmall ForwardUnited StatesDenver Nuggets
16Bernard ThompsonGuard-ForwardUnited StatesPhoenix Suns
18Ralph LewisGuard-ForwardUnited StatesDetroit Pistons
20Clinton WheelerPoint GuardUnited StatesIndiana Pacers
22Sedric ToneyPoint GuardUnited StatesNew York Knicks

Also sent were Kurt Rambis of the Los Angeles Lakers and Earl Cureton of the Philadelphia 76ers.

NBA Draft

Subsequent to the expansion draft, Charlotte was given the eight pick in the 1988 NBA Draft. They selected Rex Chapman, a shooting guard out of University of Kentucky.
RoundPickPlayerPositionNationalitySchool/Club Team
18Rex ChapmanShooting GuardUnited StatesKentucky
234Tom TolbertForward/CenterUnited StatesArizona
353Jeff MoorePower ForwardUnited StatesTennessee State

Roster

Regular season

The Hornets played their first season in the Eastern Conference's Atlantic Division. The team's first official NBA game took place on November 4, 1988, at the Charlotte Coliseum, and was a 133–93 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. 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. 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, the Hornets led the NBA in attendance during the season.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Player statistics

PlayerGPGSMPGFG%3FG%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
792122.2.426.077.7502.17.81.40.15.4
754429.6.414.314.7952.52.30.90.316.9
824125.0.501.000.5376.01.60.60.76.5
48016.9.491.345.8702.21.00.90.111.9
33211.2.432.200.9290.72.50.50.03.9
676025.3.427.214.8391.66.31.00.28.3
773618.4.564.500.7275.00.70.30.36.5
79017.0.510.000.6863.81.30.50.16.1
121217.8.533.6004.40.60.30.73.2
4208.0.479.333.4871.50.40.30.13.2
14017.9.320.000.6362.46.61.00.01.6
757529.8.518.000.7349.42.11.30.811.1
825426.2.428.327.7763.71.90.60.214.2
34015.2.4941.000.8024.00.70.30.46.6
1408.4.459.000.5001.50.50.10.32.9
716532.4.467.357.8663.83.21.20.322.6

Awards and records

Released Clinton Wheeler.
Signed Earl Cureton as a free agent.
Traded Bernard Thompson to the Houston Rockets for Robert Reid and a 1990 2nd round draft pick.
Signed Kurt Rambis as an unrestricted free agent.
Signed Tim Kempton as a free agent.
Signed Brian Rowsom as a free agent.
Released Sedric Toney.
Waived Tom Tolbert.
Waived Rickey Green.
Signed Sidney Lowe to the first of two 10-day contracts.
Signed Greg Kite to a contract for the rest of the season.
Waived Ralph Lewis.