The

2001–02 NBA season The 2001–02 NBA season was the 56th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Los Angeles Lakers winning their third straight championship, beating the New Jersey Nets 4–0 in the 2002 NBA Finals. Notable occurre ...

was the fourteenth and final season for the original

Charlotte Hornets 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, and pla ...

in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

. During the off-season, the Hornets acquired George Lynch and

Robert Traylor Robert DeShaun "Tractor" Traylor (February 1, 1977 – May 11, 2011) was an American professional basketball player. He got his nickname because of his hulking frame. Traylor was the sixth pick in the 1998 NBA draft and played seven seasons in th ...

from the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

in a three-team trade, and signed free agents

Stacey Augmon Stacey Orlando Augmon (born August 1, 1968) is an American basketball coach and former player. He serves as the player development coach of the Sacramento Kings. He played professionally in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He gained the ...

Bryce Drew Bryce Homer Drew (born September 21, 1974) is an American college basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Grand Canyon Antelopes. Previously he served as the head coach of the Vanderbilt Commodores and in the same capacit ...

and three-point specialist

Matt Bullard Matthew Gordon Bullard (born June 5, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player in the NBA and former color analyst for the Houston Rockets on AT&T SportsNet Southwest. Bullard played 12 years professionally and 11 years in the NBA ...

. The Hornets struggled playing around .500 in the first half of the season, holding a 23–25 record at the All-Star break.

Jamal Mashburn Jamal Mashburn Sr. (born November 29, 1972) is an American entrepreneur and former professional basketball player. Nicknamed the "Monster Mash", Mashburn was a prolific scorer as a small forward in his 12 seasons in the National Basketball Assoc ...

only played just 40 games due to a lower abdominal strain, and was replaced with second-year forward

Lee Nailon Lee Nailon (born February 22, 1975) is an American professional basketball player who played six seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was the 2007 Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP. In 2011, he was the top scorer in the Is ...

as the team's starting small forward. Despite losing Mashburn, the Hornets posted a 7-game winning streak in March, and finished the season second in the Central Division with a 44–38 record, and qualified for their third straight playoff appearance. Mashburn averaged 21.5 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game, while Baron Davis continued to show improvement, averaging 18.1 points, 8.5 assists and 2.1 steals per game, and was selected for the

2002 NBA All-Star Game The 2002 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition game, exhibition basketball game which was played on February 10, 2002, at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, home of the Philadelphia 76ers. This game was the 51st edition of the North American ...

, and

David Wesley David Barakau Wesley (born November 14, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is the current television color analyst for the New Orleans Pelicans. He is the cous ...

provided the team with 14.2 points and 3.5 assists per game. In addition,

Elden Campbell Elden Jerome Campbell (born July 23, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who played as a power forward and center in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1990 to 2005. He spent his first nine years with the Los An ...

contributed 13.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game, while Nailon provided with 10.8 points per game,

P.J. Brown Collier "P. J." Brown Jr. (born October 14, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The , center/power forward was selected out of Louisiana Tech University by the New ...

averaged 8.4 points and 9.8 rebounds per game, and second-year center

Jamaal Magloire Jamaal Dane Magloire (born May 21, 1978) is a Canadian former professional basketball player who currently serves as basketball development consultant and community ambassador for the Toronto Raptors. He played 12 seasons in the National Basketbal ...

contributed 8.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game off the bench. The Hornets defeated the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

, 3–1 in the Eastern Conference First Round of the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

, but lost 4–1 in the Eastern Conference Semi-finals to the top-seeded New Jersey Nets. The Nets would go on to reach the

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

for the first time, but would lose to the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

in four straight games. Following the season, Nailon and Bullard were both released to free agency. This was also the team's final season in Charlotte, as the Hornets relocated to

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, and became the New Orleans Hornets next season. Other city candidates for the team's relocation included

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

and

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

. The Hornets also finished twenty-ninth (last) in attendance for the season, a stark contrast to their earlier years in Charlotte, plus posting a better 23–18 road record than their 21–20 record at home. The city of Charlotte would return to the NBA two seasons later with the expansion Charlotte Bobcats, who began play in the 2004–05 season. That franchise changed its name to the Hornets in 2014 after the original franchise renamed itself the Pelicans, and also reclaimed the original Hornets' history from 1988 to 2002. As a result, the Hornets are now reckoned as having suspended operations after this season before returning as the Bobcats in 2004.

Offseason

NBA draft

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

:z – clinched division title :y – clinched division title :x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Playoffs

, - align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" , 1 , April 20 , Orlando
W 80–79
, Baron Davis (28) , P. J. Brown (15) , Baron Davis (7) , Charlotte Coliseum
9,505 , 1–0 , - align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc" , 2 , April 23 , Orlando
L 103–111 (OT)
,

(27) ,

(13) , Baron Davis (10) , Charlotte Coliseum
10,323 , 1–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" , 3 , April 27 , @ Orlando
W 110–100 (OT)
, Baron Davis (33) , Baron Davis (14) , Baron Davis (10) ,

TD Waterhouse Centre Amway Arena (originally known as Orlando Arena and later TD Waterhouse Centre) was an indoor arena located in Orlando, Florida. It was part of the Orlando Centroplex, a sports and entertainment complex located in Downtown Orlando. The arena ...

16,754 , 2–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" , 4 , April 30 , @ Orlando
W 102–85
, Baron Davis (28) , Baron Davis (11) , Baron Davis (10) ,

16,254 , 3–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc" , 1 , May 5 , @

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

L 93–99
, Baron Davis (23) , P. J. Brown (9) ,

(7) ,

Continental Airlines Arena Meadowlands Arena (formerly Brendan Byrne Arena, Continental Airlines Arena and Izod Center) is a closed indoor arena facility located in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. The arena is located on N ...

19,071 , 0–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc" , 2 , May 7 , @

L 88–102
, Baron Davis (21) , George Lynch (11) , Baron Davis (7) ,

20,049 , 0–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" , 3 , May 9 ,

W 115–97
, Baron Davis (26) , George Lynch (12) , Baron Davis (8) , Charlotte Coliseum
11,363 , 1–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc" , 4 , May 12 ,

L 79–89
, Baron Davis (20) , P. J. Brown (16) , Baron Davis (6) , Charlotte Coliseum
13,864 , 1–3 , - align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc" , 5 , May 15 , @

L 95–103
,

Magloire Magloire, better known as Saint Magloire of Dol, is a Breton saint. Little reliable information is known of Magloire as the earliest written sources appeared three centuries after his death. These sources claim that he was a monk from Wales who ...

, Nailon (14) , George Lynch (13) , Baron Davis (8) ,

20,049 , 1–4 , -

Player statistics

Season

Playoffs

Awards and records

Transactions

* June 14, 2001 Traded a 2001 2nd round draft pick (

Sean Lampley Sean Lampley (born September 3, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player. College career Lampley played at the University of California, leading the Golden Bears to victory over Clemson in the 1999 National Invitational Tourna ...

was later selected) to the Chicago Bulls for

Roberto Dueñas Roberto Dueñas Hernandez (born 1 November 1975) is a retired Spanish professional basketball player. At a height of 7 ft 3 inches tall, he played at the center position. Professional career Dueñas was drafted with the last overall pi ...

. * July 24, 2001 Signed

as a free agent. * July 25, 2001 Signed

as a free agent. * August 13, 2001 Signed

as a free agent. * October 25, 2001 As part of a 3-team trade, the Charlotte Hornets traded Derrick Coleman to the Philadelphia 76ers; the Charlotte Hornets traded cash to the Golden State Warriors; the Golden State Warriors traded Chris Porter to the Charlotte Hornets; the Golden State Warriors traded

Corie Blount Corie Kasoun Blount (born January 4, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player born in Monrovia, California. Career A 6'9" power forward/center, Blount starred at the University of Cincinnati during the early 1990s, where he hel ...

and

Vonteego Cummings Vonteego Marfeek Cummings (born February 29, 1976) is an American professional basketball player who last played for Atenienses de Manatí of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN) in Puerto Rico. A combo guard, he played in the National Basketb ...

to the Philadelphia 76ers; the Philadelphia 76ers traded George Lynch,

Jérôme Moïso Jérôme Moïso (born 15 June 1978) is a French former professional basketball player. College career He played college basketball at UCLA with the UCLA Bruins. Professional career A forward-center who has played in the NBA, Moïso was selected ...

and

to the Charlotte Hornets; and the Philadelphia 76ers traded Cedric Henderson and a 2005 1st round draft pick (

Joey Graham Joseph Graham (born June 11, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player who played six seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). College career Graham played college basketball for the University of Central Florida (2 ...

was later selected) to the Golden State Warriors. * October 26, 2001 Waived Chris Porter. * October 29, 2001 Waived Tim James. * November 19, 2001 Waived

Eldridge Recasner Eldridge David Recasner (born December 14, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player. In college, he was a three-time All-Pac-10 Conference guard for the Washington Huskies men's basketball team. After college, he played in a v ...

. Player Transactions Citation:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2001-02 Charlotte Hornets season

Char Char may refer to: People *Char Fontane, American actress *Char Margolis, American spiritualist * René Char (1907–1988), French poet *The Char family of Colombia: ** Fuad Char, Colombian senator ** Alejandro Char Chaljub, mayor of Barranquilla ...

Charlotte Hornets seasons

Bob Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: Places *Mount Bob, New York, United States *Bob Island, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica People, fictional characters, and named animals *Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Bob (surname) ...