The

1995–96 NBA season The 1995–96 NBA season was the 50th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA), though the 50th anniversary was not celebrated until the following season. The Chicago Bulls defeated the Seattle SuperSonics 4 games to 2 in the NBA Fina ...

was the eighth season for the

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 Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...

in the

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

. During the off-season, the team re-acquired former Hornets guard

Kendall Gill Kendall Cedric Gill (born May 25, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who now works as a television basketball analyst. Throughout his NBA career he was known as “Cold World” for his ice cold demeanor on the court. Ear ...

from the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly shortened to Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Division (1967–1970), and ...

. On the first day of the regular season, which began on November 3, 1995, the Hornets acquired

Glen Rice Glen Anthony Rice Sr. (born May 28, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a small forward, Rice was a three-time NBA All-Star and made 1,559 three-point field goa ...

Matt Geiger Matthew Allen Geiger (born September 10, 1969) is an American former professional National Basketball Association (NBA) player who played at the center position. College career Geiger played for Countryside High School in Clearwater, Florida ...

and second-year guard Khalid Reeves from the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...

. The Hornets got off to a slow start losing eight of their first eleven games, but played around .500 basketball as the regular season progressed. In January, the team traded Gill and Reeves to the

New Jersey Nets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

in exchange for Kenny Anderson, who became the team's starting point guard, while

Muggsy Bogues Tyrone Curtis "Muggsy" Bogues (born January 9, 1965) is an American former basketball player. The shortest player ever to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Bogues played point guard for four teams during his 14-season care ...

sat out with a knee injury that only limited him to just six games.

Scott Burrell Scott David Burrell (born January 12, 1971) is an American basketball coach and former player who is currently the men's basketball head coach at Southern Connecticut State University. He has played internationally and was also a professional b ...

was also out for the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury after only playing just 20 games. The Hornets continued to play around .500 basketball, holding a 22–24 record at the All-Star break, and finishing in sixth place in the Central Division with a 41–41 record, missing the

NBA playoffs The NBA playoffs is the annual Playoffs, postseason Tournament#Knockout tournaments, tournament of the National Basketball Association (NBA) held to determine the league champion. Since 1949, the four-round, best-of-seven tournament is held afte ...

by finishing just one game behind the 8th-seeded

. The Hornets, along with the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

, were the only two teams in the league to defeat the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

on the road during their historic 72–10 season, as the Hornets defeated the Bulls, 98–97 at the

United Center The United Center is an indoor arena on the Near West Side, Chicago, Near West Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is home to the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

on April 8, 1996. Rice led the team in scoring averaging 21.6 points per game, led them with 171 three-point field goals, and was selected for the

1996 NBA All-Star Game The 1996 NBA All-Star Game was the 46th edition of the NBA All-Star Game, an exhibition basketball game played on February 11, 1996. The event was held at the Alamodome in San Antonio and was a part of the 50th season of the NBA. The game was ...

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

. In addition, Larry Johnson averaged 20.5 points, 8.4 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game, while sixth man

Dell Curry Wardell Stephen Curry Sr. (born June 25, 1964) is an American former professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1986 until 2002 and retired as the Charlotte Hornets' all-time leader in points (9,8 ...

provided the team with 14.5 points per game, and finished second on the team with 164 three-point field goals, Burrell contributed 13.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game, and Geiger provided with 11.2 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. Curry finished tied in seventh place in Sixth Man of the Year voting, and Geiger finished tied in fourteenth place in Most Improved Player voting. The Hornets led the NBA in home-game attendance for the seventh time in their eight-year history, with an attendance of 985,722 at the

Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte Coliseum was a multi-purpose sports and entertainment arena located in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was operated by the Charlotte Coliseum Authority, which also oversees the operation of Bojangles Coliseum, which was called Charlotte ...

during the regular season. Following the season, Johnson was traded to the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

, while Anderson signed as a free agent with the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

Robert Parish Robert Lee Parish (born August 30, 1953) is an American former professional basketball player. A 7'1" Center (basketball), center, nicknamed "the Chief", Parish played for four teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1976 to 199 ...

signed with the

, Michael Adams retired, and head coach

Allan Bristow Allan Mercer Bristow Jr. (born August 23, 1951) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive. Bristow played college basketball for the Virginia Tech Hokies, and was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers in the se ...

resigned after five seasons with the franchise.

NBA draft

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Player statistics

Ragular season

Awards and records

Transactions

* June 24, 1995 Lost

Kenny Gattison Kenneth Clay Gattison (born May 23, 1964) is an American former professional basketball player and National Basketball Association (NBA) assistant coach. High school and college Born in Wilmington, North Carolina, Gattison grew up playing basket ...

to the Vancouver Grizzlies in the NBA expansion draft. * June 27, 1995 Traded

Hersey Hawkins Hersey R. Hawkins Jr. (born September 29, 1966) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). After starring at George Westinghouse College Prep, the shooting guard played college basketball ...

and David Wingate to the Seattle SuperSonics for

. * September 27, 1995 Signed Rafael Addison as an unrestricted free agent. * October 3, 1995 Signed

Pete Myers Peter Eddie Myers (born September 15, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player and a former assistant coach for the NBA team Chicago Bulls. He is most famous for having been Michael Jordan's replacement player during Jordan's ...

as an unrestricted free agent. * October 4, 1995 Signed

Corey Beck Corey Laveon Beck (born May 27, 1971) is an American former basketball player. Beck played for the Charlotte Hornets and Detroit Pistons while in the NBA. He played college basketball for South Plains College and the Arkansas Razorbacks. College ...

as a free agent. Signed Negele Knight as an unrestricted free agent. * October 24, 1995 Waived Negele Knight. * November 2, 1995 Waived

. * November 3, 1995 Traded LeRon Ellis,

Alonzo Mourning Alonzo Harding Mourning Jr. (born February 8, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player who has served as vice president of player programs and development for the Miami Heat since June 2009. Mourning played most of his 15-year ...

and

to the Miami Heat for

, Khalid Reeves,

and a 1996 1st round draft pick ( Tony Delk was later selected). * November 6, 1995 Waived

Joe Wolf Joseph James Wolf (December 17, 1964 – September 26, 2024) was an American professional basketball player and coach. Wolf played eleven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for seven different teams. He played college basketba ...

. * December 23, 1995 Signed

to a contract for the rest of the season. * January 3, 1996 Waived Greg Sutton. * January 5, 1996 Waived

. * January 19, 1996 Traded

and Khalid Reeves to the New Jersey Nets for Kenny Anderson and Gerald Glass. * January 22, 1996 Signed Anthony Goldwire to a 10-day contract. * January 31, 1996 Signed Anthony Goldwire to a contract for the rest of the season. * February 16, 1996 Signed

as a free agent. * February 22, 1996 Waived Gerald Glass. * February 23, 1996 Signed Donald Hodge to a 10-day contract. * March 4, 1996 Released Donald Hodge. Player Transactions Citation:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1995-96 Charlotte Hornets season Charlotte Hornets seasons Char Bob Bob 1990s in Charlotte, North Carolina