The Sixth Man of the 2005 NCAA North Carolina Tar Heels Championship Team and former 2nd Pick Overall would sign with the Charlotte Hornets nine years after his collegiate glory.  Williams was not a star in his six seasons in Charlotte, but he was a dependable player who had three 10-plus Points per Game years.  His run in Charlotte ended when he was waived and joined Milwaukee for their 2020 playoff run.

Nicolas Batum proved to be a solid acquisition for the Charlotte Hornets, whom they acquired from Portland.  The product of France has shown a decent scoring ability as he has averaged 12.8 Points per Game, which includes a 15.1 PPG season in the 2015-16 seacareer-higher high.  Batum's defensive abilities don't always go noticed outside of Charlotte but it should as that has been some of the better attributes of his game.  He played for Charlotte until the end of the 2019-20 Season, after which he joined the Los Angeles Clippers.

We told you that this would be a task that we would eventually get to.

Regular visitors to Notinhalloffame.com might know that we have told you in past updates that we will be looking at the top fifty players in each major North American Franchise.

For those unsure who exactly what the major North American Franchises are, it refers to the National Hockey League, National Football League, National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball. 

Selected first are the Charlotte Hornets.  Why?  Honestly, there is no reason.  One of the 100 plus franchises has to go first, and the Hornets were chosen randomly.  Although the NBA season is in full flux now, this list will reflect only up to the end of the 2014-15 season.

Keep in mind that the Hornets absorbed the past history of the original franchise that relocated to the New Orleans and are known as the Pelicans.  This means that there are many players on this list who never had “Hornets” on their chest, but “Bobcats”.  For all intents and purposes, they are all Hornets now.

The list is based on traditional metrics, advanced metrics, length of service, popularity, and post season performance.

The complete list can be found here, but for those who are curious immediately as to who the top five are, we’ll grant that immediately:



1. Gerald Wallace.

2. Larry Johnson.

3. Muggsy Bogues.

4. Dell Curry.

5. Emaka Okafor.



We look forward to your comments on this list and it will be updated annually.

Up next will be the Baltimore Ravens.  Look for that in the upcoming weeks.

While Matt Carroll was not one of the most productive players in NBA history (realistically, expansion got him a job with Charlotte), Carroll does have one of the longer tenures (serving two stints) with the franchise. He was known for his work ethic as a player, making the most for what he had and you knew he was never going to make a mistake due to apathy.

While the Slovenian seven footer may not have been a huge star in the National Basketball Association, Primoz Brezec did have a couple of decent campaigns with Charlotte where he averaged over 10 Points per Game. A selection in the expansion draft, Brezec enjoyed the most minutes of his career, but beyond his first two seasons as a Bobcat, Brezec didn’t accomplish much else in North American basketball.

In his sophomore season, Scott Burrell would become the starting Point Guard for the Charlotte Hornets and in the process would finish third in balloting for the Most Improved Player in the NBA. Like so many, injuries would take him out of the starting lineup but the Point Guard’s 1994/95 season was decent enough to place him on a list like this, on a team with the limited history of the Charlotte Hornets.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was the Second Overall Pick in 2012, and the NCAA Champion from Kentucky came in with lofty expectations.

MKG had seen a marginal improvement from his rookie season (where he was a Second Team All-Rookie selection), however, a shoulder injury sidelined him for the 2015-16 season. He would return but other than one 10-plus PPG season, Kidd-Gilchrist never achieved the level that the Hornets hoped for.  Still, he was a solid player who didn't necessarily have a weak spot in his game but doesn't exactly of a discernable strength.  The Hornets waived him in 2019, after 433 Games and an 8.6 PPG.

Nicknamed "Big Handsome", Cody Zeller completed his first eight seasons with Charlotte, before signing with Portland as a Free Agent in 2021.

While Zeller will never be confused for a flashy player, he has proven to be certainly capable and is often praised for his unselfishness and dedication to team play.  A cerebral player, Zeller rarely makes mistakes and his likability often hides the fact that maybe he hasn't reached the level that should be expected of a fourth overall pick, though he did rove himself as an asset, posting three double-digit years in Points.

He played 467 Games with Charlotte.

A two time NCAA Champion at the University of Kentucky, Nazr Mohammed would not have the same kind of team success playing in Charlotte. Still, the native of Chicago was an above-average defensive presence who was a great presence under the glass. He would have his highest PER in a season (19.6) with Charlotte in the 2009/10 campaign.

Arriving in Charlotte as a two-time All-Star, Kelly Tripucka finished his career as a Hornet and did so with some impressive offensive numbers as he would average 22.6 Points per Game in his first season in Charlotte. He would decline quickly, but he provided the scoring threat in the inaugural season that Hornets fans craved.

Drafted in the first round out of Duke, Gerald Henderson spent his first five seasons in a Charlotte uniform. Henderson would become a decent enough scorer but his overall game did not develop strong enough with the Hornets to have a higher ranking.

While D.J. Augustin has shown flashes of brilliance over his career, it has always been countered with ample mistakes. Still, when he was on, Augustin showcased solid shooting, especially from the free throw line as a Bobcat (he would finish in the top ten in the NBA three times in Free Throw Percentage) and averaged over 10 Points per Game while donning Bobcat orange.

A well respected Power Forward and product of Old Dominion, Kenny Gattison would be one of the more tenured players in Charlotte history playing 390 of his near 500 Games with the Hornets. Gattison was not the best player on his team, but his natural leadership and desire to the little things that didn’t show up on a stat sheet made him an asset to his team.

While Johnny Newman was an NBA journeyman, his three year and change run with the Charlotte Hornets, was the most productive of his career. Newman would have two straight seasons averaging more than 15 Points per Game for the organization.

How did Jason Richardson rank so high when he only played one season and change with Charlotte, and was unable to take them to the playoffs? The answer is that while he couldn’t take the team to the postseason, Richardson did put together one of the better offensive seasons in franchise history and for an organization that hasn’t had that many, it is enough to elevate him in this rank.

A seven footer from Salem, Massachusetts, Matt Geiger spent the best three years of his NBA career with Charlotte. Geiger, while non-descript to many had a soft image yet still averaged 10 Points per Game in Charlotte, and stepped up his defensive presence more than he got credit for.

Arriving as a Free Agent, Brevin Knight was allotted the most playing time in his career and had the only two campaigns of his career where he exceeded 10 Points per Game. The Point Guard kept his distributing numbers high and would lead the NBA in Assist Percentage in the Bobcats inaugural year.

While P.J. Brown would spend five seasons with the Hornets, only two of which were in Charlotte, which as you know for basketball history according to the NBA, only equates to two campaigns for this endeavor.

A surprise free agent signing, Al Jefferson came with a large paycheck and large expectations, and while Charlotte has not become a power in the East, Jefferson has certainly done his part to make the team as competitive as he could. In his first season with Charlotte, he would average a double-double and would make Third Team All-NBA.

Eddie Jones was already a certified star from his time with the Los Angeles Lakers, where he went to two All-Star Games, however as a member of the Charlotte Hornets, Jones would make his third All-Star appearance and put up his best scoring numbers as well as his best performance in PER.