After 20 years, the Charlotte Hornets were consistently viewed in a negative light. But after this season, they've become a beacon of light, and are possibly on their way of rewriting their narrative.
Sometimes you watch in amazement, how much of a total 180 the Charlotte Hornets franchise has made.
As perennial bottom-dwellers for the 20 years they’ve been back in the Queen City, it almost felt like this was a franchise that is far away from grabbing the excitement that the previous era of Hornets basketball had on pop culture.
Ask anyone who grew up in the 1990s.
They’ll probably tell you that they owned a Muggsy Bogues jersey, or a Hornets Starter jacket.
After all, you could find teal and purple everywhere from that timeframe. So even though the Hornets weren’t in the class of the Chicago Bulls or Houston Rockets of that era, their branding had a vice grip around the United States.
But due to ownership and a lack of funding for a new arena, then-owner George Shinn packed up operations and moved to New Orleans.
Charlotte fans were distraught and devastated, but there was a contingency plan to bring back basketball to the city.
A few years later, the league expanded from 29 teams to 30, bringing hoops back to Charlotte, but since New Orleans kept the Hornets name, Charlotte switched to the Bobcats.
It was a forgettable era to say the least. There were certain players that grabbed the hearts of fans like Emeka Okafor, Gerald Wallace, Raymond Felton, and Kemba Walker but the Bobcats never stuck quite like the Hornets did.
Luckily, after Shinn sold the New Orleans franchise to the Benson family, New Orleans opted to rebrand to the Pelicans, and handed the Charlotte Hornets history back to where it belonged.
But the rebranding of the Hornets didn’t catch on like many had hoped for.
NBA legend Michael Jordan even bought a majority share of the franchise in 2010, but in 15 years, Jordan had a hard time finding success as an owner.
They only made the playoffs twice in 15 years, lost money annually, and still owns the NBA's all-time worst single-season record of 7-59 during the lockout shortened season.
Ultimately, Jordan sold his shares to current majority owners Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall.
Once that happened, everything changed.
General Manager Jeff Peterson, who was an assistant GM with the Brooklyn Nets, took over and completely altered the way Charlotte does business in 2024.
It was a head scratcher for the most part, because not many knew of Peterson’s resume, he mostly hid in the shadows, but new ownership saw the potential.
"Jeff is a rising star in our league who is known for his player evaluation, his communication skills and his ability to develop strong relationships," Plotkin and Schnall said in his hiring announcement.
For Peterson, it was a tall task for a first-year GM to fix a 25-year debacle, but he has.
The Hornets haven’t created a buzz around the city in a long time, until this season, where they have gone 25-11 in the calendar year of 2026, and have the opportunity to make the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
He hired head coach Charles Lee, a coach who has taken calculated risks, but risks that have proven to be effective.
Peterson also began paying homage to players that helped shape the organization’s history.
On Thursday night, after beating the Orlando Magic 130-111, they retired the number 30 for Dell Curry, who has played the most games in Hornets history, as well as the second all time leader in scoring.
From going on a complete tear throughout the league, to honoring those who came before us, it forced many in the league to take notice.
NBA analyst from The Ringer, Bill Simmons has been on the Hornets train for the majority of the season, and the retiring of Curry’s number was the cherry on top to a franchise turnaround.
"Charlotte had Dell Curry Night, and it was really cool. Steph and Seth were there, the family was there... the Currys are royalty in Charlotte. That franchise has had a complete facelift over the last couple of years. They drafted well, they changed owners, they got rid of Michael Jordan, and they hired a really good coach. They have an identity. They even have LaMelo Ball really engaged; he was great tonight."
It even planted the seed for future Hall of Famer (and Dell’s son) Steph Curry to think about joining the franchise when his career nears an end.
"Always keep your options open," Steph told Dashawn Brown of WSOC-TV in Charlotte. "Like you said, I know what that means when you get your jersey retired, it's immortalized, nobody should be able to touch it, but I'm sure he would be able to make a special exception if that were the case."
He continues, “Everybody asks me, ‘You wanna play one year for the Hornets and come back?’ … I am not breaking any news right now, I’m not making any promises… All I would say is if there was a team that I did want to play for that was not named the Warriors, that would be it.”
For something like that to be said by someone who is held in high regard amongst NBA circles would’ve been unheard of a decade ago.
The Hornets rebuild isn’t just for show. They’re actively making the necessary changes to not just appease the fans, but to prove leaguewide that they’re serious about being taken seriously.
It’s not just showing up in the standings, it’s showing up behind the scenes – where champions are made.
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