The New Orleans Hornets are a professional basketball team based in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. They play in the Southwest Division of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The franchise began play during the 1988–89 NBA season as the Charlotte Hornets, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they were located until the end of the 2001–02 NBA season.

Conference Western Conference
Division Southwest Division
Founded 1988
History Charlotte Hornets
1988–2002
New Orleans Hornets
2002–2005
New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets
2005–2007
New Orleans Hornets
2007–present
Arena New Orleans Arena
City New Orleans, Louisiana
Team colors Creole Blue, Purple, Gold, White                 
Owner(s) George Shinn, Gary Chouest
General manager Jeff Bower
Head coach Byron Scott
D-League affiliate Rio Grande Valley Vipers
Championships 0
Conference titles 0
Division titles 1 (2008)
Official website hornets.com
2008–2009: Great expectations
Having experienced the most successful season in franchise history, both in the regular season and the playoffs, the 2009 NBA season was viewed with great expectations for the Hornets franchise. Several pundits picked the Hornets to repeat as winners of the Southwest Division and as a potential Western Conference champion.
The core players from the previous season were all back for 2008–2009. Swingman James Posey was signed as a free agent from the Boston Celtics in July, while reserve guard Jannero Pargo opted for the Russian Basketball Super League. Prior to the 2008 NBA Draft the Portland Trail Blazers acquired the 27th pick in the draft from the Hornets for cash considerations.
In December the Hornets solidified the point guard position by acquiring Antonio Daniels in a three-team deal, giving up seldomly used guard Mike James and a future second-round draft pick. More notably, on February 18 it was announced that starting center Tyson Chandler had been traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder for forwards Joe Smith and Chris Wilcox in what was generally perceived as a payroll-shedding move. However, within a day, the trade was rescinded due to concerns regarding Chandlers turf toe.
For the second year in a row the Hornets were represented with two players at the NBA All Star Game as Chris Paul was voted in by the fans as a starter, and David West was selected as a reserve by the NBA coaches.
The season in itself was up and down for the Hornets, and by April it was clear that the record-breaking 56–26 record of 2007–2008 was unattainable in 2008–2009. This can to some extent be attributed to injury problems, most notably to Tyson Chandler and Peja Stojakovic. The Hornets finished the season with a disappointing 49–33 record, only good enough for 4th in the Southwest Division and 7th in the Western Conference. Paired up with the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the 2009 NBA Playoffs, the Hornets commenced the post-season in a sour manner, losing both of the first two games decisively in Denver. Trailing 2–1, the next game proved brutal for the Hornets. The Hornets tied the worst loss in playoff history in a 121–63 beating. They shot 31.5% from the field with 13.3% 3-point shooting. The banged up Hornets were subsequently eliminated from the 2009 NBA playoffs in Game 5, beginning an off-season of speculation on the future construction of the team.

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