1994–95 Charlotte Hornets season

The 1994–95 NBA season was the seventh season for the Charlotte Hornets in the National Basketball Association.^[1] During the off-season, the Hornets signed free agent All-Star center Robert Parish, who won three NBA championships with the Boston Celtics in the 1980s,^[2][3][4] and acquired Michael Adams from the Washington Bullets.^[5][6][7]

1994–95 Charlotte Hornets season
Head coach	Allan Bristow
General manager	Dave Twardzik
Owner(s)	George Shinn
Arena	Charlotte Coliseum
Results
Record	50–32 (.610)
Place	Division: 2nd (Central) Conference: 4th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	First round (lost to Bulls 1–3)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	WJZY SportSouth
Radio	WBT
< 1993–94 1995–96 >

After falling one game short of the playoffs the previous season, the Hornets lost their first three games of the regular season, but then posted an 8-game winning streak between December and January, holding a 31–17 record at the All-Star break.^[8] The Hornets finished in second place in the Central Division with a solid 50–32 record, earning the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, and qualifying for their second NBA playoff appearance.^[9]

Alonzo Mourning led the team with 21.3 points, 9.9 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game, while Larry Johnson averaged 18.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game; Mourning and Johnson were both selected for the 1995 NBA All-Star Game in Phoenix, Arizona.^[10][11][12] In addition, Hersey Hawkins provided the team with 14.3 points and 1.5 steals per game, along with 131 three-point field goals, while sixth man Dell Curry averaged 13.6 points per game, and led the Hornets with 154 three-point field goals off the bench, second-year forward Scott Burrell contributed 11.5 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, and Muggsy Bogues provided with 11.1 points, 8.7 assists and 1.3 steals per game.^[13]

Mourning finished tied in sixth place in Defensive Player of the Year voting,^[14][15] while Curry finished in second place in Sixth Man of the Year voting,^[16][15] and Burrell finished tied in third place in Most Improved Player voting.^[17][15]

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1995 NBA playoffs, the Hornets faced off against the 5th-seeded Chicago Bulls; Michael Jordan recently came out of his retirement and returned to play for the Bulls.^[18][19][20] The Hornets were eliminated three games to one, losing by just one point in an 85–84 road loss to the Bulls in Game 4 at the United Center.^[21][22][23] The Hornets led the NBA in home-game attendance for the sixth time in seven seasons.

Despite the stellar season, Johnson and Mourning had trouble getting along as teammates. Following the season, Mourning was traded to the Miami Heat after three seasons with the franchise,^[24][25][26] while Hawkins and David Wingate were both traded to the Seattle SuperSonics,^[27][28][29] and Kenny Gattison was left unprotected in the 1995 NBA expansion draft, where he was selected by the Vancouver Grizzlies expansion team.^[30][31][32]

For the season, the Hornets added new purple alternate road uniforms, which remained in use until 1997.^[33]

NBA draft

Main article: 1994 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
2	38	Darrin Hancock	SF	United States	Kansas

Roster

1994–95 Charlotte Hornets roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From G 23 Michael Adams 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 162 lb (73 kg) 1963–01–19 Boston College G 25 Tony Bennett 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1969–06–01 Green Bay G 1 Muggsy Bogues 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) 136 lb (62 kg) 1965–01–09 Wake Forest F 24 Scott Burrell 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 1971–01–12 Connecticut G 30 Dell Curry 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1964–06–25 Virginia Tech F 44 Kenny Gattison 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1964–05–23 Old Dominion F 4 Darrin Hancock 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1971–11–03 Kansas G 3 Hersey Hawkins 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1966–09–29 Bradley F 2 Larry Johnson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1969–03–14 UNLV C 33 Alonzo Mourning 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1970–02–08 Georgetown C 00 Robert Parish 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1953–08–30 Centenary G 12 Greg Sutton 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1967–12–03 Oral Roberts G 55 David Wingate 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1963–12–15 Georgetown F 43 Joe Wolf 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1964–12–17 North Carolina

Head coach Allan Bristow Assistant(s) Johnny Bach T. R. Dunn Bill Hanzlik Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended (IN) Inactive Injured Roster

Regular season

Standings

Central Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Indiana Pacers	52	30	.634	–	33–8	19–22	18–10
x-Charlotte Hornets	50	32	.610	2	29–12	21–20	17–11
x-Chicago Bulls	47	35	.573	5	28–13	19–22	16–12
x-Cleveland Cavaliers	43	39	.524	9	26–15	17–24	17–11
x-Atlanta Hawks	42	40	.512	10	24–17	18–23	9–19
Milwaukee Bucks	34	48	.415	18	22–19	12–29	13–15
Detroit Pistons	28	54	.341	24	22–19	6–35	8–20

#	Eastern Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Orlando Magic	57	25	.695	–
2	y-Indiana Pacers	52	30	.634	5
3	x-New York Knicks	55	27	.671	2
4	x-Charlotte Hornets	50	32	.610	7
5	x-Chicago Bulls	47	35	.573	10
6	x-Cleveland Cavaliers	43	39	.524	14
7	x-Atlanta Hawks	42	40	.512	15
8	x-Boston Celtics	35	47	.427	22
9	Milwaukee Bucks	34	48	.415	23
10	Miami Heat	32	50	.390	25
11	New Jersey Nets	30	52	.366	27
12	Detroit Pistons	28	54	.341	29
13	Philadelphia 76ers	24	58	.293	33
14	Washington Bullets	21	61	.256	36

Record vs. opponents

1994-95 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHA	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MIA	MIL	MIN	NJN	NYK	ORL	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	UTA	WAS
Atlanta	—	3–1	2–2	1–4	1–4	2–0	2–0	3–2	2–0	0–2	1–4	2–0	0–2	2–2	1–3	2–0	4–0	2–2	1–3	3–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	4–0
Boston	1–3	—	1–3	0–4	2–2	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–2	0–2	1–1	4–1	1–3	2–0	2–3	0–5	2–3	3–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	3–1
Charlotte	2–2	3–1	—	2–2	3–2	0–2	1–1	5–0	2–0	0–2	1–4	2–0	0–2	3–1	4–1	1–1	3–1	3–1	1–3	3–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	3–1
Chicago	4–1	4–0	2–2	—	2–3	1–1	1–1	5–0	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–4	2–0	2–2	3–1	1–3	4–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2
Cleveland	4–1	2–2	2–3	3–2	—	0–2	1–1	2–2	2–0	0–2	2–3	1–1	1–1	1–3	4–0	1–1	4–0	2–2	1–3	3–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	3–1
Dallas	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	—	1–4	1–1	3–1	2–3	1–1	3–1	1–3	0–2	1–1	4–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–0	0–4	3–1	2–2	2–3	0–4	2–4	1–1
Denver	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–1	—	1–1	1–3	1–4	1–1	4–0	2–2	2–0	2–0	6–0	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–3	3–1	2–2	1–4	1–3	1–4	2–0
Detroit	2–3	1–3	0–5	0–5	2–2	1–1	1–1	—	1–1	0–2	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–3	2–3	1–1	2–2	1–3	1–3	4–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	3–1
Golden State	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–3	3–1	1–1	—	0–4	0–2	3–2	3–2	1–1	0–2	1–3	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–2	1–4	0–5	1–3	1–4	2–2	2–0
Houston	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	3–2	4–1	2–0	4–0	—	1–1	3–1	0–4	2–0	1–1	3–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	2–0	3–1	1–3	3–1	1–5	0–4	2–3	2–0
Indiana	4–1	2–2	4–1	2–2	3–2	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–0	1–1	—	2–0	1–1	2–2	3–2	2–0	3–1	1–3	2–2	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	0–2	3–1
L.A. Clippers	0–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	0–4	1–1	2–3	1–3	0–2	—	2–3	0–2	1–1	1–3	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–4	0–5	1–4	0–4	0–5	1–3	0–2
L.A. Lakers	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–2	2–0	2–3	4–0	1–1	3–2	—	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–4	2–3	3–2	1–3	4–1	2–2	2–0
Miami	2–2	1–4	1–3	1–3	3–1	2–0	0–2	3–1	1–1	0–2	2–2	2–0	1–1	—	4–0	1–1	1–3	1–4	1–3	1–4	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	4–1
Milwaukee	3–1	3–1	1–4	4–1	0–4	1–1	0–2	3–2	2–0	1–1	2–3	1–1	1–1	0–4	—	1–1	2–2	2–2	0–4	3–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	3–1
Minnesota	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–4	0–6	1–1	3–1	2–3	0–2	3–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	—	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–4	0–4	1–3	0–5	0–4	1–4	1–1
New Jersey	0–4	3–2	1–3	2–2	0–4	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–3	2–0	0–2	3–1	2–2	1–1	—	1–4	2–2	2–3	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–3
New York	2–2	5–0	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	2–0	4–1	2–2	2–0	4–1	—	2–3	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	0–2	4–0
Orlando	3–1	3–2	3–1	3–1	3–1	2–0	2–0	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	3–1	4–0	1–1	2–2	3–2	—	4–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–2
Philadelphia	1–3	1–3	1–3	0–4	1–3	0–2	1–1	0–4	1–1	0–2	0–4	1–1	1–1	4–1	1–3	1–1	3–2	0–4	1–4	—	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	3–2
Phoenix	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	4–0	3–1	1–1	2–3	1–3	1–1	4–1	4–1	2–0	2–0	4–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	—	5–0	4–1	2–2	4–1	2–2	2–0
Portland	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–3	2–0	4–1	3–1	1–1	5–0	3–2	2–0	2–0	4–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–5	—	3–2	1–3	2–3	1–3	2–0
Sacramento	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–2	1–1	5–0	1–3	0–2	4–1	2–3	2–0	1–1	3–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–4	2–3	—	0–4	3–2	0–4	1–1
San Antonio	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–2	4–1	2–0	3–1	5–1	0–2	4–0	3–1	2–0	2–0	5–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	4–0	—	2–2	3–2	2–0
Seattle	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	4–0	3–1	2–0	4–1	4–0	1–1	5–0	1–4	2–0	2–0	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–4	3–2	2–3	2–2	—	1–3	2–0
Utah	2–0	2–0	0–2	2–0	1–1	4–2	4–1	2–0	2–2	3–2	2–0	3–1	2–2	2–0	2–0	4–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	4–0	2–3	3–1	—	2–0
Washington	0–4	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–3	1–1	0–2	1–3	0–2	0–2	1–3	2–0	0–2	1–4	1–3	1–1	3–2	0–4	2–3	2–3	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	—

Game log

Regular season

1994–95 game log Total: 50–32 (home: 29–12; road: 21–20)
November: 7–6 (home: 4–3; road: 3–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
December: 9–6 (home: 5–0; road: 4–6) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 17 December 8, 1994 8:30 p.m. EST @ Houston L 95–101 Burrell (23) Mourning (13) Bogues (9) The Summit 12,792 9–8
January: 11–4 (home: 7–2; road: 4–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
February: 8–5 (home: 5–2; road: 3–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record All-Star Break 50 February 16, 1995 8:00 p.m. EST Houston L 89–105 Johnson (18) Mourning (11) Bogues (12) Charlotte Coliseum 23,698 31–19
March: 7–7 (home: 4–3; road: 3–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
April: 8–4 (home: 4–2; road: 4–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
1994–95 schedule

Playoffs

1995 playoff game log
First Round: 1–3 (home: 1–1; road: 0–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 28 Chicago L 100–108 (OT) Alonzo Mourning (32) Alonzo Mourning (13) Muggsy Bogues (10) Charlotte Coliseum 23,859 0–1 2 April 30 Chicago W 106–89 Larry Johnson (25) Alonzo Mourning (20) Muggsy Bogues (7) Charlotte Coliseum 23,859 1–1 3 May 2 @ Chicago L 80–103 Larry Johnson (22) Alonzo Mourning (7) four players tied (3) United Center 24,114 1–2 4 May 4 @ Chicago L 84–85 Alonzo Mourning (20) Alonzo Mourning (13) Bogues, Wingate (5) United Center 24,221 1–3
1995 schedule

Player statistics

Ragular season

Player	POS	GP	GS	MP	REB	AST	STL	BLK	PTS	MPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Hersey Hawkins	SG	82	82	2,731	314	262	122	18	1,172	33.3	3.8	3.2	1.5	.2	14.3
Larry Johnson	PF	81	81	3,234	585	369	78	28	1,525	39.9	7.2	4.6	1.0	.3	18.8
Robert Parish	C	81	4	1,352	350	44	27	36	389	16.7	4.3	.5	.3	.4	4.8
Muggsy Bogues	PG	78	78	2,629	257	675	103	0	862	33.7	3.3	8.7	1.3	.0	11.1
Alonzo Mourning	C	77	77	2,941	761	111	49	225	1,643	38.2	9.9	1.4	.6	2.9	21.3
Dell Curry	SG	69	0	1,718	168	113	55	18	935	24.9	2.4	1.6	.8	.3	13.6
Scott Burrell	SF	65	62	2,014	368	161	75	40	750	31.0	5.7	2.5	1.2	.6	11.5
Joe Wolf	PF	63	6	583	129	37	9	6	90	9.3	2.0	.6	.1	.1	1.4
Greg Sutton	PG	53	4	690	56	91	33	2	263	13.0	1.1	1.7	.6	.0	5.0
David Wingate	SG	52	9	515	60	56	19	6	122	9.9	1.2	1.1	.4	.1	2.3
Darrin Hancock	SF	46	7	424	53	30	19	4	153	9.2	1.2	.7	.4	.1	3.3
Michael Adams	PG	29	0	443	29	95	23	1	188	15.3	1.0	3.3	.8	.0	6.5
Kenny Gattison	PF	21	0	409	75	17	7	15	125	19.5	3.6	.8	.3	.7	6.0
Tom Tolbert	PF	10	0	57	17	2	0	0	14	5.7	1.7	.2	.0	.0	1.4
James Blackwell†	PG	4	0	19	3	5	1	0	4	4.8	.8	1.3	.3	.0	1.0
Tony Bennett	PG	3	0	46	2	4	0	0	14	15.3	.7	1.3	.0	.0	4.7

• ^† Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Hornets only.

Playoffs

Player	POS	GP	GS	MP	REB	AST	STL	BLK	PTS	MPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Alonzo Mourning	C	4	4	174	53	11	3	13	88	43.5	13.3	2.8	.8	3.3	22.0
Larry Johnson	PF	4	4	172	23	11	4	2	83	43.0	5.8	2.8	1.0	.5	20.8
Muggsy Bogues	PG	4	4	145	6	25	4	0	34	36.3	1.5	6.3	1.0	.0	8.5
Hersey Hawkins	SG	4	4	130	21	8	6	2	45	32.5	5.3	2.0	1.5	.5	11.3
David Wingate	SG	4	4	73	6	15	4	0	32	18.3	1.5	3.8	1.0	.0	8.0
Dell Curry	SG	4	0	107	9	6	0	0	51	26.8	2.3	1.5	.0	.0	12.8
Robert Parish	C	4	0	71	9	1	0	3	14	17.8	2.3	.3	.0	.8	3.5
Kenny Gattison	PF	4	0	58	12	2	2	0	15	14.5	3.0	.5	.5	.0	3.8
Greg Sutton	PG	3	0	23	5	3	0	0	0	7.7	1.7	1.0	.0	.0	.0
Darrin Hancock	SF	3	0	18	4	1	1	0	4	6.0	1.3	.3	.3	.0	1.3
Michael Adams	PG	1	0	11	1	2	0	0	4	11.0	1.0	2.0	.0	.0	4.0
Joe Wolf	PF	1	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	3.0	.0	.0	.0	.0	.0

Awards and records

Transactions

The Hornets were involved in the following transactions during the 1994–95 season.

Trades

August 2, 1995

To Charlotte Hornets Michael Adams

To Washington Bullets 1996 second-round pick 1997 second-round pick

Free agents

Additions Player Signed Former team Robert Parish August 4 Boston Celtics James Blackwell October 3 La Crosse Catbirds (CBA) Tom Tolbert October 7 Los Angeles Clippers Joe Courtney November 2 Milwaukee Bucks Joe Wolf November 3 Baloncesto León (LEB Oro) Greg Sutton November 16 Apollon Patras B.C. (GBL) James Blackwell November 30 Pittsburgh Piranhas (CBA)

Subtractions Player Left New team Frank Brickowski free agency, August 19 Sacramento Kings James Blackwell waived, November 1 Pittsburgh Piranhas (CBA) Joe Courtney waived, November 16 Mexico Aztecas (CBA) James Blackwell waived, December 17 Boston Celtics Tom Tolbert waived, April 15 Retired

Player Transactions Citation:^[34]