2001–02 Charlotte Hornets season

The 2001–02 NBA season was the fourteenth, and final season for the original Charlotte Hornets in the National Basketball Association.^[1] During the off-season, the Hornets acquired George Lynch and Robert Traylor from the Philadelphia 76ers in a three-team trade,^[2][3][4] and signed free agents Stacey Augmon,^[5] Bryce Drew and three-point specialist Matt Bullard.^[6][7]

2001–02 Charlotte Hornets season
Head coach	Paul Silas
General manager	Bob Bass
Owner(s)	George Shinn Ray Wooldridge
Arena	Charlotte Coliseum
Results
Record	44–38 (.537)
Place	Division: 2nd (Central) Conference: 4th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Conference semifinals (lost to Nets 1–4)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	WJZY
Radio	WBT
< 2000–01 2004–05 >

The Hornets struggled playing around .500 basketball in the first half of the regular season, holding a 23–25 record at the All-Star break.^[8] Jamal Mashburn only played just 40 games due to a lower abdominal strain,^[9][10][11] and was replaced with second-year forward Lee Nailon as the team's starting small forward. Despite losing Mashburn, the Hornets posted a 7-game winning streak in March, and finished in second place in the Central Division with a 44–38 record, earning the #4 seed in the Eastern Conference, and qualifying for their seventh NBA playoff appearance.^[12]

Mashburn averaged 21.5 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game, while Baron Davis continued to show improvement, averaging 18.1 points, 8.5 assists and 2.1 steals per game, and was selected for the 2002 NBA All-Star Game in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,^{[13][14][15][16][17]} and David Wesley provided the team with 14.2 points and 3.5 assists per game. In addition, Elden Campbell contributed 13.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game, while Nailon provided with 10.8 points per game, P.J. Brown averaged 8.4 points and 9.8 rebounds per game, and second-year center Jamaal Magloire contributed 8.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game off the bench.^[18]

The Hornets defeated the Orlando Magic, 3–1 in the Eastern Conference First Round of the 2002 NBA playoffs,^{[19][20][21][22]} but lost 4–1 in the Eastern Conference Semi-finals to the top-seeded New Jersey Nets.^{[23][24][25][26]} The Nets would go on to reach the NBA Finals for the first time, but would lose to the Los Angeles Lakers in four straight games.^{[27][28][29][30][31]} Following the season, Nailon and Bullard were both released to free agency.

This was also the team's final season in Charlotte, North Carolina, as the Hornets relocated to New Orleans, Louisiana, and became the New Orleans Hornets next season;^{[32][33][34][35][36]} other city candidates for the team's relocation included Louisville, Kentucky, Norfolk, Virginia, St. Louis, Missouri and Anaheim, California.^[37][38][39] The Hornets also finished in last place in home-game attendance during the regular season, with an attendance of 462,738 at the Charlotte Coliseum, which was 29th in the league, plus posting a better 23–18 road record than their 21–20 record at home;^{[40][34][18][41]} the Hornets' low attendance was a stark contrast to their earlier years in Charlotte, where they led the league in home-game attendance eight times in the franchise's first nine seasons in the NBA (their 1988–89 inaugural season, and the 1990–91 to 1996–97 seasons).

The city of Charlotte would return to the NBA two seasons later with the expansion Charlotte Bobcats, who began play in the 2004–05 season; that franchise changed its name to the "Hornets" in 2014 after the original franchise renamed itself the "Pelicans", and also reclaimed the original Hornets' history from 1988 to 2002. As a result, the Hornets are now reckoned as having suspended operations after this season before returning as the Bobcats in 2004.

Offseason

NBA draft

Main article: 2001 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	16	Kirk Haston	PF	United States	Indiana

Roster

2001–02 Charlotte Hornets roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From G/F 2 Stacey Augmon 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1968–08–01 UNLV F/C 42 P.J. Brown 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1969–10–14 Louisiana Tech F 50 Matt Bullard 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1967–06–05 Iowa F/C 5 Elden Campbell 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1968–07–23 Clemson G 1 Baron Davis 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 209 lb (95 kg) 1979–04–13 UCLA G 17 Bryce Drew 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1974–09–21 Valparaiso F/C 35 Kirk Haston 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 242 lb (110 kg) 1979–03–10 Indiana F 9 George Lynch 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 1970–09–03 North Carolina C 21 Jamaal Magloire 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 259 lb (117 kg) 1978–05–21 Kentucky F 24 Jamal Mashburn 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1972–11–29 Kentucky C 6 Jérôme Moïso 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1978–06–15 UCLA F 54 Lee Nailon 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 238 lb (108 kg) 1975–02–22 TCU F 34 Robert Traylor 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 284 lb (129 kg) 1977–02–01 Michigan G 4 David Wesley 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1970–11–14 Baylor

Head coach Paul Silas Assistant(s) Jeff Bower Bob Donewald Jr. Brian Hill Stephen Silas Terry Kofler (trainer) Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Updated: November 19, 2001

Regular season

Season standings

Central Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Detroit Pistons	50	32	.610	–	26–15	24–17	20–8
x-Charlotte Hornets	44	38	.537	6	21–20	23–18	17–11
x-Toronto Raptors	42	40	.512	8	24–17	18–23	17–11
x-Indiana Pacers	42	40	.512	8	25–16	17–24	13–15
e-Milwaukee Bucks	41	41	.500	9	25–16	16–25	17–11
e-Atlanta Hawks	33	49	.402	17	23–18	10–31	11–17
e-Cleveland Cavaliers	29	53	.354	21	20–21	9–32	12–16
e-Chicago Bulls	21	61	.256	29	14–27	7–34	5–23

#	Eastern Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-New Jersey Nets	52	30	.634	–
2	y-Detroit Pistons	50	32	.610	2
3	x-Boston Celtics	49	33	.598	3
4	x-Charlotte Hornets	44	38	.537	8
5	x-Orlando Magic	44	38	.537	8
6	x-Philadelphia 76ers	43	39	.524	9
7	x-Toronto Raptors	42	40	.512	10
8	x-Indiana Pacers	42	40	.512	10
9	e-Milwaukee Bucks	41	41	.500	11
10	e-Washington Wizards	37	45	.451	15
11	e-Miami Heat	36	46	.439	16
12	e-Atlanta Hawks	33	49	.402	19
13	e-New York Knicks	30	52	.366	22
14	e-Cleveland Cavaliers	29	53	.354	23
15	e-Chicago Bulls	21	61	.256	31

z – clinched division title

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

2001-02 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHA	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MEM	MIA	MIL	MIN	NJN	NYK	ORL	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	TOR	UTA	WAS
Atlanta	—	2–2	2–2	3–1	3–1	0–2	2–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–1	1–3	0–2	2–1	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	1–1	0–3
Boston	2–2	—	2–1	2–2	4–0	0–2	2–0	2–2	1–1	0–2	3–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–3	1–1	3–1	4–0	3–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–2	1–1	3–1
Charlotte	2–2	1–2	—	4–0	3–1	0–2	2–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	3–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–0	2–2	0–2	1–3	2–2	3–1	1–3	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	3–1
Chicago	1–3	2–2	0–4	—	1–3	0–2	0–2	1–3	1–1	2–0	0–4	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–2	0–2	0–4	3–1	0–3	1–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–4	0–2	1–3
Cleveland	1–3	0–4	1–3	3–1	—	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–1	2–0	2–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	3–1	3–1	2–0	1–3	2–2	1–3	0–3	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–3	0–2	1–2
Dallas	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	—	4–0	1–1	4–0	2–2	2–0	2–2	1–3	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	1–3	3–1	1–1	3–1	1–1
Denver	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–4	—	0–2	1–3	2–2	0–2	1–3	1–3	3–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	3–1	2–2	0–4	0–4	3–1	1–1	1–3	0–2
Detroit	3–1	2–2	3–1	3–1	3–1	1–1	2–0	—	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–1	2–2	1–1	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	3–1	1–1	4–0
Golden State	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–4	3–1	1–1	—	1–3	0–2	2–2	1–3	3–1	0–2	0–2	1–3	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–4	2–2	0–4	0–4	0–4	0–2	0–4	1–1
Houston	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	2–2	1–1	3–1	—	0–2	1–3	0–4	1–3	0–2	1–1	2–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–2	1–3	0–4	0–4	2–2	1–1	2–2	1–1
Indiana	3–1	0–3	1–3	4–0	2–2	0–2	2–0	1–3	2–0	2–0	—	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–2	1–3	1–1	1–3	2–1	3–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–3	1–1	3–1
L.A. Clippers	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–2	3–1	1–1	2–2	3–1	1–1	—	1–3	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–2	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–2	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–1	0–4	1–1
L.A. Lakers	1–1	0–2	2–0	0–2	2–0	3–1	3–1	2–0	3–1	4–0	2–0	3–1	—	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–2	3–1	3–1	3–1	1–1	3–1	2–0
Memphis	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–4	1–3	0–2	1–3	3–1	1–1	1–3	1–3	—	1–1	0–2	0–4	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–3	2–2	1–3	0–4	0–4	1–1	3–1	0–2
Miami	1–3	1–3	0–3	3–1	1–3	1–1	2–0	1–2	2–0	2–0	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	—	3–1	0–2	1–3	2–2	3–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–3	0–2	2–2
Milwaukee	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	1–3	0–2	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	3–1	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–3	—	0–2	1–2	1–3	2–1	1–3	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–0	0–2	4–0	2–0	3–1
Minnesota	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–2	2–2	2–2	1–1	3–1	2–2	1–1	2–2	2–2	4–0	2–0	2–0	—	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–2	1–1	3–1	2–0
New Jersey	1–2	1–3	3–1	4–0	3–1	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–1	1–1	—	4–0	3–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–1	3–1
New York	3–1	0–4	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–2	3–1	0–2	0–4	—	0–4	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–0	3–0	1–1	1–3
Orlando	3–1	1–3	1–3	3–0	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	2–0	2–0	1–3	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–3	1–2	1–1	1–3	4–0	—	3–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	2–2
Philadelphia	3–1	3–1	3–1	2–1	3–0	1–1	1–1	1–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	2–0	1–1	0–2	3–1	3–1	1–1	2–2	3–1	1–3	—	2–0	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	0–2	2–3
Phoenix	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–3	1–1	4–0	2–2	1–1	1–3	2–2	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	—	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–1	2–2	0–2
Portland	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–2	2–0	2–2	3–1	1–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	1–1	2–0	2–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–2	—	2–2	1–3	3–1	1–1	1–3	2–0
Sacramento	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–3	4–0	2–0	4–0	4–0	0–2	3–1	1–3	3–1	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–2	—	3–1	2–2	2–0	4–0	1–1
San Antonio	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	4–0	2–0	4–0	4–0	1–1	3–1	1–3	4–0	1–1	0–2	2–2	0–2	2–0	2–0	1–1	3–1	3–1	1–3	—	2–2	1–1	4–0	2–0
Seattle	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–3	1–3	1–1	4–0	2–2	2–0	3–1	1–3	4–0	0–2	2–0	2–2	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–2	—	2–0	1–3	1–1
Toronto	4–0	2–2	2–2	4–0	3–1	1–1	1–1	1–3	2–0	1–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	0–4	1–1	2–2	0–3	1–3	3–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	—	1–1	1–2
Utah	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–3	3–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	1–1	4–0	1–3	1–3	2–0	0–2	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	0–4	0–4	3–1	1–1	—	2–0
Washington	3–0	1–3	1–3	3–1	2–1	1–1	2–0	0–4	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–2	1–3	0–2	1–3	3–1	2–2	3–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–1	0–2	—

Playoffs

2002 playoff game log Total: 4–5 (home: 2–2; road: 2–3)
First Round: 3–1 (home: 1–1; road: 2–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 20 Orlando W 80–79 Baron Davis (28) P. J. Brown (15) Baron Davis (7) Charlotte Coliseum 9,505 1–0 2 April 23 Orlando L 103–111 (OT) Elden Campbell (27) Elden Campbell (13) Baron Davis (10) Charlotte Coliseum 10,323 1–1 3 April 27 @ Orlando W 110–100 (OT) Baron Davis (33) Baron Davis (14) Baron Davis (10) TD Waterhouse Centre 16,754 2–1 4 April 30 @ Orlando W 102–85 Baron Davis (28) Baron Davis (11) Baron Davis (10) TD Waterhouse Centre 16,254 3–1
Conference semifinals: 1–4 (home: 1–1; road: 0–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 May 5 @ New Jersey L 93–99 Baron Davis (23) P. J. Brown (9) David Wesley (7) Continental Airlines Arena 19,071 0–1 2 May 7 @ New Jersey L 88–102 Baron Davis (21) George Lynch (11) Baron Davis (7) Continental Airlines Arena 20,049 0–2 3 May 9 New Jersey W 115–97 Baron Davis (26) George Lynch (12) Baron Davis (8) Charlotte Coliseum 11,363 1–2 4 May 12 New Jersey L 79–89 Baron Davis (20) P. J. Brown (16) Baron Davis (6) Charlotte Coliseum 13,864 1–3 5 May 15 @ New Jersey L 95–103 Magloire, Nailon (14) George Lynch (13) Baron Davis (8) Continental Airlines Arena 20,049 1–4
2002 schedule

Player statistics

Ragular season

Player	POS	GP	GS	MP	REB	AST	STL	BLK	PTS	MPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Baron Davis	PG	82	82	3,318	349	698	172	47	1,484	40.5	4.3	8.5	2.1	.6	18.1
Jamaal Magloire	C	82	8	1,549	461	31	27	86	699	18.9	5.6	.4	.3	1.0	8.5
P. J. Brown	C	80	80	2,563	786	107	59	78	669	32.0	9.8	1.3	.7	1.0	8.4
Lee Nailon	SF	79	41	1,912	291	94	59	17	851	24.2	3.7	1.2	.7	.2	10.8
Elden Campbell	PF	77	74	2,156	530	102	60	137	1,074	28.0	6.9	1.3	.8	1.8	13.9
Stacey Augmon	SG	77	3	1,319	225	103	56	12	357	17.1	2.9	1.3	.7	.2	4.6
David Wesley	SG	67	63	2,487	143	236	74	15	951	37.1	2.1	3.5	1.1	.2	14.2
Robert Traylor	PF	61	1	678	187	37	24	37	228	11.1	3.1	.6	.4	.6	3.7
Bryce Drew	PG	61	0	774	72	101	32	2	210	12.7	1.2	1.7	.5	.0	3.4
George Lynch	SF	45	18	893	186	54	40	14	172	19.8	4.1	1.2	.9	.3	3.8
Jamal Mashburn	SF	40	40	1,601	242	171	45	6	858	40.0	6.1	4.3	1.1	.2	21.5
Matt Bullard	PF	31	0	350	47	16	2	2	105	11.3	1.5	.5	.1	.1	3.4
Kirk Haston	PF	15	0	77	20	5	0	1	26	5.1	1.3	.3	.0	.1	1.7
Jérôme Moïso	C	15	0	76	25	4	3	2	16	5.1	1.7	.3	.2	.1	1.1
Eldridge Recasner†	SG	1	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	2.0	.0	.0	.0	.0	.0

• ^† 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
Baron Davis	PG	9	9	401	63	71	32	5	203	44.6	7.0	7.9	3.6	.6	22.6
David Wesley	SG	9	9	377	17	31	10	2	142	41.9	1.9	3.4	1.1	.2	15.8
P. J. Brown	C	9	9	331	86	14	6	12	92	36.8	9.6	1.6	.7	1.3	10.2
Elden Campbell	PF	9	9	254	60	16	6	23	122	28.2	6.7	1.8	.7	2.6	13.6
George Lynch	SF	9	7	286	76	14	10	6	69	31.8	8.4	1.6	1.1	.7	7.7
Lee Nailon	SF	9	1	160	24	6	3	0	69	17.8	2.7	.7	.3	.0	7.7
Stacey Augmon	SG	9	0	152	27	13	10	1	48	16.9	3.0	1.4	1.1	.1	5.3
Jamaal Magloire	C	8	0	168	45	5	0	15	98	21.0	5.6	.6	.0	1.9	12.3
Robert Traylor	PF	8	0	62	16	3	2	2	18	7.8	2.0	.4	.3	.3	2.3
Bryce Drew	PG	2	0	5	0	2	0	0	2	2.5	.0	1.0	.0	.0	1.0
Kirk Haston	PF	2	0	4	1	0	1	0	2	2.0	.5	.0	.5	.0	1.0
Jamal Mashburn	SF	1	1	10	1	1	0	0	0	10.0	1.0	1.0	.0	.0	.0

Awards and records

Transactions

• June 14, 2001

Traded a 2001 2nd round draft pick (Sean Lampley was later selected) to the Chicago Bulls for Roberto Dueñas.

• July 24, 2001

Signed Bryce Drew as a free agent.

• July 25, 2001

Signed Stacey Augmon as a free agent.

• August 13, 2001

Signed Matt Bullard as a free agent.

• October 25, 2001

As part of a 3-team trade, the Charlotte Hornets traded Derrick Coleman to the Philadelphia 76ers; the Charlotte Hornets traded cash to the Golden State Warriors; the Golden State Warriors traded Chris Porter to the Charlotte Hornets; the Golden State Warriors traded Corie Blount and Vonteego Cummings to the Philadelphia 76ers; the Philadelphia 76ers traded George Lynch, Jérôme Moïso and Robert Traylor to the Charlotte Hornets; and the Philadelphia 76ers traded Cedric Henderson and a 2005 1st round draft pick (Joey Graham was later selected) to the Golden State Warriors.

• October 26, 2001

Waived Chris Porter.

• October 29, 2001

Waived Tim James.

• November 19, 2001

Waived Eldridge Recasner.

Player Transactions Citation:^[42]