2005–06 New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets season

The 2005–06 New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets season was the team's fourth season in the NBA. They began the season hoping to improve upon their 18–64 record from the previous season (worst in the Western Conference that year). They finished the season with a 38–44 record, missing the playoffs for the second year in a row.

2005–06 New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets season
Head coach	Byron Scott
General manager	Jeff Bower
Owner(s)	George Shinn
Arena	Ford Center (36 games) New Orleans Arena (3 games) Pete Maravich Assembly Center (1 game) Lloyd Noble Center (1 game)
Results
Record	38–44 (.463)
Place	Division: 4th (Southwest) Conference: 10th (Western)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	Cox Sports Television The Cox Channel Cox 4
Radio	WTIX KTOK
< 2004–05 2006–07 >

Before the commencement of training camp, the City of New Orleans was hit by Hurricane Katrina.^[1] With the New Orleans Arena partly damaged and the city's infrastructure in need of repair the Hornets signed a deal to play most of their games in Oklahoma City, becoming the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets for this season. In Oklahoma City, the Hornets enjoyed sell-out crowds at the Ford Center.^[1]

The addition of draft pick Chris Paul resulted in the team competing for a playoff spot. In January and February, the club played winning basketball despite losing Chris Andersen to a two-year suspension for illegal drugs. Paul showed the poise and play making skills of a veteran finishing second in steals and seventh in assists as he posted a terrific 3.34 assist-to-turnover ratio, while leading all rookies with 16.1 points per game.^[1]

On March 8, the Hornets returned to New Orleans with a near sell-out crowd on hand to watch the Hornets lose to the Los Angeles Lakers 113–107.^[1] In March, the Hornets went into a tailspin, winning just 3 of 14 games. The Hornets went on to finish in 4th place in their division. Chris Paul was named Rookie of the Year.^[2]

Draft picks

Main article: 2005 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	4	Chris Paul[3]	PG	United States	Wake Forest
2	33	Brandon Bass	F	United States	LSU

Roster

2005–06 New Orleans Hornets roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From C 12 Chris Andersen 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1978-07-07 Blinn PF 33 Brandon Bass 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1985-04-30 LSU C 42 P. J. Brown 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1969-10-14 Louisiana Tech SF 45 Rasual Butler 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1979-05-23 La Salle PG 5 Speedy Claxton 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 166 lb (75 kg) 1978-05-08 Hofstra PF 21 Marcus Fizer 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 262 lb (119 kg) 1978-08-10 Iowa State C 44 Marc Jackson 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 270 lb (122 kg) 1975-01-16 Temple SF 43 Linton Johnson 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1980-06-13 Tulane SG 6 Arvydas Macijauskas 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 214 lb (97 kg) 1980-01-19 Lithuania SF 24 Desmond Mason 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 224 lb (102 kg) 1977-10-11 Oklahoma State PG 25 Moochie Norris 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1973-07-27 West Florida PG 3 Chris Paul 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1985-05-06 Wake Forest SG 23 J. R. Smith 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1985-09-09 St. Benedict's Prep HS (NJ) SG 1 Kirk Snyder 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1983-06-05 Nevada PF 30 David West 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1980-08-29 Xavier C 34 Aaron Williams 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1971-10-02 Xavier

Head coach Byron Scott Assistant(s) Jim Cleamons Kenny Gattison David Miller Darrell Walker Terry Kofler (trainer) Scott Cochran (assistant strength coach) Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Updated: March 31, 2006

Regular season

Standings

Southwest Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-San Antonio Spurs	63	19	.768	-	34–7	29–12	13–3
x-Dallas Mavericks	60	22	.732	3	34–7	26–15	13–3
x-Memphis Grizzlies	49	33	.598	14	30–11	19–22	6–10
New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets	38	44	.463	25	24–17	14–27	7–9
Houston Rockets	34	48	.415	29	15–26	19–22	1–15

#	Western Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-San Antonio Spurs	63	19	.768	-
2	y-Phoenix Suns	54	28	.659	9
3	y-Denver Nuggets	44	38	.537	19
4	x-Dallas Mavericks	60	22	.732	3
5	x-Memphis Grizzlies	49	33	.598	14
6	x-Los Angeles Clippers	47	35	.573	16
7	x-Los Angeles Lakers	45	37	.549	18
8	x-Sacramento Kings	44	38	.537	19
9	Utah Jazz	41	41	.500	22
10	New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets	38	44	.463	25
11	Seattle SuperSonics	35	47	.427	28
12	Golden State Warriors	34	48	.415	29
13	Houston Rockets	34	48	.415	29
14	Minnesota Timberwolves	33	49	.402	30
15	Portland Trail Blazers	21	61	.256	42

Game log

2005–06 game log Total: 38–44 (Home: 22–19; Road: 16–25)
November: 7–7 (home: 3–3; road: 4–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 November 1 Sacramento W 93–67 P. J. Brown (20) David West (11) Speedy Claxton & Chris Paul (4) Ford Center 19,163 1–0 2 November 2 @ Cleveland L 87–109 Speedy Claxton (16) Chris Andersen (8) Boštjan Nachbar (6) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 1–1 3 November 5 @ Houston W 91–84 P. J. Brown (18) P. J. Brown (13) Claxton & Paul (8) Toyota Center 15,875 2–1 4 November 9 Orlando L 83–88 Speedy Claxton (24) P. J. Brown (10) Speedy Claxton (6) Ford Center 18,508 2–2 5 November 12 Dallas L 103–109 Chris Paul (26) P. J. Brown (7) Speedy Claxton (7) Ford Center 19,163 2–3 6 November 15 @ Miami L 102–109 (OT) P. J. Brown (24) P. J. Brown (12) Chris Paul (10) American Airlines Arena 19,600 2–4 7 November 16 Denver L 81–91 Chris Paul (18) Brown, Paul, & West (9) Kirk Snyder (5) Ford Center 18,442 2–5 8 November 18 Atlanta W 95–92 Chris Paul (25) Chris Andersen (18) Chris Paul (12) Ford Center 17,554 3–5 9 November 19 @ Orlando W 98–95 David West (34) Andersen & West (8) Chris Paul (8) TD Waterhouse Centre 14,489 4–5 10 November 21 @ Philadelphia L 91–103 David West (20) David West (9) Chris Paul (6) Wachovia Center 12,452 4–6 11 November 23 Minnesota W 84–80 David West (22) David West (13) Chris Paul (8) Ford Center 19,163 5–6 12 November 26 @ Seattle W 105–99 David West (21) Desmond Mason & Paul (7) Chris Paul (10) Key Arena 16,371 6–6 13 November 28 @ Golden State L 83–99 Chris Paul (15) David West (11) Speedy Claxton (9) Oakland Arena 16,270 6–7 14 November 30 @ Denver W 102–95 Desmond Mason (26) P. J. Brown (12) Chris Paul (9) Pepsi Center 15,603 7–7
December : 5–10 (home: 4–3; road: 1–7) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 15 December 2 Philadelphia W 88–86 David West (22) P. J. Brown (14) Chris Paul (9) Ford Center 19,163 8–7 16 December 3 @ Dallas L 88–97 Chris Paul (25) Brown & Paul (6) Chris Paul (5) American Airlines Center 19,651 8–8 17 December 6 @ Memphis L 73–89 Mason & West (15) Chris Andersen (10) Paul, J. R. Smith, & Claxton (4) FedEx Forum 13,271 8–9 18 December 7 Boston L 87–101 David West (29) Chris Paul (10) Chris Paul (6) Ford Center 18,753 8–10 19 December 9 @ Portland L 95–98 (OT) Speedy Claxton (27) Chris Paul (7) Chris Paul (10) Rose Garden 12,305 8–11 20 December 11 @ Sacramento W 100–110 Chris Paul (18) P. J. Brown (8) Chris Paul (12) ARCO Arena 17,317 8–12 21 December 12 @ Phoenix W 91–87 J. R. Smith (26) J. R. Smith (10) Chris Paul (7) America West Arena 15,547 9–12 22 December 14 L.A. Clippers W 102–89 J. R. Smith (21) David West (12) Chris Paul (8) Ford Center 17,490 10–12 23 December 16 Phoenix L 88–101 Chris Paul (25) Brown & West (13) Chris Paul (6) Pete Maravich Assembly Center 7,302 10–13 24 December 18 San Antonio W 89–76 David West (19) Chris Paul (12) Chris Paul (9) Ford Center 19,297 11–13 25 December 21 @ Minnesota L 69–88 Chris Paul (15) P. J. Brown (9) Speedy Claxton (4) Target Center 14,454 11–14 26 December 23 @ Milwaukee L 94–101 David West (27) David West (18) Chris Paul (8) Bradley Center 16,824 11–15 27 December 28 Houston W 92–90 J. R. Smith (16) Brown & West (7) Chris Paul (15) Ford Center 19,205 12–15 28 December 29 @ San Antonio L 84–111 David West (18) P. J. Brown (6) Chris Paul (7) AT&T Center 18,797 12–16 29 December 31 Dallas L 90–95 David West (18) David West (10) Chris Paul (10) Ford Center 19,170 12–17
January : 10–5 (home: 6–2; road: 4–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 30 January 2 Charlotte W 103–86 Chris Paul (24) Mason & West (9) Chris Paul (11) Ford Center 17,683 13–17 31 January 4 Miami W 107–92 Desmond Mason (24) Mason & West (7) Chris Paul (9) Ford Center 19,326 14–17 32 January 6 Portland W 90–80 Kirk Snyder (22) David West (13) Speedy Claxton (7) Ford Center 18,995 14–18 33 January 7 @ Atlanta L 93–101 Speedy Claxton (29) David West (9) Kirk Snyder (4) Philips Arena 11,332 14–19 34 January 10 Detroit L 86–96 David West (20) P. J. Brown (9) Chris Paul (5) Ford Center 19,260 15–19 35 January 13 Sacramento W 90–76 David West (19) Chris Paul (8) Speedy Claxton (8) Lloyd Noble Center 11,343 16–19 36 January 14 @ Houston W 86–80 Chris Paul (17) P. J. Brown (10) Chris Paul (5) Toyota Center 14,724 17–19 37 January 16 @ Charlotte W 107–92 Chris Paul (24) David West (11) Chris Paul (6) Charlotte Bobcats Arena 15,303 18–19 38 January 18 Memphis W 87–79 Chris Paul (16) David West (14) Chris Paul (9) Ford Center 14,554 19–19 39 January 20 @ Washington L 99–110 Chris Paul (28) David West (7) Chris Paul (11) Verizon Center 19,062 19–20 40 January 21 @ New York W 109–98 Chris Paul (27) P. J. Brown (9) Chris Paul (13) Madison Square Garden 19,763 20–20 41 January 23 @ Boston L 78–91 David West (21) P. J. Brown (8) Chris Paul (6) TD Banknorth Garden 14,473 20–21 42 January 25 San Antonio L 68–84 Rasual Butler & West (15) P. J. Brown (9) Chris Paul (4) Ford Center 19,289 20–22 43 January 28 @ Memphis W 95–86 Speedy Claxton (20) David West (12) Chris Paul (8) FedExForum 16,228 21–22 44 January 30 Milwaukee W 94–93 David West (24) David West (15) Chris Paul (9) Ford Center 18,197 22–22
February : 9–4 (home: 6–1; road: 3–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 45 February 1 Chicago W 100–95 Chris Paul (25) Brown & West (6) Chris Paul (13) Ford Center 19,163 23–22 46 February 4 L.A. Lakers W 106–90 Desmond Mason (21) P. J. Brown (9) Chris Paul (13) Ford Center 19,334 24–22 47 February 6 @ New Jersey L 91–99 Speedy Claxton (23) Mason & Paul (7) Chris Paul (13) Continental Airlines Arena 13,998 24–23 48 February 8 Seattle W 109–102 David West (26) David West (10) Kirk Snyder (12) Ford Center 18,807 25–23 49 February 10 New York W 111–100 David West (21) David West (10) Speedy Claxton (11) Ford Center 19,163 26–23 50 February 11 @ Minnesota W 100–94 Claxton & Snyder (28) Desmond Mason (9) Speedy Claxton (7) Target Center 15,933 27–23 51 February 13 Washington W 97–96 David West (19) David West (9) Speedy Claxton (10) Ford Center 18,678 28–23 52 February 15 Portland W 102–86 Kirk Snyder (22) Rasual Butler (9) Chris Paul (7) Ford Center 19,051 29–23 53 February 21 @ Indiana L 75–97 Chris Paul (27) Desmond Mason (7) Chris Paul (6) Conseco Fieldhouse 14,108 29–24 54 February 22 Utah W 100–95 Chris Paul (18) Aaron Williams (13) Chris Paul (7) Ford Center 18,368 29–25 55 February 25 @ Utah W 100–95 Chris Paul (23) Linton Johnson (11) Chris Paul (8) EnergySolutions Arena 18,471 30–25 56 February 26 @ Portland W 102–86 David West (22) Marc Jackson (8) Chris Paul (8) Rose Garden 12,860 31–25 57 February 28 @ Seattle L 104–114 Chris Paul (25) Chris Paul (7) Chris Paul (14) Key Arena 15,115 31–26
March : 3–11 (home: 2–6; road: 1–5) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 58 March 1 @ L.A. Clippers L 67–89 Desmond Mason (20) P. J. Brown (11) Chris Paul (12) Staples Center 16,157 31–27 59 March 6 Phoenix L 88–101 David West (20) David West (8) Chris Paul (11) Ford Center 19,207 31–28 60 March 8 L.A. Lakers L 107–113 David West (25) Kirk Snyder (6) Chris Paul (10) New Orleans Arena 17,744 31–29 61 March 10 Indiana L 90–92 David West (20) Chris Paul (7) Chris Paul (8) Ford Center 18,506 31–30 62 March 12 New Jersey L 84–95 Chris Paul (17) P. J. Brown (8) Chris Paul (7) Ford Center 19,198 31–31 63 March 14 @ San Antonio L 81–96 Jackson & Paul (16) Rasual Butler (8) Chris Paul (7) AT&T Center 18,797 31–32 64 March 18 Denver L 94–109 David West (24) P. J. Brown (10) Chris Paul (10) New Orleans Arena 17,912 31–33 65 March 21 L.A. Clippers W 120–108 Rasual Butler (32) David West (11) Chris Paul (9) New Orleans Arena 16,799 32–33 66 March 23 Houston L 92–93 David West (14) David West (11) Speedy Claxton (10) Ford Center 19,163 32–34 67 March 24 @ Chicago L 82–96 Chris Paul (13) Brown & Butler (9) Speedy Claxton (6) United Center 21,793 32–35 68 March 26 @ L.A. Lakers L 67–89 David West (23) David West (10) Claxton & Paul (6) Staples Center 18,997 32–36 69 March 27 @ Utah L 80–104 Rasual Butler (15) P. J. Brown (8) Chris Paul (7) EnergySolutions Arena 17,437 32–37 70 March 29 @ Golden State W 86–85 Rasual Butler (20) Marc Jackson (8) Chris Paul (7) Oakland Arena 16,885 33–37 71 March 31 Memphis W 107–102 Marc Jackson (24) Linton Johnson (8) Speedy Claxton (8) Ford Center 18,817 34–37
April : 4–7 (home: 3–2; road: 1–5) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 72 April 2 @ Toronto W 120–113 (2 OT) Chris Paul (24) Chris Paul (12) Claxton & Paul (12) Air Canada Centre 15,079 35–37 73 April 4 @ Detroit L 93–101 Paul & West (24) Jackson, Johnson, & West (6) Chris Paul (10) The Palace of Auburn Hills 22,076 35–38 74 April 5 Golden State W 114–109 (OT) Speedy Claxton (21) Butler & Paul (11) Chris Paul (16) Ford Center 18,169 36–38 75 April 7 Toronto W 95–89 David West (19) David West (9) Chris Paul (8) Ford Center 18,854 37–38 76 April 8 @ Dallas L 77–101 Rasual Butler (14) Brown & Butler (7) Chris Paul (5) American Airlines Center 20,336 37–39 77 April 10 Cleveland L 101–103 Chris Paul (22) P. J. Brown (10) Chris Paul (5) Ford Center 19,187 37–40 78 April 12 Seattle W 104–99 Chris Paul (21) Marc Jackson (14) Chris Paul (6) Ford Center 18,607 38–40 79 April 14 Utah L 104–105 David West (31) David West (12) Chris Paul (7) Ford Center 19,163 38–41 80 April 16 @ Sacramento L 79–96 Chris Paul (12) Brandon Bass (7) Chris Paul (7) ARCO Arena 17,317 38–42 81 April 17 @ Phoenix L 78–115 Jackson & Paul (11) Linton Johnson (7) Chris Paul (5) US Airways Arena 18,442 38–43 82 April 19 @ L.A. Lakers L 95–115 P. J. Brown (16) Marc Jackson (13) Chris Paul (7) Staples Center 18,997 38–44
2005–06 schedule

Player statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Chris Andersen	32	2	17.8	.571	.000	.476	4.8	0.2	0.3	1.3	5.0
Brandon Bass	29	1	9.2	.400	.000	.632	2.3	0.1	0.1	0.2	2.3
P.J. Brown	75	73	31.7	.461	.000	.827	7.3	1.2	0.6	0.7	9.0
Rasual Butler	79	20	23.7	.406	.380	.693	2.9	0.5	0.4	0.6	8.7
Speedy Claxton	71	3	28.4	.413	.270	.769	2.7	4.8	1.5	0.1	12.3
Marcus Fizer	3	0	13.0	.529	1.000	.500	2.3	0.3	0.0	0.0	6.7
Marc Jackson	27	10	22.0	.489	.500	.824	4.7	0.8	0.3	0.1	9.1
Linton Johnson	27	7	18.1	.403	.361	.739	4.3	0.4	0.4	0.4	5.3
Maciej Lampe	2	0	8.0	.000	.000	.000	2.0	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Arvydas Macijauskas	19	0	7.1	.341	.250	.867	0.5	0.3	0.4	0.0	2.3
Desmond Mason	70	55	30.0	.399	.167	.682	4.3	0.9	0.6	0.2	10.8
Boštjan Nachbar	25	13	16.2	.339	.298	.694	2.0	0.9	0.5	0.2	5.0
Moochie Norris	16	0	11.4	.426	.444	.640	1.3	1.3	0.4	0.0	3.8
Chris Paul	78	78	36.0	.430	.282	.847	5.1	7.8	2.2	0.1	16.1
J.R. Smith	55	25	18.0	.393	.371	.822	2.0	1.1	0.7	0.1	7.7
Kirk Snyder	68	45	19.3	.453	.357	.735	2.4	1.5	0.4	0.3	8.0
Jackson Vroman	41	2	9.9	.394	.000	.477	2.1	0.3	0.3	0.3	1.8
David West	74	74	34.1	.512	.273	.843	7.4	1.2	0.8	0.9	17.1
Aaron Williams	34	2	20.4	.516	.000	.673	4.9	0.5	0.4	0.5	5.8

Bold leads team. Minimum of ten games started.
Reference:^[4]

Awards and records

Awards

• Chris Paul, NBA Rookie of the Year Award^[5]
• Chris Paul, NBA All-Rookie Team 1st Team

Free agents

Additions Player Signed Former team

Subtractions Player Left New team

See also

• 2005–06 NBA season