Follow
The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, that competes in the National Basketball Association (NBA). They are members of the Southeast Division in the league's Eastern Conference. The team is largely owned by former NBA player Michael Jordan, who acquired controlling interest in the team in 2010. The Hornets play their home games at Time Warner Cable Arena in center-city Charlotte.
The original Hornets franchise was established in 1988 as an expansion team. The team owned by George Shinn relocated to New Orleans following the 2001–02 season, to become the New Orleans Hornets. In 2004 the NBA established, what was regarded at the time as a new expansion team in Charlotte, the Charlotte Bobcats. In 2013, the New Orleans franchise announced it would rebrand itself the New Orleans Pelicans, ultimately returning the Hornets name, records, and official history from 1988 to 2002 to Charlotte. The Bobcats were officially renamed the Charlotte Hornets for the 2014–15 NBA season.