The 2000âÂÂ01 Charlotte Hornets season was the 13th season for the Charlotte Hornets in the National Basketball Association. During the off-season, the Hornets acquired Jamal Mashburn, P.J. Brown and Otis Thorpe from the Miami Heat, and re-signed free agent and former Hornets guard Hersey Hawkins, who played for the team from 1993 to 1995.
The team won four of their first five games of the regular season, then lost five straight games, but then went on a six-game winning streak. The team posted two 7-game winning streaks in December, and between February and March, and held a 26âÂÂ25 record at the All-Star break. The Hornets finished in third place in the Central Division with a 46âÂÂ36 record, earned the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference, and qualified for their sixth NBA playoff appearance.
Mashburn averaged 20.1 points, 7.6 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game, and also led the Hornets with 103 three-point field goals, while David Wesley, who moved into the shooting guard position, averaged 17.2 points, 4.4 assists and 1.6 steals per game, and second-year guard Baron Davis showed improvement becoming the team's starting point guard, averaging 13.8 points, 7.3 assists and 2.1 steals per game. In addition, Elden Campbell provided the team with 13.1 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game, while Brown provided with 8.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per game, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. Off the bench, Derrick Coleman averaged 8.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, while second-year forward Eddie Robinson contributed 7.4 points per game, and first-round draft pick Jamaal Magloire provided with 4.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game. Coleman was replaced with Brown as the team's starting power forward, and only played just 34 games due to an irregular heartbeat and weight problems.
During the NBA All-Star weekend at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C., Davis was selected for the NBA Rookie Challenge Game, as a member of the Sophomores team, and also participated in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest. Meanwhile, Wesley participated in the NBA 2Ball Competition, along with Dawn Staley of the WNBA's Charlotte Sting. Davis also finished in fifth place in Most Improved Player voting.
In the 2001 NBA playoffs, the Hornets all wore headbands to show team unity; in the Eastern Conference First Round, the team faced off against the 3rdâÂÂseeded Miami Heat, who were led by the All-Star trio of former Hornets players, Eddie Jones, Anthony Mason and Alonzo Mourning. The Hornets won the first two games over the Heat on the road at the American Airlines Arena, before winning Game 3 at home, 94âÂÂ79 at the Charlotte Coliseum to win the series in a three-game sweep.
In the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, the team faced off against the 2ndâÂÂseeded, and Central Division champion Milwaukee Bucks, who were led by the trio of All-Star guard Ray Allen, All-Star forward Glenn Robinson, and Sam Cassell. The Hornets lost the first two games to the Bucks on the road at the Bradley Center, but managed to win the next two games at home at the Charlotte Coliseum, before winning Game 5 on the road, 94âÂÂ86 to take a 3âÂÂ2 series lead. However, the Hornets lost the next two games, including a Game 7 loss to the Bucks at the Bradley Center, 104âÂÂ95, thus losing in a hard-fought seven-game series.
In March, the Hornets applied with the NBA to move the team to Memphis, Tennessee for the following season, due to their decline in home-game attendance. However, they withdrew their application due to the rise of their attendance during the NBA playoffs, after sweeping the Heat in the first round, and with a capacity crowd of 22,283 in Game 3 at the Charlotte Coliseum. The Hornets' home-game attendance continued to decrease, as the team finished 21st in the NBA with an attendance of 615,424 at the Charlotte Coliseum during the regular season.
Following the season, Coleman was traded back to his former team, the Philadelphia 76ers, while Robinson signed as a free agent with the Chicago Bulls, and Hawkins and Thorpe both retired.
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 1 | April 21 | @ Miami | W 106âÂÂ80 | Jamal Mashburn (28) | P. J. Brown (7) | Baron Davis (8) | American Airlines Arena<br>20,085 | 1âÂÂ0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 2 | April 23 | @ Miami | W 102âÂÂ76 | Jamal Mashburn (22) | P. J. Brown (8) | Baron Davis (4) | American Airlines Arena<br>16,500 | 2âÂÂ0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 3 | April 27 | Miami | W 94âÂÂ79 | Davis, Mashburn (21) | P. J. Brown (12) | Jamal Mashburn (8) | Charlotte Coliseum<br>22,283 | 3âÂÂ0
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 1 | May 6 | @ Milwaukee | L 92âÂÂ104 | Jamal Mashburn (23) | Elden Campbell (13) | Baron Davis (7) | Bradley Center<br>18,717 | 0âÂÂ1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 2 | May 8 | @ Milwaukee | L 90âÂÂ91 | David Wesley (20) | P. J. Brown (11) | David Wesley (7) | Bradley Center<br>18,717 | 0âÂÂ2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 3 | May 10 | Milwaukee | W 102âÂÂ92 | Jamal Mashburn (36) | P. J. Brown (16) | three players tied (6) | Charlotte Coliseum<br>17,392 | 1âÂÂ2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 4 | May 13 | Milwaukee | W 85âÂÂ78 | Jamal Mashburn (31) | P. J. Brown (13) | Baron Davis (7) | Charlotte Coliseum<br>18,756 | 2âÂÂ2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 5 | May 15 | @ Milwaukee | W 94âÂÂ86 | Jamal Mashburn (24) | Elden Campbell (10) | Jamal Mashburn (8) | Bradley Center<br>18,717 | 3âÂÂ2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 6 | May 17 | Milwaukee | L 97âÂÂ104 | David Wesley (27) | Jamal Mashburn (9) | Jamal Mashburn (7) | Charlotte Coliseum<br>23,509 | 3âÂÂ3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 7 | May 20 | @ Milwaukee | L 95âÂÂ104 | Baron Davis (29) | Elden Campbell (10) | Jamal Mashburn (9) | Bradley Center<br>18,717 | 3âÂÂ4 |-
Traded Ricky Davis, Dale Ellis, Eddie Jones and Anthony Mason to the Miami Heat for P.J. Brown, Rodney Buford, Tim James, Jamal Mashburn and Otis Thorpe.
Signed Hersey Hawkins as a free agent.
Signed Terrance Roberson as a free agent.
Waived Rodney Buford.
Waived Terrance Roberson.
Signed Doug Overton to a 10-day contract.
Signed Scott Burrell to a contract for the rest of the season.
Player Transactions Citation: