Charlotte Bobcats

The Charlotte Bobcats are a professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They play in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Founded in 2004, the Bobcats are the newest NBA team. more...

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Home arenas

Charlotte Coliseum (2004-2005)

Charlotte Bobcats Arena (2005-present)

Franchise history

When the Charlotte Hornets relocated to New Orleans for the 2002-03 season, the city and the NBA agreed to create a new team in Charlotte for the 2004-05 season. Several ownership groups, including one led by former Boston Celtics star Larry Bird, made bids for the team. In the end, a group led by BET founder Robert L. Johnson won out. Johnson is one of the first prominent African American owners in U.S. sports. Another notable co-owner is minority owner and rapper Nelly.

The Bobcats' name was voted upon, with the other possible choices having been the Charlotte Dragons or the Charlotte Flight (which actually won the public vote, mainly because of the Wright Brothers, and also the proclamation "First in Flight" on North Carolina's license plates). Despite not winning this vote, ultimately it was Johnson's call all along, as he went with his personal favorite, "Bobcats." The bobcat is one of the few indigenous predators to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg County area of North Carolina. That paired with the fact that Charlotte is home to the NFL's Carolina Panthers made the cat-theme a natural choice to carry over to its new basketball team (in keeping up with the cat theme, the city's public-transit system is called CATS, short for "Charlotte Area Transit System"). It is often stated that another reason for the team's name is a derivation of the owner's name since he is a "cat named Bob."

One of the ironies in the formation of the franchise, was the fact that despite numerous failed attempts at the ballot box to fully fund a new arena downtown, the city politicians decided to go ahead with the plans anyway and laid on a hotel and leisure tax in Charlotte to help pay for it. It was George Shinn, owner of the Hornets, who wanted the city of Charlotte to pay for a new arena all on its own as well, but didn't get it, and subsequently left town for New Orleans. Johnson waltzed in and received probably an even better deal, as he actually receives the profits made off of the Charlotte Bobcats Arena. Since then, the Hornets have become the most despised team in Charlotte, for the same reasons that the Indianapolis Colts are reviled in Baltimore, Maryland, home to the Ravens.

The team plays in the Eastern Conference's Southeastern division, along with the Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, Atlanta Hawks, and Washington Wizards.

The Bobcats held their expansion draft on Tuesday, June 22, 2004, picking up such seasoned players as Predrag Drobnjak and talented youngsters such as Gerald Wallace. However, Drobnjak would never play for the team, instead signing a one year contract with the Atlanta Hawks. They also traded with the Los Angeles Clippers to acquire the second pick in the 2004 NBA Draft, which they used to select Emeka Okafor. He went on to win the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2005.

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