2018–19 Charlotte Hornets season
NBA professional basketball team season
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The 2018–19 Charlotte Hornets season was the 29th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). On April 13, 2018, the Hornets fired head coach Steve Clifford after the team missed the playoffs.[1] On May 10, 2018, the Hornets hired James Borrego as head coach.[2] This season is notable because the team is celebrating their 30th year in the NBA, also announcing that Muggsy Bogues and Dell Curry would be ambassadors for the team.[3] With a Detroit Pistons win on April 10, against the New York Knicks, the Hornets were eliminated from playoff contention for the third straight season.
| 2018–19 Charlotte Hornets season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | James Borrego |
| General manager | Mitch Kupchak |
| Owners | Michael Jordan |
| Arena | Spectrum Center |
| Results | |
| Record | 39–43 (.476) |
| Place | Division: 2nd (Southeast) Conference: 9th (Eastern) |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Stats at Basketball Reference | |
| Local media | |
| Television | Fox Sports Carolinas, Fox Sports Southeast |
| Radio | WFNZ |
This season also marked Tony Parker's 18th and final season in the NBA, as he announced his retirement on June 10, 2019. As the last remaining active player from the Spurs Big 3, this season was Parker's first missing the playoffs and he was also the last remaining active player from the Spurs' 2003, 2005, and 2007 championship teams. Parker's retirement also left Rajon Rondo of the Los Angeles Lakers and Udonis Haslem and Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat as the last remaining active players to win championships in the 2000s.
After 8 years, this season marked the end of the Kemba Walker era in Charlotte as he joined the Boston Celtics during the following summer.
NBA draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College / Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | SG/PG |  Canada |
Kentucky |
| 2 | 55 | Arnoldas Kulboka | SF |  Lithuania |
 Orlandina Basket |
The Hornets entered the draft with one first-round selection and one second-round selection, the latter of which originally belonged to the Cleveland Cavaliers. They had traded their 2019 second-round pick to the Memphis Grizzlies in a three-team trade in 2016, before ultimately landing with the Orlando Magic. They used the 11th pick to select future MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but soon traded his rights to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for the rights to the 12th pick, Miles Bridges, and two future second-round picks.
Roster
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Head coach
Assistant(s)
Legend
Roster |
Game log
Preseason
| 2018 preseason game log Total: 4–1 (Home: 3-0; Road: 1–1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Preseason: 4–1 (home: 3–0; road: 1–1)
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| 2018–19 season schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Regular season
Standings
| Southeast Division | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y – Orlando Magic | 42 | 40 | .512 | – | 25–16 | 17–24 | 10–6 | 82 |
| Charlotte Hornets | 39 | 43 | .476 | 3.0 | 25–16 | 14–27 | 10–6 | 82 |
| Miami Heat | 39 | 43 | .476 | 3.0 | 19–22 | 20–21 | 7–9 | 82 |
| Washington Wizards | 32 | 50 | .390 | 10.0 | 22–19 | 10–31 | 7–9 | 82 |
| Atlanta Hawks | 29 | 53 | .354 | 13.0 | 17–24 | 12–29 | 6–10 | 82 |
| Eastern Conference | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
| 1 | z – Milwaukee Bucks * | 60 | 22 | .732 | – | 82 |
| 2 | y – Toronto Raptors * | 58 | 24 | .707 | 2.0 | 82 |
| 3 | x – Philadelphia 76ers | 51 | 31 | .622 | 9.0 | 82 |
| 4 | x – Boston Celtics | 49 | 33 | .598 | 11.0 | 82 |
| 5 | x – Indiana Pacers | 48 | 34 | .585 | 12.0 | 82 |
| 6 | x – Brooklyn Nets | 42 | 40 | .512 | 18.0 | 82 |
| 7 | y – Orlando Magic * | 42 | 40 | .512 | 18.0 | 82 |
| 8 | x – Detroit Pistons | 41 | 41 | .500 | 19.0 | 82 |
| 9 | Charlotte Hornets | 39 | 43 | .476 | 21.0 | 82 |
| 10 | Miami Heat | 39 | 43 | .476 | 21.0 | 82 |
| 11 | Washington Wizards | 32 | 50 | .390 | 28.0 | 82 |
| 12 | Atlanta Hawks | 29 | 53 | .354 | 31.0 | 82 |
| 13 | Chicago Bulls | 22 | 60 | .268 | 38.0 | 82 |
| 14 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 19 | 63 | .232 | 41.0 | 82 |
| 15 | New York Knicks | 17 | 65 | .207 | 43.0 | 82 |
Player statistics
Regular season
| Player | POS | GP | GS | MP | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | MPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kemba Walker | PG | 82 | 82 | 2,863 | 361 | 484 | 102 | 34 | 2,102 | 34.9 | 4.4 | 5.9 | 1.2 | .4 | 25.6 |
| Miles Bridges | SF | 80 | 25 | 1,696 | 323 | 95 | 55 | 49 | 597 | 21.2 | 4.0 | 1.2 | .7 | .6 | 7.5 |
| Jeremy Lamb | SG | 79 | 55 | 2,250 | 434 | 172 | 88 | 32 | 1,208 | 28.5 | 5.5 | 2.2 | 1.1 | .4 | 15.3 |
| Marvin Williams | PF | 75 | 75 | 2,133 | 407 | 92 | 71 | 61 | 756 | 28.4 | 5.4 | 1.2 | .9 | .8 | 10.1 |
| Nicolas Batum | SF | 75 | 72 | 2,354 | 390 | 247 | 71 | 43 | 699 | 31.4 | 5.2 | 3.3 | .9 | .6 | 9.3 |
| Malik Monk | SG | 73 | 0 | 1,258 | 137 | 117 | 37 | 19 | 653 | 17.2 | 1.9 | 1.6 | .5 | .3 | 8.9 |
| Michael Kidd-Gilchrist | PF | 64 | 3 | 1,179 | 246 | 61 | 32 | 39 | 427 | 18.4 | 3.8 | 1.0 | .5 | .6 | 6.7 |
| Willy Hernangómez | C | 58 | 3 | 812 | 311 | 60 | 16 | 20 | 421 | 14.0 | 5.4 | 1.0 | .3 | .3 | 7.3 |
| Tony Parker | PG | 56 | 0 | 1,003 | 83 | 207 | 21 | 7 | 530 | 17.9 | 1.5 | 3.7 | .4 | .1 | 9.5 |
| Bismack Biyombo | C | 54 | 32 | 783 | 247 | 33 | 11 | 41 | 236 | 14.5 | 4.6 | .6 | .2 | .8 | 4.4 |
| Cody Zeller | C | 49 | 47 | 1,243 | 333 | 102 | 38 | 41 | 497 | 25.4 | 6.8 | 2.1 | .8 | .8 | 10.1 |
| Frank Kaminsky | C | 47 | 0 | 755 | 163 | 63 | 12 | 12 | 405 | 16.1 | 3.5 | 1.3 | .3 | .3 | 8.6 |
| Devonte' Graham | PG | 46 | 3 | 676 | 63 | 121 | 23 | 2 | 217 | 14.7 | 1.4 | 2.6 | .5 | .0 | 4.7 |
| Dwayne Bacon | SG | 43 | 13 | 759 | 89 | 47 | 12 | 5 | 316 | 17.7 | 2.1 | 1.1 | .3 | .1 | 7.3 |
| Shelvin Mack† | PG | 4 | 0 | 42 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 10.5 | .5 | .3 | .5 | .0 | 2.3 |
| J. P. Macura | SG | 2 | 0 | 17 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 8.5 | 1.5 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | 3.0 |
| Joe Chealey | PG | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8.0 | .0 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | 2.0 |
- † Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Hornets only.
Transactions
Trades
| June 21, 2018[4][5] | To Charlotte Hornets Draft rights to Miles Bridges Two future second-round picks |
To Los Angeles Clippers Draft rights to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander |
| June 21, 2018[5] | To Charlotte Hornets Draft rights to Devonte' Graham |
To Atlanta Hawks 2019 second-round pick 2023 second-round pick |
| July 6, 2018[6] | To Charlotte Hornets Timofey Mozgov Draft rights to Hamidou Diallo 2021 second round pick Cash considerations |
To Brooklyn Nets Dwight Howard |
| July 6, 2018[7] | To Charlotte Hornets 2019 second-round pick Cash considerations |
To Oklahoma City Thunder Draft rights to Hamidou Diallo |
| July 7, 2018[8] | To Charlotte Hornets Bismack Biyombo (from Orlando) 2019 second round pick (from Orlando) 2020 second round pick (from Orlando) |
To Chicago Bulls Julyan Stone (from Charlotte) |
| To Orlando Magic Jerian Grant (from Chicago) Timofey Mozgov (from Charlotte) | ||
Free agents
Additions
| Player | Signed | Former team |
|---|---|---|
| J. P. Macura[9] | Two-way contract | Xavier Musketeers |
| Tony Parker[10] | 2-year contract worth $10 million | San Antonio Spurs |
| Jaylen Barford[11] | July 26, 2018 | Arkansas Razorbacks |
| Zach Smith[11] | July 26, 2018 | Texas Tech Red Raiders |
| Isaiah Wilkins[11] | July 26, 2018 | Virginia Cavaliers |
| Joe Chealey[12] | July 27, 2018 | College of Charleston Cougars |
Subtractions
| Player | Reason left | New team |
|---|---|---|
| Michael Carter-Williams[13] | Houston Rockets | |
| Marcus Paige[14] | Unrestricted free agent |  Partizan Belgrade |
| Treveon Graham[15] | Brooklyn Nets | |
| Mangok Mathiang[16] | Waived | Vanoli Cremona |
