Best draft picks in Charlotte Hornets history
The draft is a seminal moment for many incoming players. Putting aside competitive stakes, each young athlete's life is irreversibly altered by the fame and fortune that comes with being an NBA player. The exorbitant contract values ensures these players almost never have to worry about personal finances. Plus, these young guns get to play alongside some of their basketball idols for a living. With these high stakes, it's easy to see why the draft is so revered.
Likewise, the fortunes of a city and franchise can be completely transformed by a draft pick. LeBron James, for instance, brought Cleveland its first sports championship in 52 years and was also to the city's downtown economy. It almost goes without saying that Michael Jordan built the Chicago Bulls from the ground up into a championship team whose dynamic would reverberate through the decades.
With that in mind, 黑料社 compiled a list of the best draft picks in Charlotte Hornets history using data from . Players were ranked according to a formula that approximates their career achievements, career value, and play quality. The formula encompasses Basketball-Reference.com's , career win shares, and value over replacement player, aka VORP. For players drafted before data is available for VORP, half of the player's win shares were used in its place to calculate their 黑料社 score.
Basketball Hall of Fame inductees were given a minimum of 60% for their Hall of Fame probability, indicating a worthy r茅sum茅 for their time but not up to par with some modern players. Scores were normalized to 100 based on the scoring leader. Keep reading to see where your favorite players fall on the list.
#25. Lee Nailon
- 黑料社 score: 1.0
- 43rd overall pick in 1999
- Played two seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 8.6 PTS, 3.1 REB, 1.0 AST
- Advanced statistics: 8.0 win shares, -2.0 box plus/minus, 0.0 VORP
#24. Malik Monk
- 黑料社 score: 1.5
- 11th overall pick in 2017
- Played four seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 10.9 PTS, 2.4 REB, 2.4 AST
- Advanced statistics: 8.9 win shares, -1.5 box plus/minus, 1.1 VORP
#23. J.R. Reid
- 黑料社 score: 1.6
- Fifth overall pick in 1989
- Played six seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 8.5 PTS, 5.0 REB, 1.0 AST
- Advanced statistics: 22.5 win shares, -2.9 box plus/minus, -3.7 VORP
#22. PJ Washington
- 黑料社 score: 2.0
- 12th overall pick in 2019
- Played four seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 12.9 PTS, 5.5 REB, 2.3 AST
- Advanced statistics: 10.6 win shares, -1.0 box plus/minus, 2.0 VORP
#21. Jamaal Magloire
- 黑料社 score: 2.5
- 19th overall pick in 2000
- Played two seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 7.2 PTS, 6.5 REB, 0.6 AST
- Advanced statistics: 27.7 win shares, -2.9 box plus/minus, -3.1 VORP
- Accolades
--- 1x All Star
#20. Gerald Henderson
- 黑料社 score: 2.6
- 12th overall pick in 2009
- Played five seasons with Charlotte Hornets and one season with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 11.2 PTS, 3.2 REB, 1.9 AST
- Advanced statistics: 18.3 win shares, -1.8 box plus/minus, 0.6 VORP
#19. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
- 黑料社 score: 2.9
- Second overall pick in 2012
- Played two seasons with Charlotte Hornets and six seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 8.4 PTS, 5.4 REB, 1.2 AST
- Advanced statistics: 21.0 win shares, -1.8 box plus/minus, 0.6 VORP
#18. Malik Rose
- 黑料社 score: 3.3
- 44th overall pick in 1996
- Played one season with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 6.2 PTS, 4.1 REB, 0.8 AST
- Advanced statistics: 26.5 win shares, -2.1 box plus/minus, -0.4 VORP
- Accolades
--- 2x NBA Champ
#17. Frank Kaminsky
- 黑料社 score: 3.3
- Ninth overall pick in 2015
- Played four seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 8.8 PTS, 3.8 REB, 1.6 AST
- Advanced statistics: 15.9 win shares, -0.2 box plus/minus, 3.7 VORP
#16. Bismack Biyombo
- 黑料社 score: 3.4
- Seventh overall pick in 2011
- Played three seasons with Charlotte Hornets and four seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 5.1 PTS, 5.9 REB, 0.6 AST
- Advanced statistics: 31.3 win shares, -2.5 box plus/minus, -1.9 VORP
#15. LaMelo Ball
- 黑料社 score: 3.5
- Third overall pick in 2020
- Played three seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 19.4 PTS, 6.4 REB, 7.3 AST
- Advanced statistics: 10.5 win shares, 2.7 box plus/minus, 6.2 VORP
- Accolades
--- 2020-21 ROY
--- 1x All Star
#14. Scott Burrell
- 黑料社 score: 3.9
- 20th overall pick in 1993
- Played five seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 6.9 PTS, 3.5 REB, 1.4 AST
- Advanced statistics: 16.4 win shares, 0.7 box plus/minus, 5.2 VORP
- Accolades
--- 1998 NBA Champ
#13. Tony Delk
- 黑料社 score: 4.2
- 16th overall pick in 1996
- Played two seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 9.1 PTS, 2.5 REB, 1.9 AST
- Advanced statistics: 19.5 win shares, -0.4 box plus/minus, 4.8 VORP
#12. Rex Chapman
- 黑料社 score: 5.0
- Eighth overall pick in 1988
- Played four seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 14.6 PTS, 2.5 REB, 2.7 AST
- Advanced statistics: 24.7 win shares, -1.0 box plus/minus, 5.2 VORP
#11. Cody Zeller
- 黑料社 score: 5.6
- Fourth overall pick in 2013
- Played one season with Charlotte Hornets and seven seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 8.4 PTS, 5.9 REB, 1.4 AST
- Advanced statistics: 32.7 win shares, -0.6 box plus/minus, 4.0 VORP
#10. Ricky Davis
- 黑料社 score: 5.8
- 21st overall pick in 1998
- Played two seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 13.5 PTS, 3.5 REB, 3.3 AST
- Advanced statistics: 28.0 win shares, -0.8 box plus/minus, 6.3 VORP
#9. Emeka Okafor
- 黑料社 score: 8.2
- Second overall pick in 2004
- Played five seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 12.0 PTS, 9.7 REB, 0.8 AST
- Advanced statistics: 45.3 win shares, -0.6 box plus/minus, 6.8 VORP
- Accolades
--- 2004-05 ROY
#8. Raymond Felton
- 黑料社 score: 8.6
- Fifth overall pick in 2005
- Played five seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 11.2 PTS, 3.0 REB, 5.2 AST
- Advanced statistics: 40.2 win shares, -0.6 box plus/minus, 10.1 VORP
#7. D.J. Augustin
- 黑料社 score: 8.7
- Ninth overall pick in 2008
- Played four seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 9.5 PTS, 1.8 REB, 3.9 AST
- Advanced statistics: 47.7 win shares, -0.7 box plus/minus, 7.6 VORP
#6. Jared Dudley
- 黑料社 score: 9.3
- 22nd overall pick in 2007
- Played two seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 7.3 PTS, 3.2 REB, 1.5 AST
- Advanced statistics: 43.0 win shares, 0.2 box plus/minus, 11.0 VORP
- Accolades
--- 2020 NBA Champ
#5. Kendall Gill
- 黑料社 score: 11.6
- Fifth overall pick in 1990
- Played four seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 13.4 PTS, 4.1 REB, 3.0 AST
- Advanced statistics: 47.8 win shares, 0.1 box plus/minus, 15.8 VORP
- Accolades
--- 1998-99 STL Champ
#4. Larry Johnson
- 黑料社 score: 16.5
- First overall pick in 1991
- Played five seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 16.2 PTS, 7.5 REB, 3.3 AST
- Advanced statistics: 69.7 win shares, 1.4 box plus/minus, 22.0 VORP
- Accolades
--- 1991-92 ROY
--- 1992-93 All-NBA
--- 2x All Star
#3. Baron Davis
- 黑料社 score: 19.9
- Third overall pick in 1999
- Played three seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 16.1 PTS, 3.8 REB, 7.2 AST
- Advanced statistics: 63.1 win shares, 2.6 box plus/minus, 33.1 VORP
- Hall of Fame probability: 2.3%
- Accolades
--- 2x STL Champ
--- 2003-04 All-NBA
--- 2x All Star
#2. Kemba Walker
- 黑料社 score: 20.5
- Ninth overall pick in 2011
- Played three seasons with Charlotte Hornets and five seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 19.3 PTS, 3.8 REB, 5.3 AST
- Advanced statistics: 59.8 win shares, 2.8 box plus/minus, 29.8 VORP
- Hall of Fame probability: 15.1%
- Accolades
--- 2018-19 All-NBA
--- 4x All Star
#1. Alonzo Mourning
- 黑料社 score: 36.5
- Second overall pick in 1992
- Played three seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 17.1 PTS, 8.5 REB, 1.1 AST
- Advanced statistics: 89.7 win shares, 2.2 box plus/minus, 27.4 VORP
- Accolades
--- 2006 NBA Champ
--- 2x Def. POY
--- 2x BLK Champ
--- Basketball Hall of Fame inductee
