Hornets Fans Have Outperformed the Team for Decades

From the Bring Back the Buzz archive. First published March 7, 2019 on bringbackthebuzz.net, lightly edited.

Read this with 2026 eyes. We wrote it in 2019, with Kemba Walker about to leave and another rebuild coming. Since then the Hornets went 44-38 in 2025-26, their best record in a decade, and then started a new long-term build. That's exactly why this piece still matters: through every high and low, the fans never stopped showing up.

Let's be honest. This franchise has done very little for what looks like 15 seasons now. We've had seven coaches in the past 10 years. The fanbase threw them a raft with the rebrand, and things are starting to feel all too familiar again. The rebrand was never meant to be the fix. It was meant to be a second chance to get things right.

This second stint has now lasted about as long as the original Charlotte Hornets did. I'm a visual guy, so here are the progress reports side by side.

Original Hornets Take 2 (Bobcats/Hornets)
1988-89 20-62 2004-05 18-64
1989-90 19-63 2005-06 26-56
1990-91 26-56 2006-07 33-49
1991-92 31-51 2007-08 32-50
1992-93 44-38 East semis 2008-09 35-47
1993-94 41-41 2009-10 44-38 East 1st round
1994-95 50-32 East 1st round 2010-11 34-48
1995-96 41-41 2011-12 7-59
1996-97 54-28 East 1st round 2012-13 21-61
1997-98 51-31 East semis 2013-14 43-39 East 1st round
1998-99 26-24 2014-15 33-49
1999-00 49-33 East 1st round 2015-16 48-34 East 1st round
2000-01 46-36 East semis 2016-17 36-46
2001-02 44-38 East semis 2017-18 36-46

By about year six, the original Hornets had established themselves (lockout season aside) as a consistent mid-40-win team that could break 50 in a good year. "Consistent" isn't a word I'd use about Take 2. It's not exactly fair to compare them, but it shows what can be done in 14 seasons and what we've done in 14 seasons.

As a fanbase, we've knocked the hornets' nest before and helped bring our name back. We deserve better, and we should expect better. We've supported this team even when it was hard, and we have very little to show for it yet.

Copy, paste, still true

Have you noticed I copied most of this from a piece we wrote two years ago, and it still applies? All I did was add some numbers.

A local radio host recently said he was disappointed the Hornets were 23rd in attendance. My reply: with another season fading and one of the hardest remaining schedules in the league, this fanbase has outperformed this team for the ENTIRE second stint. We've won three playoff games since 2002, and we're on the edge of losing the best Hornet of all time.

I'm as diehard as they come, but no fanbase keeps caring forever without something back. This one isn't asking for much: a playoff appearance and a little drama every couple of years.

2026 update: real ones show up

The 2025-26 Hornets gave this city a nine-game win streak and a play-in run. Now comes a rebuild built around Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller. Whatever the record says this season, we'll be where we always are: at The Local before every home game, loud as ever. That's the whole point of the Crown Club: you never have to ride the ups and downs alone.

Keep the Buzz going