Yes, we know that this is taking a while!
As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity. As such, we are very happy to present our post 2021/22 revision of our top Charlotte Hornets
As for all of our top 50 players in basketball we look at the following:
1. Advanced Statistics.
2. Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Basketball Association.
3. Playoff accomplishments.
4. Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.
Last year, Charlotte made the playoffs and have a nice nucleus of players that could make them a contender. Last year’s results saw two new entries and one large jump on this young franchise, but nothing affecting the top tier.
As always, we present our top five:
1. Kemba Walker
4. Mugsy Bogues
5. Dell Curry
You can find the entire list here.
Terry Rozier had a significant jump, moving from #40 to #23.
The highest of the three new entrants is Miles Bridges, who suffered an incident in the off-season that might prevent him from continuing hs career. He debuts at #24.
Another high-profile debut is Point Guard, LaMelo Ball, who was the 2021 Rookie of the Year, and an All-Star last season.
We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.
Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB. Once that is done, we intend to look at how each team honor their past players, coaches and executives. As such, it is important to us that Bronson Arroyo has been selected to the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.
Chosen via the Modern Era route, Arroyo had two runs with Cincinnati (2006-13 & 2017), where he posted a record of 108-100 with 1,157 Strikeouts. Arriving in Cincinnati from a trade from Boston, the Pitcher was an All-Star in his first season with the Reds (2006), and was the National League leader in Innings Pitched (240.7), and a five-time club leader in that category. He was also the 2010 Gold Glove recipient.
Arroyo will be joined by a Veteran’s Committee candidate at a later date, and that group will be inducted on July 15.
We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Bronson Arroyo for earning this prestigious honor.
The path to the NBA for LaMelo Ball might be a template for others to follow, though few people have a father like LaVar Ball.
The youngest Ball brother forewent college, playing overseas and nationally in his father’s developmental league, honing his skills and parlaying that into a Third Overall Pick in the 2020 Draft. Many predicted that LaMelo would become the best in the family, and early in his career, that appears to be the case.
Ball started the 2020-21 Season on the bench, but the Hornets gave him more time and the starting position at Point Guard by mid-season. Ball won the Rookie of the Year award, averaging 15.7 Points and 6.1 Assists per Game. He progressed as a sophomore, representing Charlotte in the All-Star Game, averaging 20.1 Points per Game and finishing in the top in Assists (7.6) and Steals (1.6) per Game. Ball was injured for most of the last three seasons, playing only 105 Games, but averaging 24 Points per Game when he is on the court.
If the Hornets can hold on to Ball for a decade, he should make the top of this list; that is, provided he stays healthy, which, as of this writing, is a big ask.
An All-Big Ten First Team player from Michigan, Miles Bridges was taken with the 12th Overall Pick in 2018 by the Los Angeles Clippers, only to be immediately traded to Charlotte.
After a decent rookie year (7.5 PPG in 21 MPG), Bridges settled in as a regular starting forward as a sophomore, but his progression was not as fast as the Hornets were hoping for, and he was relegated to more of a bench role in his third season. Going into 2021/22, it was believed that this would be the season when he would show whether he could take that next step, and that is precisely what he did.
Playing more at Power Forward, Bridges had a breakout campaign, averaging 20.2 Points and 7.0 Rebounds per Game, and every metric showed improvement. It looked like there was a star in the making, with Bridges poised to be a linchpin to a contender…or so it seemed.
Entering Restricted Free Agency in 2022, Bridges’ life and career took a tumble at his own hands. He was charged with domestic violence and missed the entirety of the 2022-23 Season. He resigned with the Hornets, returned from suspension, and averaged 21 Points per Game, but that was more because someone had to score for Charlotte.
He is still in his prime but has a lot of work to do to become a potential All-Star, though he is currently on a three-year 20-plus PPG streak.