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11. Baron Davis

11. Baron Davis
Playing the first five seasons of his career as a Hornet (though only the first three in Charlotte, which cost him a few spots on this rank), Baron Davis came out of UCLA as the third overall draft pick and would become an All-Star in his third year in the NBA. Davis would blossom into one of the better Point Guards in the NBA in a Charlotte uniform, and he would continue that growth when the team relocated to New Orleans.

23. Vlade Divac

23. Vlade Divac
Vlade Divac was one of the more popular players in the NBA, but for many in Charlotte, this is the guy who was traded for the rights to Kobe Bryant. History now shows that trade was a little lopsided (though, let’s be honest, do you really see Kobe playing his entire career in Charlotte?), but that Divac was a very good player who put up good numbers across the board, and it also shows every metric.

31. Jamal Mashburn

31. Jamal Mashburn
Like a few others on this list, Jamal Mashburn lost a few ranking spots because his Hornets tenure was split between Charlotte and New Orleans. Despite that fact, Mashburn made his 116 Games in Charlotte count. In Charlotte, Mashburn averaged over 20 Points and 7 Rebounds per Game, producing over 10 Win Shares as the team's scoring leader.

24. Hersey Hawkins

24. Hersey Hawkins
Coming out of Bradley, Hersey Hawkins had a solid three-year run (over two stints) with Charlotte, where he would put together a solid 11.4 Points per Game run. That may have been a lower statistical year than he was with the Philadelphia 76ers years before, but his run in Eastern Pennsylvania helped make him a draw in Carolina.

27. Boris Diaw

27. Boris Diaw
While Boris Diaw improved his overall game with the San Antonio Spurs (helping them win an NBA Title in 2014), the Frenchman did have a couple of good seasons in Charlotte before he ran afoul of management due to not being in the best physical condition. Diaw set personal bests in Points Per Game, and Rebounds per Game as a Bobcat, which is what got him to this elevated rank, but realistically, he is in a much better role coming off of the bench as opposed to starting as he did in Charlotte.

29. Kendall Gill

29. Kendall Gill
Beginning his professional career with the Charlotte Hornets, Kendall Gill was a spectacular dunker who made the First Team NBA All-Rookie Team. Gill would become an effective scorer for Charlotte and, in his sophomore season, would average more than 20 Points per Game. Gill was a balanced player who, for whatever reason, has fallen through the cracks in Charlotte basketball folklore.

20. Raymond Felton

20. Raymond Felton
The fifth overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft, Raymond Felton was the Point Guard for the North Carolina Tar Heel team that won the NCAA title just before his draft. Felton was not a champion in Charlotte, but Felton was a solid scorer and distributor in the pros.

1. Kemba Walker

1. Kemba Walker
The Final Four MVP and NCAA Champion with the University of Connecticut, Kemba Walker, did not have the same team success with the Charlotte Hornets, but this does not mean that he has not put up very good numbers in the pros.  He certainly did, as he moved up to our number one spot for this franchise.  

The Point Guard was a decent scorer whose overall game improved year by year in Charlotte, and while he was in the Tarheel State, he was one of the NBA's more underrated players.  While Walker's Hornets made the playoffs only twice during his eight years with the team, the fact that they did so at all was largely due to him.  He would be named to the All-Star in his last three seasons in the Queen City, and he was a Third Team All-NBA Selection in what was his final season before signing with the Boston Celtics.

8. Anthony Mason

8. Anthony Mason
Anthony Mason would put up some of the best numbers of his career as a member of the Charlotte Hornets. In the 1996-97 season, he would lead the NBA in Minutes per Game, and that year would put personal bests in Points, Rebounds, Assists, and Blocks per Game as well as PER and VORP.

7. Alonzo Mourning

7. Alonzo Mourning
The second overall pick in the 1992 Draft (behind Shaquille O’Neal), Alonzo Mourning made an immediate impact in the NBA for the Charlotte Hornets. Playing his first three seasons with Charlotte, Mourning would be an All-Star twice and would average a spectacular 21.3 Points, 10.1 Rebounds, and 3.1 Blocks per game as a Hornet.

6. Glen Rice

6. Glen Rice
Three for three. Glen Rice played three seasons with the Charlotte Hornets, and in every NBA campaign he was named to the All-Star Game, the second of which saw him win the game's MVP and cement himself as a must-watch player. Rice would also go “three for three,” averaging over 20 Points per Game as a Hornet, including 26.8 PPG in the 2006-07 campaign, a season in which he also led the National Basketball Association in three-point percentage.

14. Elden Campbell

14. Elden Campbell
Elden Campbell was with the Charlotte Hornets for three and a half seasons (plus another half-season when the team was relocated to New Orleans). While Campbell would put up some of his best offensive numbers as a Hornet, he would also be known for his defensive skills, which would always made him a coveted big man in the NBA. It was not an accident that Charlotte made the playoffs three years in a row while he played there.

12. David Wesley

12. David Wesley
Undrafted out of Baylor, David Wesley proved a lot of people wrong when he successfully transitioned to Point Guard and put up solid numbers when he made his way to Charlotte. Wesley would put up his most significant Points per Game Average as a Hornet, though he was not always as productive as he should be as a distributor. Still, Wesley was a decent Point Guard for Charlotte during his tenure and warrants this high rank.

9. Emeka Okafor

9. Emeka Okafor
The second overall draft pick of the Charlotte Bobcats and the first-ever pick for the Charlotte Bobcats gets a bad rap in many circles. Many articles have been written calling him a bust, but the fact remains that Okafor averaged a double-double every season of his run in Charlotte and was also the Rookie of the Year.

5. Dell Curry

Dell Curry
Dell Curry is the man who holds the record for being the all-time leading scorer for the Charlotte Hornets. He also has many other records in Charlotte history, but his “low” rank stems not from being a superstar in the National Basketball Association, but from his slightly average stats over an extended career as a pro in Charlotte.

3. Larry Johnson

3. Larry Johnson
While we can’t say we never really understood the Grandmama gimmick, Larry Johnson made an immediate splash in Charlotte and gave the team a “buzz” around the league.

4. Muggsy Bogues

Muggsy Bogues
While he may not top the list, standing at five feet three, Muggsy Bogues is definitely pound-for-pound the best Charlotte Hornet of all time. Bogues spent 10 years in Charlotte, where the pint-sized Point Guard continued to defy logic and became a fan favorite not only in Charlotte but across the entire NBA.

2. Gerald Wallace

2. Gerald Wallace
While Gerald Wallace never had the word “Hornet” on his chest, with the amalgamation of Bobcats/Hornets history in Charlotte, this is the man who we are christening the greatest Charlotte Hornet of all time.

43. Larry Johnson

43. Larry Johnson
Here is another player more known for his college accomplishments than his pro years. Larry Johnson was the leader of the Runnin Rebels that dominated the first few years of the 90’s. An NCAA title in 1990 was followed by an undefeated year that was trumped by a huge upset by Duke in the Final Four.  Johnson was arguably the greatest junior college player ever and when Jerry Tarkanian recruited him to UNLV he became the centerpiece of the great Rebel teams.  With his ability to post up and rebound down low combined with the ability to get up the court and finish and a good mid range game, Johnson was a man amongst boys. His pro career was very solid mainly with the Hornets and Knicks but not spectacular except for one fall away miracle that will be on highlight films forever.  His career stats in the NBA do not match up favorably but his college career should give him a chance.

Saying that, what was the deal with "Grandmama"?

46. Hersey Hawkins

46. Hersey Hawkins
Once again, we have another player who had a solid pro career that is overshadowed by a spectacular college career.  Hersey Hawkins is only one of six players to score more than 6,000 career points in Division One.  Hawkins and Chet Walker are easily the two best players ever to come from Bradley University; and the Braves are one of the best programs ever that nobody remembers.  This might be hurting him. He may be sadly best remembered for an injury that kept him out of most of the 1988 Olympic Games and some say cost the team a gold due to their lack of perimeter shooting.  This of course led to the Dream Team being created so he has got that going for him.
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