1988–89 Charlotte Hornets season

The 1988–89 Charlotte Hornets season was Charlotte's inaugural season in the National Basketball Association. The "Charlotte Hornets", along with the Miami Heat, began play as expansion teams during the 1988–89 season; the team was originally going to be named the "Spirit", but later on changed it to the "Hornets". The team revealed a new primary logo of a hornet bouncing a basketball, and got new pinstripe uniforms, adding teal and purple to their color scheme.

In the 1988 NBA expansion draft, the Hornets selected veteran players like Dell Curry, second-year guard Muggsy Bogues, Mike Holton, Dave Hoppen, Ricky Green, and Mike Brown, who was then traded to the Utah Jazz in exchange for Kelly Tripucka. The team also signed free agents; Kurt Rambis, who won four championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, Earl Cureton, and acquired Robert Reid from the Houston Rockets. The Hornets received the eighth overall pick in the 1988 NBA draft, and selected shooting guard Rex Chapman from the University of Kentucky. Dick Harter was hired to be the team's first ever head coach.

The Hornets played their first game on November 4, 1988, losing 133–93 at the Charlotte Coliseum to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The team struggled losing 10 of their first 12 games, held a 13–35 record at the All-Star break, then posted two nine-game losing streaks between February and March, and between March and April. The Hornets finished the season last place in the Atlantic Division with a record of 20 wins and 62 losses, and led the NBA in home-game attendance, becoming the first expansion team to do so. Charlotte also set an all-time NBA attendance record, which was broken by Minnesota the following season.

Tripucka led the team in scoring averaging 22.6 points per game, and finished tied in fourth place in Most Improved Player voting, while Chapman averaged 16.9 points per game, and was selected to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, and Reid provided the team with 14.7 points per game. In addition, Rambis provided with 11.1 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game, while Curry contributed 11.9 points per game off the bench, but only played just 48 games due to a wrist injury, Holton provided with 8.3 points and 6.3 assists per game, Cureton averaged 6.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, Hoppen provided with 6.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, and Bogues contributed 5.4 points, 7.8 assists and 1.4 steals per game.

The team's primary logo remained in use until 2002, while the uniforms lasted until 1997, where they added side panels and additional pinstripes to their jerseys.