2007–08 New Orleans Hornets season
The 2007–08 New Orleans Hornets season was the Hornets' 6th season in the National Basketball Association. They returned to New Orleans full-time for the first time since 2004–05. The Hornets had the sixth best team offensive rating in the NBA.
| 2007–08 New Orleans Hornets season | |
|---|---|
Division champions | |
| Head coach | Byron Scott |
| General manager | Jeff Bower |
| Owner(s) | George Shinn |
| Arena | New Orleans Arena |
| Results | |
| Record | 56–26 (.683) |
| Place | Division: 1st (Southwest) Conference: 2nd (Western) |
| Playoff finish | Conference Semifinals (lost to Spurs 3–4) |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
| Local media | |
| Television | Cox Sports Television |
| Radio | KMEZ |
Although they declined an option to play part of this season at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, as they did for most of the previous two seasons, they did play their first preseason game at the Ford Center on October 9 for a final curtain call.
On February 21, 2008 Bobby Jackson was traded to the Houston Rockets along with teammate Adam Haluska for Bonzi Wells and Mike James as part of a three team deal involving Houston and the Memphis Grizzlies. Also, Marcus Vinicius was traded to the Rockets where they traded him to the Memphis Grizzlies to gain the rights to Malick Badiane and Sergei Lishouk.
The Hornets finished the regular season with a record of 56–26, good enough for winning the Southwest Division. This title was clinched with their win over the Los Angeles Clippers on April 15, and marks the first division title for the franchise. Their record also ensured the 2nd seed for the Western Conference playoffs. The Hornets closed the season with a 30–11 record at home along with a 26–15 road record. It is the only season in New Orleans franchise history that they have won 50 games in a season. The Hornets' accomplishments in the season earned coach Byron Scott the NBA Coach of the Year award.
On April 29 won game 5 of their first round playoff series vs. the 7th seeded Dallas Mavericks, thereby winning the series 4–1. This mark the first time in franchise history that they have won a seven-game playoff series. In his post-season debut, Chris Paul became the first player in NBA history to have at least 30 points and 10 assists in his first two playoff games. On May 19 the Hornets season ended after they were eliminated in game 7 by the defending champions San Antonio Spurs.
This was the first and only time a non Texas based franchise would win the Southwest Division, until 14 years later when the Memphis Grizzlies won its first division title in franchise history.
The team would not win another playoffs series until the 2017-18 season where they upset the 3rd seeded Portland Trail Blazers with an astonishing sweep.