Charlotte’s old NBA expansion partner, the Miami Heat, is back in the NBA Finals. WFAE’s Tommy Tomlinson, in his "On My Mind" commentary, says it’s just one more example of how the two franchises have diverged.
Here’s the most depressing stat I know as a Charlotte sports fan.
The Charlotte Hornets and the Miami Heat entered the NBA the same year, 1988. The Hornets’ history is more complicated — the team left for New Orleans, then the Charlotte Bobcats arrived, and they eventually became the Hornets again. But basically, Charlotte basketball and Miami basketball have run parallel for the past 35 years.
In that time, the Heat have won three NBA titles, have been to the NBA Finals seven times, have been to the conference finals nine times, and have won their division 16 times. The Hornets, during that same period: zero, zero, zero and zero.
In head-to-head terms, that’s one of the biggest beatdowns in sports history.
I bring this up now because the Heat are back in the Finals this year, in the midst of a series against the Denver Nuggets as we speak. If you’ve been watching, you know that one of Miami’s stars in the series has been an unheralded forward named Caleb Martin. Local fans will remember him for a couple of reasons. One, he’s from Mocksville and played for NC State. And two, the Hornets cut him back in 2021.
That’s just rubbing it in.
I’m one of many fans who thought the Hornets had a chance to be really good this season. But their best player, LaMelo Ball, missed more than half the season with ankle injuries. Their second-best player, Miles Bridges, missed the entire season after being arrested on a felony domestic violence incident against the mother of his children. Their third-best player, Gordon Hayward, has missed more than 100 games with injuries in his three seasons here.
LaMelo’s ankle was just the latest twist in an endless string of lost seasons, bad decisions, and what-ifs that have trailed the Hornets throughout their history.
The Heat have one huge natural advantage over the Hornets. Most young millionaire athletes, given a choice, would rather live in Miami than Charlotte. Charlotte has many charms … but if you were young and rich, you’d probably choose Miami, too.
What that means is, superstar free agents — players who are good enough to win a championship — are always more likely to pick Miami or L.A. or New York over a small-market team like Charlotte.
For a team like the Hornets to make a serious playoff run, they have to hit the jackpot on their draft picks.
That’s how the Golden State Warriors did it. They had been mediocre for decades until they drafted Charlotte’s own Stephen Curry out of Davidson in 2009. Two years later they drafted sharpshooter Klay Thompson, and the year after that they drafted defensive genius Draymond Green. Those three players formed the core of a team that has won four NBA titles.
That’s the path for the Hornets. And they have a shot this year to make it happen. They have the second pick in the draft and will get to choose from players including the electrifying guard Scoot Henderson and the smooth-shooting forward Brandon Miller. If whoever they pick turns out to be a star, and LaMelo Ball stays healthy, that’s the core of a contender.
Hornets fans deserve that. It hasn’t mattered who owns the team, from George Shinn to Michael Jordan. It hasn’t mattered who picked the players or who took the floor. The Hornets have never, ever been quite good enough.
The highlight reel of Charlotte’s entire NBA existence consists of exactly one clip: Alonzo Mourning’s jumper to beat the Boston Celtics in the 1993 playoffs. That was 30 years and one month ago. The old Charlotte Coliseum’s implosion — which also makes for pretty cool viewing — was 16 years ago last weekend.
That’s the difference between the Hornets and the Heat. Charlotte is on YouTube. Miami is in prime time.
On an overcast June 3, 2007, the Charlotte Coliseum was imploded. Video: Jennifer Lang/WFAE
