60 free Charlotte Hornets trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Charlotte Hornets trivia quiz covers both lives of the franchise: the 1988 expansion team that sold out the Coliseum 364 games running in Alexander Julian's teal pinstripes, Larry Johnson and Alonzo Mourning, Muggsy Bogues, Glen Rice and the Kobe Bryant draft-night trade, then the move to New Orleans, the Bobcats years under Bob Johnson and Michael Jordan, the 7–59 season, Kemba Walker, the 2014 return of the Hornets name and the LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller era. There are gentle questions for newer fans (what is the arena called, who is Hugo, which brand makes the uniforms) and hard ones for lifers, such as which name actually won the 2003 naming contest, who coached the first game, and how old the Coliseum was when it came down. Uniforms, mascots, ownership and the Miami rivalry all feature. Every answer was checked against primary and encyclopaedic sources before it went in, so when you miss one you can trust the explanation. Play it solo or run it as a round at your next Buzz City watch party. For the wider league, try our NBA trivia page next.
30 of 60 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01What name did the Hornets' uptown Charlotte arena take in 2016?
Spectrum Center
It opened in 2005 as Charlotte Bobcats Arena and became Time Warner Cable Arena in 2008 before the 2016 renaming.
Q 02In which year did the original Charlotte Hornets begin play as an NBA expansion team?
1988
They joined alongside Miami that season, with Minnesota and Orlando following a year later.
Q 03Who was the founding owner who brought the Hornets to Charlotte in 1988?
George Shinn
An entrepreneur from Kannapolis, Shinn's declining popularity in the city was blamed for the attendance collapse before the 2002 move.
Q 04Which name was originally planned for the 1988 expansion team before a contest produced 'Hornets'?
Charlotte Spirit
The 'Hornets' name traces to Cornwallis calling the rebellious city 'a hornet's nest' during the Revolutionary War.
Q 05The 'Hornets' name comes from a remark by which British general after the 1780 Battle of Charlotte?
Cornwallis
He supposedly called Charlotte 'a hornet's nest of rebellion', though the phrase is first attested in 1819.
Q 06Which North Carolina-born fashion designer created the original Hornets uniforms?
Alexander Julian
His teal pinstriped design set off a sports fashion craze and was the first NBA uniform with pinstripes.
Q 07What design feature did the original Hornets uniforms bring to the NBA for the first time?
Pinstripes
Home whites had pinstripes in teal, green, blue and purple, and both home and road jerseys read 'Charlotte'.
Q 08Which colour did the Hornets choose as their primary colour, sparking a late-1980s sports fashion craze?
Teal
Teal was later paired with purple, and the palette returned when the Bobcats became the Hornets again in 2014.
Q 09Who was the Hornets' first head coach in 1988?
Dick Harter
Players rebelled against his defence-first style and he was replaced by Gene Littles after an 8–32 start in year two.
Q 10Which team handed the Hornets a 133–93 defeat in their first-ever NBA game on November 4, 1988?
Cleveland Cavaliers
Four days later Charlotte beat the Clippers 117–105 for its first win.
Q 11How many consecutive home games did the original Hornets sell out at the Charlotte Coliseum?
364
The streak ran from December 1988 to November 1997 and the team led the NBA in attendance eight times in nine seasons.
Q 12What fan nickname for the Charlotte Coliseum was later revived for the Hornets' new arena?
The Hive
With more than 23,000 seats, the Coliseum remains the largest basketball-specific venue ever used full-time by an NBA team.
Q 13Which UNLV forward did the Hornets draft first overall in 1991, then Rookie of the Year?
Larry Johnson
'Grandmama' was later traded to the Knicks for Anthony Mason in 1996.
Q 21To which city did the original Hornets relocate in 2002?
New Orleans
That team is now the Pelicans; Charlotte reclaimed the 1988–2002 records when the Bobcats became the Hornets in 2014.
Q 22Which BET founder became the first Black majority owner in modern US major pro sports with the 2002 Charlotte franchise?
Robert L. Johnson
His group paid a $300 million expansion fee; rapper Nelly was a co-owner.
Q 23Which hip-hop artist was a notable co-owner of the Charlotte Bobcats?
Nelly
Jay-Z, by contrast, held a stake in the Nets during the same era.
Q 14Which Georgetown centre did the Hornets select second overall in 1992?
Alonzo Mourning
His 20-footer in Game 4 of the 1993 first round beat Boston for the franchise's first playoff series win.
Q 15The Hornets' first-ever playoff series win in 1993 came against which team?
Boston Celtics
They were then beaten in five games by the Knicks in the second round.
Q 16Which sharpshooter came to Charlotte from Miami in the 1995 trade of the Hornets' star centre?
Glen Rice
He had the best season of his career in 1996–97, when the Hornets went 54–28.
Q 17On draft night 1996, the Hornets traded which 13th overall pick to the Lakers for Vlade Divac?
Kobe Bryant
Divac helped Charlotte to a then-franchise-best 54 wins, but the pick they gave up went on to win five titles in Los Angeles.
Q 18Which 5-foot-3 guard, the shortest NBA player ever, ran the Hornets' offense in the 1990s?
Muggsy Bogues
He was traded two games into the 1997–98 season, and David Wesley took over at the point.
Q 19The Hornets retired the number of which guard after his death in a car accident in Charlotte in 2000?
Bobby Phills
His jersey hung in New Orleans during the relocation years and was returned to Charlotte in November 2014.
Q 20Which ex-Celtics big man coached the Hornets to their best original-era season, 54–28 in 1996–97?
Dave Cowens
He resigned midway through the lockout season and was replaced by another ex-Celtic, Paul Silas.
Q 24Which name actually won the 2003 fan vote to name Charlotte's new team, only to be rejected by ownership?
Flight
It was seen as abstract and too reminiscent of the aerial strikes of the then-current Iraq War.
Q 25Which UConn centre did the Bobcats draft second overall in 2004 and win Rookie of the Year?
Emeka Okafor
He was later traded to New Orleans for Tyson Chandler in 2009.
Q 26In which year did the Hornets' future majority owner, a Hall of Famer, first buy a minority stake?
2006
He became majority owner in 2010, the first former NBA player to control a franchise, and sold control in 2023.
Q 27Which Hall of Fame coach took over the Bobcats in 2008 and led them to their first playoff berth in 2010?
Larry Brown
That 44–38 season was the Bobcats' first winning year; Orlando swept them in the first round.
Q 28Who was the only player to make an All-Star team while the franchise was called the Bobcats?
Gerald Wallace
'Crash' made the 2010 team and was traded to Portland the following season.
Q 29What was the Bobcats' record in 2011–12, the worst winning percentage in NBA history?
7–59
Their .106 percentage undercut even the 9–73 1972–73 76ers, who still hold the record for most losses.
Q 30How many consecutive games did the Bobcats lose to close the 2011–12 season?
15
The streak finally ended in the 2012–13 opener with a win over Indiana.