Best draft picks in Charlotte Hornets history
The draft is a seminal moment for many incoming players. Putting aside competitive stakes, each young athlete's life is irreversibly altered by the fame and fortune that comes with being an NBA player. The exorbitant contract values ensures these players almost never have to worry about personal finances. Plus, these young guns get to play alongside some of their basketball idols for a living. With these high stakes, it's easy to see why the draft is so revered.
Likewise, the fortunes of a city and franchise can be completely transformed by a draft pick. LeBron James, for instance, brought Cleveland its first sports championship in 52 years and was also reportedly worth hundreds of millions to the city's downtown economy. It almost goes without saying that Michael Jordan built the Chicago Bulls from the ground up into a championship team whose dynamic would reverberate through the decades.
With that in mind, Stacker compiled a list of the best draft picks in Charlotte Hornets history using data from Basketball-Reference.com. Players were ranked according to a formula that approximates their career achievements, career value, and play quality. The formula encompasses Basketball-Reference.com's Hall of Fame probability, career win shares, and value over replacement player, aka VORP. For players drafted before data is available for VORP, half of the player's win shares were used in its place to calculate their Stacker score.
Basketball Hall of Fame inductees were given a minimum of 60% for their Hall of Fame probability, indicating a worthy résumé for their time but not up to par with some modern players. Scores were normalized to 100 based on the scoring leader. Keep reading to see where your favorite players fall on the list.
#25. Lee Nailon
- Stacker score: 1.0
- 43rd overall pick in 1999
- Played two seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 8.6 PTS, 3.1 REB, 1.0 AST
- Advanced statistics: 8.0 win shares, -2.0 box plus/minus, 0.0 VORP
#24. Malik Monk
- Stacker score: 1.5
- 11th overall pick in 2017
- Played four seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 10.9 PTS, 2.4 REB, 2.4 AST
- Advanced statistics: 8.9 win shares, -1.5 box plus/minus, 1.1 VORP
#23. J.R. Reid
- Stacker score: 1.6
- Fifth overall pick in 1989
- Played six seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 8.5 PTS, 5.0 REB, 1.0 AST
- Advanced statistics: 22.5 win shares, -2.9 box plus/minus, -3.7 VORP
#22. PJ Washington
- Stacker score: 2.0
- 12th overall pick in 2019
- Played four seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 12.9 PTS, 5.5 REB, 2.3 AST
- Advanced statistics: 10.6 win shares, -1.0 box plus/minus, 2.0 VORP
#21. Jamaal Magloire
- Stacker score: 2.5
- 19th overall pick in 2000
- Played two seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 7.2 PTS, 6.5 REB, 0.6 AST
- Advanced statistics: 27.7 win shares, -2.9 box plus/minus, -3.1 VORP
- Accolades
--- 1x All Star
#20. Gerald Henderson
- Stacker score: 2.6
- 12th overall pick in 2009
- Played five seasons with Charlotte Hornets and one season with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 11.2 PTS, 3.2 REB, 1.9 AST
- Advanced statistics: 18.3 win shares, -1.8 box plus/minus, 0.6 VORP
#19. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
- Stacker score: 2.9
- Second overall pick in 2012
- Played two seasons with Charlotte Hornets and six seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 8.4 PTS, 5.4 REB, 1.2 AST
- Advanced statistics: 21.0 win shares, -1.8 box plus/minus, 0.6 VORP
#18. Malik Rose
- Stacker score: 3.3
- 44th overall pick in 1996
- Played one season with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 6.2 PTS, 4.1 REB, 0.8 AST
- Advanced statistics: 26.5 win shares, -2.1 box plus/minus, -0.4 VORP
- Accolades
--- 2x NBA Champ
#17. Frank Kaminsky
- Stacker score: 3.3
- Ninth overall pick in 2015
- Played four seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 8.8 PTS, 3.8 REB, 1.6 AST
- Advanced statistics: 15.9 win shares, -0.2 box plus/minus, 3.7 VORP
#16. Bismack Biyombo
- Stacker score: 3.4
- Seventh overall pick in 2011
- Played three seasons with Charlotte Hornets and four seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 5.1 PTS, 5.9 REB, 0.6 AST
- Advanced statistics: 31.3 win shares, -2.5 box plus/minus, -1.9 VORP
#15. LaMelo Ball
- Stacker score: 3.5
- Third overall pick in 2020
- Played three seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 19.4 PTS, 6.4 REB, 7.3 AST
- Advanced statistics: 10.5 win shares, 2.7 box plus/minus, 6.2 VORP
- Accolades
--- 2020-21 ROY
--- 1x All Star
#14. Scott Burrell
- Stacker score: 3.9
- 20th overall pick in 1993
- Played five seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 6.9 PTS, 3.5 REB, 1.4 AST
- Advanced statistics: 16.4 win shares, 0.7 box plus/minus, 5.2 VORP
- Accolades
--- 1998 NBA Champ
#13. Tony Delk
- Stacker score: 4.2
- 16th overall pick in 1996
- Played two seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 9.1 PTS, 2.5 REB, 1.9 AST
- Advanced statistics: 19.5 win shares, -0.4 box plus/minus, 4.8 VORP
#12. Rex Chapman
- Stacker score: 5.0
- Eighth overall pick in 1988
- Played four seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 14.6 PTS, 2.5 REB, 2.7 AST
- Advanced statistics: 24.7 win shares, -1.0 box plus/minus, 5.2 VORP
#11. Cody Zeller
- Stacker score: 5.6
- Fourth overall pick in 2013
- Played one season with Charlotte Hornets and seven seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 8.4 PTS, 5.9 REB, 1.4 AST
- Advanced statistics: 32.7 win shares, -0.6 box plus/minus, 4.0 VORP
#10. Ricky Davis
- Stacker score: 5.8
- 21st overall pick in 1998
- Played two seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 13.5 PTS, 3.5 REB, 3.3 AST
- Advanced statistics: 28.0 win shares, -0.8 box plus/minus, 6.3 VORP
#9. Emeka Okafor
- Stacker score: 8.2
- Second overall pick in 2004
- Played five seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 12.0 PTS, 9.7 REB, 0.8 AST
- Advanced statistics: 45.3 win shares, -0.6 box plus/minus, 6.8 VORP
- Accolades
--- 2004-05 ROY
#8. Raymond Felton
- Stacker score: 8.6
- Fifth overall pick in 2005
- Played five seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 11.2 PTS, 3.0 REB, 5.2 AST
- Advanced statistics: 40.2 win shares, -0.6 box plus/minus, 10.1 VORP
#7. D.J. Augustin
- Stacker score: 8.7
- Ninth overall pick in 2008
- Played four seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 9.5 PTS, 1.8 REB, 3.9 AST
- Advanced statistics: 47.7 win shares, -0.7 box plus/minus, 7.6 VORP
#6. Jared Dudley
- Stacker score: 9.3
- 22nd overall pick in 2007
- Played two seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 7.3 PTS, 3.2 REB, 1.5 AST
- Advanced statistics: 43.0 win shares, 0.2 box plus/minus, 11.0 VORP
- Accolades
--- 2020 NBA Champ
#5. Kendall Gill
- Stacker score: 11.6
- Fifth overall pick in 1990
- Played four seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 13.4 PTS, 4.1 REB, 3.0 AST
- Advanced statistics: 47.8 win shares, 0.1 box plus/minus, 15.8 VORP
- Accolades
--- 1998-99 STL Champ
#4. Larry Johnson
- Stacker score: 16.5
- First overall pick in 1991
- Played five seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 16.2 PTS, 7.5 REB, 3.3 AST
- Advanced statistics: 69.7 win shares, 1.4 box plus/minus, 22.0 VORP
- Accolades
--- 1991-92 ROY
--- 1992-93 All-NBA
--- 2x All Star
#3. Baron Davis
- Stacker score: 19.9
- Third overall pick in 1999
- Played three seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 16.1 PTS, 3.8 REB, 7.2 AST
- Advanced statistics: 63.1 win shares, 2.6 box plus/minus, 33.1 VORP
- Hall of Fame probability: 2.3%
- Accolades
--- 2x STL Champ
--- 2003-04 All-NBA
--- 2x All Star
#2. Kemba Walker
- Stacker score: 20.5
- Ninth overall pick in 2011
- Played three seasons with Charlotte Hornets and five seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 19.3 PTS, 3.8 REB, 5.3 AST
- Advanced statistics: 59.8 win shares, 2.8 box plus/minus, 29.8 VORP
- Hall of Fame probability: 15.1%
- Accolades
--- 2018-19 All-NBA
--- 4x All Star
#1. Alonzo Mourning
- Stacker score: 36.5
- Second overall pick in 1992
- Played three seasons with Charlotte Hornets
- Career averages: 17.1 PTS, 8.5 REB, 1.1 AST
- Advanced statistics: 89.7 win shares, 2.2 box plus/minus, 27.4 VORP
- Accolades
--- 2006 NBA Champ
--- 2x Def. POY
--- 2x BLK Champ
--- Basketball Hall of Fame inductee
