# 2005–06 New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets season

The 2005–06 New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets season was the team's fourth season in the NBA. They began the season hoping to improve upon their 18–64 record from the previous season (worst in the Western Conference that year). They finished the season with a 38–44 record, missing the playoffs for the second year in a row.
Before the commencement of training camp, the City of New Orleans was hit by Hurricane Katrina. With the New Orleans Arena partly damaged and the city's infrastructure in need of repair the Hornets signed a deal to play most of their games in Oklahoma City, becoming the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets for this season. In Oklahoma City, the Hornets enjoyed sell-out crowds at the Ford Center.
The addition of draft pick Chris Paul resulted in the team competing for a playoff spot. In January and February, the club played winning basketball despite losing Chris Andersen to a two-year suspension for illegal drugs. Paul showed the poise and play making skills of a veteran finishing second in steals and seventh in assists as he posted a terrific 3.34 assist-to-turnover ratio, while leading all rookies with 16.1 points per game.
On March 8, the Hornets returned to New Orleans with a near sell-out crowd on hand to watch the Hornets lose to the Los Angeles Lakers 113–107. In March, the Hornets went into a tailspin, winning just 3 of 14 games. The Hornets went on to finish in 4th place in their division. Chris Paul was named Rookie of the Year.

## Draft picks

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
| 1 | 4 | Chris Paul | PG | United States | Wake Forest |
| 2 | 33 | Brandon Bass | F | United States | LSU |

## Regular season
### Standings

| Southwest Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
| y-San Antonio Spurs | 63 | 19 | .768 | - | 34–7 | 29–12 | 13–3 |
| x-Dallas Mavericks | 60 | 22 | .732 | 3 | 34–7 | 26–15 | 13–3 |
| x-Memphis Grizzlies | 49 | 33 | .598 | 14 | 30–11 | 19–22 | 6–10 |
| New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets | 38 | 44 | .463 | 25 | 24–17 | 14–27 | 7–9 |
| Houston Rockets | 34 | 48 | .415 | 29 | 15–26 | 19–22 | 1–15 |
| # | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte |
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
| 1 | c-San Antonio Spurs | 63 | 19 | .768 | - |
| 2 | y-Phoenix Suns | 54 | 28 | .659 | 9 |
| 3 | y-Denver Nuggets | 44 | 38 | .537 | 19 |
| 4 | x-Dallas Mavericks | 60 | 22 | .732 | 3 |
| 5 | x-Memphis Grizzlies | 49 | 33 | .598 | 14 |
| 6 | x-Los Angeles Clippers | 47 | 35 | .573 | 16 |
| 7 | x-Los Angeles Lakers | 45 | 37 | .549 | 18 |
| 8 | x-Sacramento Kings | 44 | 38 | .537 | 19 |
| 9 | Utah Jazz | 41 | 41 | .500 | 22 |
| 10 | New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets | 38 | 44 | .463 | 25 |
| 11 | Seattle SuperSonics | 35 | 47 | .427 | 28 |
| 12 | Golden State Warriors | 34 | 48 | .415 | 29 |
| 13 | Houston Rockets | 34 | 48 | .415 | 29 |
| 14 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 33 | 49 | .402 | 30 |
| 15 | Portland Trail Blazers | 21 | 61 | .256 | 42 |

### Game log

2005–06 game log Total: 38–44 (Home: 22–19; Road: 16–25) :
November: 7–7 (home: 3–3; road: 4–4)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
November 1
Sacramento
93–67
P. J. Brown (20)
David West (11)
Speedy Claxton & Chris Paul (4)
Ford Center 19,163
1–0
2
November 2
@ Cleveland
87–109
Speedy Claxton (16)
Chris Andersen (8)
Boštjan Nachbar (6)
Quicken Loans Arena 20,562
1–1
3
November 5
@ Houston
91–84
P. J. Brown (18)
P. J. Brown (13)
Claxton & Paul (8)
Toyota Center 15,875
2–1
4
November 9
Orlando
83–88
Speedy Claxton (24)
P. J. Brown (10)
Speedy Claxton (6)
Ford Center 18,508
2–2
5
November 12
Dallas
103–109
Chris Paul (26)
P. J. Brown (7)
Speedy Claxton (7)
Ford Center 19,163
2–3
6
November 15
@ Miami
102–109 (OT)
P. J. Brown (24)
P. J. Brown (12)
Chris Paul (10)
American Airlines Arena 19,600
2–4
7
November 16
Denver
81–91
Chris Paul (18)
Brown, Paul, & West (9)
Kirk Snyder (5)
Ford Center 18,442
2–5
8
November 18
Atlanta
95–92
Chris Paul (25)
Chris Andersen (18)
Chris Paul (12)
Ford Center 17,554
3–5
9
November 19
@ Orlando
98–95
David West (34)
Andersen & West (8)
Chris Paul (8)
TD Waterhouse Centre 14,489
4–5
10
November 21
@ Philadelphia
91–103
David West (20)
David West (9)
Chris Paul (6)
Wachovia Center 12,452
4–6
11
November 23
Minnesota
84–80
David West (22)
David West (13)
Chris Paul (8)
Ford Center 19,163
5–6
12
November 26
@ Seattle
105–99
David West (21)
Desmond Mason & Paul (7)
Chris Paul (10)
Key Arena 16,371
6–6
13
November 28
@ Golden State
83–99
Chris Paul (15)
David West (11)
Speedy Claxton (9)
Oakland Arena 16,270
6–7
14
November 30
@ Denver
102–95
Desmond Mason (26)
P. J. Brown (12)
Chris Paul (9)
Pepsi Center 15,603
7–7 :
December
: 5–10 (home: 4–3; road: 1–7)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
15
December 2
Philadelphia
88–86
David West (22)
P. J. Brown (14)
Chris Paul (9)
Ford Center 19,163
8–7
16
December 3
@ Dallas
88–97
Chris Paul (25)
Brown & Paul (6)
Chris Paul (5)
American Airlines Center 19,651
8–8
17
December 6
@ Memphis
73–89
Mason & West (15)
Chris Andersen (10)
Paul, J. R. Smith, & Claxton (4)
FedEx Forum 13,271
8–9
18
December 7
Boston
87–101
David West (29)
Chris Paul (10)
Chris Paul (6)
Ford Center 18,753
8–10
19
December 9
@ Portland
95–98 (OT)
Speedy Claxton (27)
Chris Paul (7)
Chris Paul (10)
Rose Garden 12,305
8–11
20
December 11
@ Sacramento
100–110
Chris Paul (18)
P. J. Brown (8)
Chris Paul (12)
ARCO Arena 17,317
8–12
21
December 12
@ Phoenix
91–87
J. R. Smith (26)
J. R. Smith (10)
Chris Paul (7)
America West Arena 15,547
9–12
22
December 14
LA Clippers
102–89
J. R. Smith (21)
David West (12)
Chris Paul (8)
Ford Center 17,490
10–12
23
December 16
Phoenix
88–101
Chris Paul (25)
Brown & West (13)
Chris Paul (6)
Pete Maravich Assembly Center 7,302
10–13
24
December 18
San Antonio
89–76
David West (19)
Chris Paul (12)
Chris Paul (9)
Ford Center 19,297
11–13
25
December 21
@ Minnesota
69–88
Chris Paul (15)
P. J. Brown (9)
Speedy Claxton (4)
Target Center 14,454
11–14
26
December 23
@ Milwaukee
94–101
David West (27)
David West (18)
Chris Paul (8)
Bradley Center 16,824
11–15
27
December 28
Houston
92–90
J. R. Smith (16)
Brown & West (7)
Chris Paul (15)
Ford Center 19,205
12–15
28
December 29
@ San Antonio
84–111
David West (18)
P. J. Brown (6)
Chris Paul (7)
AT&T Center 18,797
12–16
29
December 31
Dallas
90–95
David West (18)
David West (10)
Chris Paul (10)
Ford Center 19,170
12–17 :
January
: 10–5 (home: 6–2; road: 4–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
30
January 2
Charlotte
103–86
Chris Paul (24)
Mason & West (9)
Chris Paul (11)
Ford Center 17,683
13–17
31
January 4
Miami
107–92
Desmond Mason (24)
Mason & West (7)
Chris Paul (9)
Ford Center 19,326
14–17
32
January 6
Portland
90–80
Kirk Snyder (22)
David West (13)
Speedy Claxton (7)
Ford Center 18,995
14–18
33
January 7
@ Atlanta
93–101
Speedy Claxton (29)
David West (9)
Kirk Snyder (4)
Philips Arena 11,332
14–19
34
January 10
Detroit
86–96
David West (20)
P. J. Brown (9)
Chris Paul (5)
Ford Center 19,260
15–19
35
January 13
Sacramento
90–76
David West (19)
Chris Paul (8)
Speedy Claxton (8)
Lloyd Noble Center 11,343
16–19
36
January 14
@ Houston
86–80
Chris Paul (17)
P. J. Brown (10)
Chris Paul (5)
Toyota Center 14,724
17–19
37
January 16
@ Charlotte
107–92
Chris Paul (24)
David West (11)
Chris Paul (6)
Charlotte Bobcats Arena 15,303
18–19
38
January 18
Memphis
87–79
Chris Paul (16)
David West (14)
Chris Paul (9)
Ford Center 14,554
19–19
39
January 20
@ Washington
99–110
Chris Paul (28)
David West (7)
Chris Paul (11)
Verizon Center 19,062
19–20
40
January 21
@ New York
109–98
Chris Paul (27)
P. J. Brown (9)
Chris Paul (13)
Madison Square Garden 19,763
20–20
41
January 23
@ Boston
78–91
David West (21)
P. J. Brown (8)
Chris Paul (6)
TD Banknorth Garden 14,473
20–21
42
January 25
San Antonio
68–84
Rasual Butler & West (15)
P. J. Brown (9)
Chris Paul (4)
Ford Center 19,289
20–22
43
January 28
@ Memphis
95–86
Speedy Claxton (20)
David West (12)
Chris Paul (8)
FedExForum 16,228
21–22
44
January 30
Milwaukee
94–93
David West (24)
David West (15)
Chris Paul (9)
Ford Center 18,197
22–22 :
February
: 9–4 (home: 6–1; road: 3–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
45
February 1
Chicago
100–95
Chris Paul (25)
Brown & West (6)
Chris Paul (13)
Ford Center 19,163
23–22
46
February 4
LA Lakers
106–90
Desmond Mason (21)
P. J. Brown (9)
Chris Paul (13)
Ford Center 19,334
24–22
47
February 6
@ New Jersey
91–99
Speedy Claxton (23)
Mason & Paul (7)
Chris Paul (13)
Continental Airlines Arena 13,998
24–23
48
February 8
Seattle
109–102
David West (26)
David West (10)
Kirk Snyder (12)
Ford Center 18,807
25–23
49
February 10
New York
111–100
David West (21)
David West (10)
Speedy Claxton (11)
Ford Center 19,163
26–23
50
February 11
@ Minnesota
100–94
Claxton & Snyder (28)
Desmond Mason (9)
Speedy Claxton (7)
Target Center 15,933
27–23
51
February 13
Washington
97–96
David West (19)
David West (9)
Speedy Claxton (10)
Ford Center 18,678
28–23
52
February 15
Portland
102–86
Kirk Snyder (22)
Rasual Butler (9)
Chris Paul (7)
Ford Center 19,051
29–23
53
February 21
@ Indiana
75–97
Chris Paul (27)
Desmond Mason (7)
Chris Paul (6)
Conseco Fieldhouse 14,108
29–24
54
February 22
Utah
100–95
Chris Paul (18)
Aaron Williams (13)
Chris Paul (7)
Ford Center 18,368
29–25
55
February 25
@ Utah
100–95
Chris Paul (23)
Linton Johnson (11)
Chris Paul (8)
EnergySolutions Arena 18,471
30–25
56
February 26
@ Portland
102–86
David West (22)
Marc Jackson (8)
Chris Paul (8)
Rose Garden 12,860
31–25
57
February 28
@ Seattle
104–114
Chris Paul (25)
Chris Paul (7)
Chris Paul (14)
Key Arena 15,115
31–26 :
March
: 3–11 (home: 2–6; road: 1–5)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
58
March 1
@ LA Clippers
67–89
Desmond Mason (20)
P. J. Brown (11)
Chris Paul (12)
Staples Center 16,157
31–27
59
March 6
Phoenix
88–101
David West (20)
David West (8)
Chris Paul (11)
Ford Center 19,207
31–28
60
March 8
LA Lakers
107–113
David West (25)
Kirk Snyder (6)
Chris Paul (10)
New Orleans Arena 17,744
31–29
61
March 10
Indiana
90–92
David West (20)
Chris Paul (7)
Chris Paul (8)
Ford Center 18,506
31–30
62
March 12
New Jersey
84–95
Chris Paul (17)
P. J. Brown (8)
Chris Paul (7)
Ford Center 19,198
31–31
63
March 14
@ San Antonio
81–96
Jackson & Paul (16)
Rasual Butler (8)
Chris Paul (7)
AT&T Center 18,797
31–32
64
March 18
Denver
94–109
David West (24)
P. J. Brown (10)
Chris Paul (10)
New Orleans Arena 17,912
31–33
65
March 21
LA Clippers
120–108
Rasual Butler (32)
David West (11)
Chris Paul (9)
New Orleans Arena 16,799
32–33
66
March 23
Houston
92–93
David West (14)
David West (11)
Speedy Claxton (10)
Ford Center 19,163
32–34
67
March 24
@ Chicago
82–96
Chris Paul (13)
Brown & Butler (9)
Speedy Claxton (6)
United Center 21,793
32–35
68
March 26
@ LA Lakers
67–89
David West (23)
David West (10)
Claxton & Paul (6)
Staples Center 18,997
32–36
69
March 27
@ Utah
80–104
Rasual Butler (15)
P. J. Brown (8)
Chris Paul (7)
EnergySolutions Arena 17,437
32–37
70
March 29
@ Golden State
86–85
Rasual Butler (20)
Marc Jackson (8)
Chris Paul (7)
Oakland Arena 16,885
33–37
71
March 31
Memphis
107–102
Marc Jackson (24)
Linton Johnson (8)
Speedy Claxton (8)
Ford Center 18,817
34–37 :
April
: 4–7 (home: 3–2; road: 1–5)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
72
April 2
@ Toronto
120–113 (2 OT)
Chris Paul (24)
Chris Paul (12)
Claxton & Paul (12)
Air Canada Centre 15,079
35–37
73
April 4
@ Detroit
93–101
Paul & West (24)
Jackson, Johnson, & West (6)
Chris Paul (10)
The Palace of Auburn Hills 22,076
35–38
74
April 5
Golden State
114–109 OT
Speedy Claxton (21)
Butler & Paul (11)
Chris Paul (16)
Ford Center 18,169
36–38
75
April 7
Toronto
95–89
David West (19)
David West (9)
Chris Paul (8)
Ford Center 18,854
37–38
76
April 8
@ Dallas
77–101
Rasual Butler (14)
Brown & Butler (7)
Chris Paul (5)
American Airlines Center 20,336
37–39
77
April 10
Cleveland
101–103
Chris Paul (22)
P. J. Brown (10)
Chris Paul (5)
Ford Center 19,187
37–40
78
April 12
Seattle
104–99
Chris Paul (21)
Marc Jackson (14)
Chris Paul (6)
Ford Center 18,607
38–40
79
April 14
Utah
104–105
David West (31)
David West (12)
Chris Paul (7)
Ford Center 19,163
38–41
80
April 16
@ Sacramento
79–96
Chris Paul (12)
Brandon Bass (7)
Chris Paul (7)
ARCO Arena 17,317
38–42
81
April 17
@ Phoenix
78–115
Jackson & Paul (11)
Linton Johnson (7)
Chris Paul (5)
US Airways Arena 18,442
38–43
82
April 19
@ LA Lakers
95–115
P. J. Brown (16)
Marc Jackson (13)
Chris Paul (7)
Staples Center 18,997
38–44 :
2005–06 schedule :

## Player statistics

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Chris Andersen | 32 | 2 | 17.8 | .571 | .000 | .476 | 4.8 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 5.0 |
| Brandon Bass | 29 | 1 | 9.2 | .400 | .000 | .632 | 2.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 2.3 |
| P.J. Brown | 75 | 73 | 31.7 | .461 | .000 | .827 | 7.3 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 9.0 |
| Rasual Butler | 79 | 20 | 23.7 | .406 | .380 | .693 | 2.9 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 8.7 |
| Speedy Claxton | 71 | 3 | 28.4 | .413 | .270 | .769 | 2.7 | 4.8 | 1.5 | 0.1 | 12.3 |
| Marcus Fizer | 3 | 0 | 13.0 | .529 | 1.000 | .500 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 6.7 |
| Marc Jackson | 27 | 10 | 22.0 | .489 | .500 | .824 | 4.7 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 9.1 |
| Linton Johnson | 27 | 7 | 18.1 | .403 | .361 | .739 | 4.3 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 5.3 |
| Maciej Lampe | 2 | 0 | 8.0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Arvydas Macijauskas | 19 | 0 | 7.1 | .341 | .250 | .867 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 2.3 |
| Desmond Mason | 70 | 55 | 30.0 | .399 | .167 | .682 | 4.3 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 10.8 |
| Boštjan Nachbar | 25 | 13 | 16.2 | .339 | .298 | .694 | 2.0 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 5.0 |
| Moochie Norris | 16 | 0 | 11.4 | .426 | .444 | .640 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 3.8 |
| Chris Paul | 78 | 78 | 36.0 | .430 | .282 | .847 | 5.1 | 7.8 | 2.2 | 0.1 | 16.1 |
| J.R. Smith | 55 | 25 | 18.0 | .393 | .371 | .822 | 2.0 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 7.7 |
| Kirk Snyder | 68 | 45 | 19.3 | .453 | .357 | .735 | 2.4 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 8.0 |
| Jackson Vroman | 41 | 2 | 9.9 | .394 | .000 | .477 | 2.1 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.8 |
| David West | 74 | 74 | 34.1 | .512 | .273 | .843 | 7.4 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 17.1 |
| Aaron Williams | 34 | 2 | 20.4 | .516 | .000 | .673 | 4.9 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 5.8 |
Bold leads team. Minimum of ten games started.
Reference:

## Awards and records
### Awards

* Chris Paul, NBA Rookie of the Year Award
* Chris Paul, NBA All-Rookie Team 1st Team