# Charlotte Hornets draft history

The original Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA) were established in 1988 as an expansion team, based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The team's roster was filled with unprotected players at the 1988 NBA Expansion Draft, and five days later the Hornets made their first picks out of college players at the 1988 NBA draft. The Hornets remained in Charlotte for 14 seasons before relocating to New Orleans in 2002. Two years after the Hornets' departure, the Charlotte Bobcats were established in 2004. The Bobcats first participated in the 2004 NBA draft, two days after their expansion draft was held. The franchise's name was changed back to the Hornets at the conclusion of the 2013–14 season, one year after the team in Louisiana renamed itself the New Orleans Pelicans. The history and records of the original Charlotte Hornets were conveyed to the newly named Charlotte Hornets.
In 1989, the NBA agreed with the National Basketball Players Association to reduce drafts to two rounds, an arrangement that has remained the same up the present time. Before each draft, an NBA draft lottery determines the first round selection order for the teams that missed the playoffs during the prior season. Teams can also trade their picks, which means that in some drafts, teams may have more or less than two draft picks, although they must have at least one first-round pick every other year.
The first pick in the Hornets' history was Rex Chapman, a shooting guard from the University of Kentucky. The Hornets had three top-four picks and all of them have participated in the NBA All-Star Game: Larry Johnson, Alonzo Mourning, and Baron Davis. In 1996, the Hornets drafted Kobe Bryant 13th overall, but traded him for Vlade Divac. Bryant finished his career as an MVP, a four-time All-star game MVP, a two-time Finals MVP, an eleven-time all-NBA first team, and a five-time NBA Champion. The first player picked by the Bobcats, Emeka Okafor, was named the 2004–05 Rookie of the Year and voted to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.

## Key

| Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer | First Overall NBA Draft Pick | Selected for an NBA All-Star Game |

## Selections

Charlotte Hornets draft picks :
| Year | Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | Position | From |
| 1988-11988 | 1 | 8 | Rex Chapman | United States | Shooting guard | Kentucky |
| 1988-21988 | 2 | 34 | Tom Tolbert | United States | Power forward/center | Arizona |
| 1988-31988 | 3 | 58 | Jeff Moore | United States | Power forward/center | Auburn |
| 1989-11989 | 1 | 5 | J. R. Reid | United States | Power forward | North Carolina |
| 1989-21989 | 2 | 29 | Dyron Nix (traded to Indiana) | United States | Power forward | Tennessee |
| 1990-11990 | 1 | 5 | Kendall Gill | United States | Shooting guard | Illinois |
| 1990-21990 | 2 | 39 | Steve Scheffler (from Houston) | United States | Power forward/center | Purdue |
| 1991-11991 | 1 | 1 | Larry Johnson | United States | Small forward/power forward | UNLV |
| 1991-21991 | 2 | 28 | Kevin Lynch (from Denver) | United States | Small forward | Minnesota |
| 1992-11992 | 1 | 2 | Alonzo Mourning | United States | Center | Georgetown |
| 1992-21992 | 2 | 35 | Tony Bennett | United States | Point guard | Wisconsin–Green Bay |
| 1993-11993 | 1 | 17 | Greg Graham (traded to Philadelphia) | United States | Shooting guard | Indiana |
| 1993-21993 | 1 | 20 | Scott Burrell (from San Antonio) | United States | Small forward | Connecticut |
| 1994-11994 | 2 | 38 | Darrin Hancock | United States | Shooting guard/small forward | Kansas |
| 1995-11995 | 1 | 22 | George Zidek | Czech Republic | Center | UCLA |
| 1996-11996 | 1 | 13 | Kobe Bryant (traded to L.A. Lakers) | United States | Shooting guard | Lower Merion (H.S.) |
| 1996-21996 | 1 | 16 | Tony Delk (from Miami) | United States | Point guard/shooting guard | Kentucky |
| 1996-31996 | 2 | 44 | Malik Rose | United States | Power forward | Drexel |
| 1998-11998 | 1 | 21 | Ricky Davis | United States | Shooting guard/small forward | Iowa |
| 1998-21998 | 2 | 50 | Andrew Betts (traded to Indiana) | United Kingdom | Center | Long Beach State |
| 1999-11999 | 1 | 3 | Baron Davis | United States | Point guard | UCLA |
| 1999-21999 | 2 | 43 | Lee Nailon | United States | Power forward | TCU |
| 2000-12000 | 1 | 19 | Jamaal Magloire | Canada | Power forward/center | Kentucky |
| 2001-12001 | 1 | 16 | Kirk Haston | United States | Power forward | Indiana |
| 2004-12004 | 1 | 2 | Emeka Okafor (from L.A. Clippers) | United States | Power forward/center | Connecticut |
| 2004-22004 | 2 | 45 | Bernard Robinson (from Milwaukee) | United States | Power forward | Michigan |
| 2005-12005 | 1 | 5 | Raymond Felton | United States | Point guard | North Carolina |
| 2005-22005 | 1 | 13 | Sean May (from Cleveland via Phoenix) | United States | Power forward | North Carolina |
| 2006-12006 | 1 | 3 | Adam Morrison | United States | Small forward | Gonzaga |
| 2006-22006 | 2 | 50 | Ryan Hollins (from Sacramento) | United States | Center | UCLA |
| 2007-12007 | 1 | 8 | Brandan Wright (traded to Golden State) | United States | Small forward | North Carolina |
| 2007-22007 | 1 | 22 | Jared Dudley (from Cleveland) | United States | Small forward | Boston College |
| 2008-12008 | 1 | 9 | D. J. Augustin | United States | Point guard | Texas |
| 2008-22008 | 1 | 20 | Alexis Ajinça (from Denver) | France | Center | Hyères-Toulon (France) |
| 2008-32008 | 2 | 38 | Kyle Weaver (traded to Oklahoma City) | United States | Point guard | Washington State |
| 2009-12009 | 1 | 12 | Gerald Henderson | United States | Shooting guard | Duke |
| 2009-22009 | 2 | 40 | Derrick Brown (from New Jersey via Oklahoma City) | United States | Power forward | Xavier |
| 2009-32009 | 2 | 54 | Robert Vaden (from San Antonio, traded to Oklahoma City) | United States | Shooting guard | UAB |
| 2011-12011 | 1 | 9 | Kemba Walker | United States | Point guard | Connecticut |
| 2011-22011 | 1 | 19 | Tobias Harris (from New Orleans via Portland, traded to Milwaukee) | United States | Small forward | Tennessee |
| 2011-32011 | 2 | 39 | Jeremy Tyler (traded to Golden State) | United States | Center | Tokyo Apache (Japan) |
| 2012-12012 | 1 | 2 | Michael Kidd-Gilchrist | United States | Small forward | Kentucky |
| 2012-22012 | 2 | 31 | Jeffery Taylor | Sweden | Small forward | Vanderbilt |
| 2013-12013 | 1 | 4 | Cody Zeller | United States | Power forward/center | Indiana |
| 2014-12014 | 1 | 9 | Noah Vonleh (from Detroit) | United States | Power forward | Indiana |
| 2014-12014 | 1 | 24 | Shabazz Napier (from Portland, traded to Miami) | United States | Point guard | Connecticut |
| 2014-22014 | 2 | 45 | Dwight Powell (traded to Cleveland) | Canada | Power forward | Stanford |
| 2015 | 1 | 9 | Frank Kaminsky | United States | Power forward/center | Wisconsin |
| 2015 | 2 | 39 | Juan Pablo Vaulet (traded to Brooklyn) | Argentina | Small forward | Estudiantes de Bahía Blanca (Argentina) |
| 2016 | 1 | 22 | Malachi Richardson (traded to Sacramento) | United States | Shooting guard | Syracuse |
| 2017 | 1 | 11 | Malik Monk | United States | Shooting guard | Kentucky |
| 2017 | 2 | 31 | Frank Jackson (from Brooklyn via Atlanta, traded to New Orleans) | United States | Point guard | Duke |
| 2018 | 1 | 11 | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (traded to the L. A. Clippers) | Canada | Point guard | Kentucky |
| 2018 | 2 | 55 | Arnoldas Kulboka (from Cleveland via Brooklyn and Philadelphia) | Lithuania | Small forward | Orlandina Basket (Italy) |
| 2019 | 1 | 12 | P. J. Washington | United States | Power forward | Kentucky |
| 2019 | 2 | 36 | Cody Martin (from Washington via Atlanta, Denver, and Orlando) | United States | Small forward | Nevada |
| 2019 | 2 | 52 | Jalen McDaniels (from Oklahoma City) | United States | Power forward | San Diego State |
| 2020 | 1 | 3 | LaMelo Ball | United States | Point guard | Illawarra Hawks (Australia) |
| 2020 | 2 | 32 | Vernon Carey Jr. (from Cleveland via Portland, Orlando, and L. A. Clippers) | United States | Power forward | Duke |
| 2020 | 2 | 56 | Grant Riller (from Boston) | United States | Shooting guard | College of Charleston |
| 2021 | 1 | 11 | James Bouknight | United States | Shooting guard | UConn |
| 2021 | 2 | 56 | Scottie Lewis (from LA Clippers) | United States | Shooting guard | Florida |
| 2021 | 2 | 57 | Balša Koprivica (from Brooklyn) | Serbia | Center | Florida State |
| 2022 | 1 | 13 | Jalen Duren (traded to Detroit) | United States | Center | Memphis |
| 2022 | 1 | 15 | Mark Williams | United States | Center | Duke |
| 2023 | 1 | 2 | Brandon Miller | United States | Small Forward | Alabama |
| 2024 | 1 | 6 | Tidjane Salaün | France | Small Forward | France |
| 2024 | 2 | 42 | KJ Simpson | United States | Point Guard | Colorado |