Tag: Charlotte Hornets

All-Time Detroit Pistons vs. All-Time Charlotte Hornets

Commentary

Not even close.

Results

Detroit wins, four games to none.

Next Round

Detroit faces the winner of the All-Time Nets vs. All-Time Clippers.

More Commentary

Since Dennis Rodman is a key member of the Pistons, this seems like a good time to contextualize his incredible rebounding totals. Rodman almost had two different pro careers. In his first incarnation, in his early years with Detroit, he was one of the most versatile defenders in NBA history, capable of guarding everyone from Michael Jordan to Magic Johnson. In his second act, he became obsessed with the art of rebounding. Many believe that he was the greatest ever at this skill, but the all-time rebounding numbers are skewed in favor of players who played in a faster-paced league. How did Rodman’s rebounding compare to his predecessors? Below are the best rebounding seasons for every player in history who has ever averaged over 17 rebounds per game. Note that each player only has his best season listed; Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell hold the 18 highest rebounding seasons in NBA history.

The numbers in this chart help to provide some context for the rebounding averages you see next to each player’s name. Team pace is an estimate of each team’s number of possessions per 48 minutes. In 1991-92, the Detroit Pistons pace was estimated at 91.6; compare this to Wilt Chamberlain’s record breaking 1960-61 campaign, when the Warriors were estimated to average 40 more possessions per game. Since rebounding numbers for opposing teams are not available in the basketball-reference.com database for early seasons, we calculated the average number of league rebounds per game in each year that is listed. Obviously, some teams played at faster and slower paces than their peers, but this provides a measure for the number of rebounds that were available in a typical NBA game in the year that is listed. In 1991-92, there were 87.3 rebounds per game (league wide), and Rodman’s 18.7 RPG accounted for 21.4 percent of all rebounds in a typical game. In the 1960-61 season, there were 146.6 rebounds per game! It’s not surprising that the 1960-61 season produced three players on this list (Chamberlain, Bob Pettit, and Elgin Baylor), each of whom had significantly lower percentages than Rodman. Since 1970-71, total rebound percentage can be tracked to measure the percentage of rebounds a player gathered while he was on the floor. Rodman grabbed over a quarter of the rebounds available in his 1991-92 season, which is three percentage points higher than Moses Malone in his incredible 1978-79 campaign. Finally, we have a look at the closest competitor in each season’s rebounds per game race. Only five players on this list actually led their league in rebounds per game; Nate Thurmond, Jerry Lucas, Pettit, Baylor, Walt Bellamy, Wes Unseld, and Maurice Stokes were all eclipsed by Chamberlain or Russell in their career-high seasons. Moses Malone had the widest disparity between his next closest competitor of all the other players on this list, while Chamberlain and Rodman had virtually identical leads in their rebounding races, despite Chamberlain’s higher raw totals.

The greatest rebounding seasons in NBA history, by raw averages, virtually all came in an era where the game was played at a breakneck pace, with a plethora of missed shots, which hardly resembles modern-day basketball. Rodman’s 1991-92 season, in which he averaged 18.7 RPG, came 13 seasons after the second most contemporary season on this list, Moses Malone’s 1978-79 campaign. While this is by no means a comprehensive analysis, it does help to show that Rodman’s 1991-92 season may have been the best career-high rebounding season in NBA history.

All-Time Charlotte Hornets Team

All-Time Charlotte Hornets Team Infographic

I’ve already detailed the confusing history of our next franchise. They vanished into thin air in the 2003 and 2004 seasons, only to be reincarnated as the woeful Bobcats, before getting back their beloved team name 10 years later. Many of the best players in franchise history – including Alonzo Mourning, Glen Rice, Anthony Mason (RIP), Baron Davis, and Al Jefferson – were ineligible for inclusion on their all-time team, due to not playing enough seasons with the franchise. And while we could throw them a bone and include these players anyway, they’ve been in existence for a total of 25 years, which should be enough to comply with the rules (as previous teams have shown). The All-Time Charlotte Hornets team would have a tough time competing in the 2015-16 NBA season, much less in this tournament of legends, where they’ll serve as road kill for their first-round opponent.

The starting point guard, Muggsy Bogues, is best known as the shortest player in NBA history (5’3”), but he was more than a novelty act; he was a good play maker who had a 4.75:1 career assist-to-turnover ratio. He wasn’t a good outside shooter, however, and will struggle to guard many of the larger point guards in this tournament. Dell Curry, the starting shooting guard, is best known for the work of his son, but he was an excellent shooter in Charlotte who won a Sixth Man of the Year award. There are plenty of guard options off the bench, though none of them are overly impressive. Kemba Walker is a high usage, low efficiency point guard. Raymond Felton was the product of the Bobcats’ seemingly endless bad draft luck. In 2005, they won only 18 games, and tied for the second worst record in the league, but they received the fifth pick in the draft, and watched Deron Williams and Chris Paul get drafted right before they selected the mediocre Felton. David Wesley and Kendall Gill were both solid off guards; Wesley was a more diminutive (6’0”) player who could also play at the point, while Gill had good size for his position (6’5”) and could also play at small forward. Gerald Henderson has shown flashes on the recent Charlotte teams, but is another average player who doesn’t move the needle for this squad.

The starting forwards are the only two players on the team who have made an all-star game in Charlotte. Gerald Wallace, AKA Crash, was an excellent all-around player who competed hard on both ends of the court. Larry Johnson was the first pick in the 1991 draft, and many envisioned him as the second coming of Charles Barkley. While back trouble derailed his promising career, he was still an offensive force with Charlotte, who also put up impressive assist numbers from the power forward position. Emeka Okafor, the starting center, was a very good rim protector who averaged a double-double in his Charlotte career. Off the bench, Elden Campbell and Nazr Mohammed provide size and rim protection, and should get plenty of minutes behind the smaller starters.

What started off as a very promising franchise has devolved into one of the laughingstocks of the NBA. Even their legendary owner’s reputation has taken a hit since he took over the team. An influx of talent is needed to turn around the fortunes of both the modern day and all-time franchise teams, but, unfortunately, there does not seem to be much help coming on the horizon.

Coach: Dave Cowens

All-Time Franchise Winning Percentage (through 2014-15): .434