Charlotte Hornets: A look back at Larry Johnson
Though the Hornets’ first season was in 1988, it wasn’t until the summer of 1991 when they got their first bonafide star when the team drafted Larry Johnson. It wasn’t long until his physical play and toothy grin took Charlotte by storm.
It was the summer of 1991. The Charlotte Hornets had just come off a 26-56 season, a seven game improvement over the previous year. Despite the improvement, that record helped give the Hornets the number one pick in the draft.
With that pick, the Hornets drafted Larry Johnson out of UNLV. Johnson had a brief, but stellar career at UNLV, earning two First Team All-American honors, a National Championship, and a National Player of the Year award. All of this was in just two seasons with the Runnin’ Rebels.
Expectations for Johnson were high, and rightfully so. He was the first ever overall number one pick for the Hornets. It didn’t take long for Johnson to live up to those expectations. Johnson averaged 19.1 points and 11 rebounds per game on way to earning Rookie of the Year honors. Sadly, the team only marginally improved, finishing the season 31-51.
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In his second year, he had arguably the best of his career, being named to the All-Star team, the first time a Hornet had ever been chosen. He averaged 22.1 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. Alongside Alonzo Mourning, the Hornets finally showed signs of improvement, earning the 5th seed in the playoffs and defeating the Boston Celtics 3-1 in the first round. Charlotte finally had a star player as “Grandmama” took over the Queen City.
“LJ” quickly became a household name with his physicality and high-flying dunks. He was an integral piece in what many consider the heyday of the Hornets.
Things were finally looking up for both Johnson and the Hornets. Johnson signed a then NBA record 12-year, $85 million dollar contract. Sadly, injuries to both Johnson and Mourning derailed the team the next season, finishing with a record of 41-41.
The next year would be their most successful yet. Both Johnson and Mourning were named to the All-Star Team and led the Hornets to a 50-32 record, good for fourth in the East. Their terrific season would come to an end, however, in the first round of the playoffs at the hands of the Chicago Bulls.
The ’95-’96 season would be LJ’s last in Charlotte. Even with lingering back injuries, Johnson averaged 20.5 points a game. The team had traded Alonzo Mourning early that season for Glen Rice, Matt Geiger, and Khalid Reeves. Despite the added potent scoring from Rice, the team only finished 41-41 and missed the playoffs.
At the end of that season, the Hornets traded Johnson to the New York Knicks for Anthony Mason and Brad Lohaus. He went on to finish his career there, playing five more seasons, though he never quite played the way he did in Charlotte.
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Although he only played five seasons in Charlotte, LJ ranks among the best. He’s still in the franchise’s top five in scoring, rebounds and minutes played. Still, in many ways, his cultural impact overstates his stat line. For a time, he was the face of the Hornets and was the city’s first real star. For a young franchise looking for an identity, you couldn’t do much better than Larry Johnson.