Charlotte Hornets: 15 greatest scorers of all-time

• 17.5 PPG, 3,238 points, 3 seasons
• All-NBA Third Team (2014)
• 49.5 career field goal percentage w/Charlotte
• 185 career games, 102 career starts w/Charlotte

Al Jefferson went straight out of high school in Prentiss, Mississippi in 2004, as the Boston Celtics made him their No. 15 overall draft pick. While he put together 14 solid NBA seasons with five different franchises, he never stuck anywhere longer than three years.

He spent three years in Boston, then three years with the Minnesota Timberwolves, followed by three years with the Utah Jazz. Having only made the NBA playoffs twice in those five seasons, Jefferson was seen largely as a good stats, bad team guy before finding his way to Charlotte in 2013.

Fate would have it that his first year in Charlotte, coincidentally the last when the club was known as the Bobcats, would end up being the best season of his career. Charlotte not only made the Eastern Conference Playoffs for the second time ever, but Jefferson made All-NBA Third Team.

That season saw Jefferson average 21.8 points per game on 50.9 percent shooting to go along with 10.8 rebounds per game. This would be the only time Jefferson would average a double-double with the Bobcats/Hornets. He averaged double-doubles each year from 2006-07 to 2008-09 with the Celtics and the Timberwolves.

Playing center, no, Jefferson didn’t take his shot beyond the arc. However, he was an absolute menace in the paint on offense. Jefferson was one of the last truly great post players before the league got all 3-point centric. It’s no wonder why he has been quietly phased out of the league after two forgettable years with the Indiana Pacers.

That being said, Jefferson and a young Kemba Walker were paramount bring back to the hype to Charlotte professional basketball. Knowing the Hornets moniker was coming back a year later, Charlotte making the playoffs in the final year as the Bobcats in 2013-14 was both unexpected, yet exciting.

Jefferson averaged 17.5 points per game in his three years with the Bobcats/Hornets. He played in 185 games at center for Charlotte, which included 102 starts at the five. Though he wasn’t as dominant of a player in his final two years with the organization, coinciding with the rebrand, his first year with Charlotte makes his tenure with the club nothing but a success.

It’s more that the game changed as he entered his 30s. His defensive abilities kept him in the game longer after it evolved. Though he had more consistency in Minnesota and Utah, Jefferson’s best season came in Charlotte, where he amassed 3,238 career points over three seasons with the team.