Charlotte Hornets: 15 greatest scorers of all-time
By John Buhler
170. . SF. (1995-99). Glen Rice. 2. player
- 23.5 PPG, 5,651 points, 3 seasons
- 3x NBA All-Star (1996-98)
- All-NBA Second Team (1997)
- All-NBA Third Team (1998)
- NBA All-Star Game MVP (1997)
Glen Rice had a long and productive 15-year NBA career with six different franchises. In college, he was the best player on the Michigan Wolverines’ only national championship team to date in 1989. His collegiate success would result in him being the No. 4 overall pick by the expansion Miami Heat in the 1989 NBA Draft.
Rice was an outstanding shooter at the small forward throughout his 15-year NBA career. Though never an All-Star in his six years with Miami, one could argue that he was very much on the cusp of that with the Heat. He averaged 19.3 points per game on 45.9 percent shooting from the floor and 38.6 percent from beyond the arc while in Miami.
However when he came to Charlotte, it all seemed to click for the former Wolverine standout. Rice was the key piece that the Hornets got back for in trading a disgruntled Alonzo Mourning in 1995. Though Rice would only play three years with the Hornets, it came right at the peak of his NBA powers.
Rice made all three of his NBA All-Star Games in Hornets uniform, coming consecutively from 1996 to 1998. He made the All-NBA Second Team in 1997, as he averaged a career high 26.8 points per game on 47.7 percent shooting, leading the league in 3-point percentage at 47.0 percent.
He would be named NBA All-Star Game MVP in that same second season with the Hornets. In what was his third and final season with the Hornets, Rice made his third and final trip to the NBA All-Star Game. He made the All-NBA Third Team by averaging 22.3 points per game on 45.7 percent shooting from the field and 43.3 percent from long-range.
In three years with the Hornets, Rice averaged 23.5 points per game and amassed 5,651 career points in Charlotte uniform. While he could have put up big numbers going forward with the Hornets, Charlotte ended up trading Rice to the Los Angeles Lakers in 1999 for another fellow All-Star sharpshooter by the name of Eddie Jones.
While Jones made his final NBA All-Star game with the Hornets in 2000, Rice didn’t get to play in an All-Star Game with the purple and gold. However, he did win an NBA Championship in 2000 as a member of the Lakers. Rice played with the New York Knicks, the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Clippers before retiring after the 2003-04 NBA season.
Rice’s namesake Glen Rice Jr. would briefly play in the NBA with the Washington Wizards from 2014 to 2015. However, Rice is best known for bringing Michigan a title and being one of the best scoring threats from distance at small forward in the 1990s with the Heat and later the Hornets. Trading Mourning is still a sensitive subject, but Charlotte should be thrilled that the team got Rice at his absolute prime for three seasons.