Charlotte Hornets: 20 greatest player seasons in franchise history
By John Buhler
5. Gerald Wallace, 2009-10
- NBA All-Star
- NBA All-Defensive First Team
- 18.2 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.5 SPG, 1.1 BPG
- 11.5 Win Shares, 4.3 Value Over Replacement Player
Gerald Wallace will go down as the only player in NBA history to make an NBA All-Star Game as a Bobcat. Wallace was selected by the Bobcats in the 2004 NBA Expansion Draft after spending his first three years out of Alabama with the Sacramento Kings.
The Bobcats were terrible, as is the case with most expansion teams. However, things finally started to come together for this Charlottean franchise in 2009-10. Wallace had been a strong two-way player for the Bobcats upon his arrival in Charlotte in 2004. He previously led the NBA in steals with 2.5 per game in 2005-06. It would take for years later for him to have his best professional season.
Charlotte finished the season 44-38 under then head coach Larry Brown. That might have been the fourth-best record in the Southeast Division that year, but was certainly good enough to earn Charlotte a rare trip to the Eastern Conference Playoffs. Though not a star in the league-wide since, Wallace was the star of that year’s team.
He averaged 18.2 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.1 blocks per game. He amassed 11.5 win shares and a value over replacement player of 4.3. Wallace not only made his lone trip to the NBA All-Star Game that season, he made his only NBA All-Defensive First Team as well.
This would be the only season of his NBA career that he averaged a double-double. His 37.5 percent clip from distance would end up being his best mark from beyond the arc in his 14 years in the league. One could easily argue this was Wallace’s most completely dominating season, as he put together one of the 20 best seasons in the NBA that year.
Though Wallace would play on seven playoff teams in his career, including the first one ever by the Bobcats, he never got out of the second round in all five stops along his NBA journey. While the Bobcats era might end up being largely forgotten, Wallace’s 2009-10 campaign stands as the very best from that 10-year stretch of Charlotte NBA hoops.