Glen Rice – 1997, 1998
This goes all the way back to before the original Charlotte Hornets franchise decided to leave North Carolina and head for New Orleans. Glen Rice was one of the best players for the Hornets during those years and made two appearances on the end-of-season MVP voting list twice.
1997 was his best showing in terms of MVP voting. Rice finished in 5th, the highest for any Hornets player to this day, receiving 134 points but still not managing a single first-place vote. The former Michigan Wolverine averaged a career-high 26.8 points while leading the entire league in three-point conversion percentage at 47%, also a career-high. This was his third of four consecutive years of making more than 41% of his attempts from deep. Karl Malone would take home MVP honors for the 1996-97 season.
1998 would see Rice’s place among MVP candidates drop a bit. Going from fifth to 11th, Rice garnered only seven points and zero first-place votes. Rice would average 22.3 points per game for the third and final time in his career, making 43.3% of his three-point attempts. This year would see Michael Jordan win the MVP in his final year in Chicago.