1990–91 Charlotte Hornets season

The 1990–91 Charlotte Hornets season was the third season for the Charlotte Hornets in the National Basketball Association. The city of Charlotte, North Carolina hosted the NBA All-Star weekend at the Charlotte Coliseum this season, which also featured the 1991 NBA All-Star Game. After playing in the Midwest Division in the Western Conference the previous season, the Hornets returned to the Eastern Conference, and moved into the Central Division this season. The Hornets received the fifth overall pick in the 1990 NBA draft, and selected shooting guard Kendall Gill from the University of Illinois. During the off-season, the team signed free agent Johnny Newman, and later on traded Armen Gilliam to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Mike Gminski at mid-season.

With the addition of Newman and Gill, the Hornets started to show improvement playing around .500 in winning percentage, with an 8–7 start to the regular season in November. However, the team continued to struggle as they posted an 11-game losing streak in December afterwards, and later on held a 14–33 record at the All-Star break. The franchise improved seven games over the previous season, finishing in last place in the Central Division with a 26–56 record; however, the team finished last place in their division for the third consecutive year.

Newman averaged 16.9 points and 1.2 steals per game, while Rex Chapman averaged 15.7 points and 3.6 assists per game, and Gminski provided the team with 11.4 points and 7.6 rebounds per game in 50 games after the trade. In addition, second-year forward J.R. Reid provided with 11.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, while Gill contributed 11.0 points, 3.7 assists and 1.3 steals per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, and Muggsy Bogues provided with 7.0 points, 8.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Off the bench, Dell Curry contributed 10.6 points per game, while Kenny Gattison averaged 9.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, and Kelly Tripucka provided with 7.0 points per game.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, Chapman and Gill both participated in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest; it was the second consecutive appearance for Chapman in the Slam Dunk Contest. Chapman also finished tied in eighth place in Most Improved Player voting. The Hornets led the NBA in home-game attendance for the second time in three seasons, with an attendance of 978,141 at the Charlotte Coliseum during the regular season.

Following the season, Tripucka retired, and Gene Littles resigned as head coach.