1999–2000 Charlotte Hornets season

The 1999–2000 Charlotte Hornets season was the 12th season for the Charlotte Hornets in the National Basketball Association. Despite finishing the previous season with a 26–24 record, the Hornets received the third overall pick in the 1999 NBA draft, and selected point guard Baron Davis from the University of California, Los Angeles, and signed undrafted rookie small forward Eddie Robinson during the off-season. With the addition of Davis and Robinson, the Hornets got off to a solid 16–7 start to the regular season, posting an eight-game winning streak in December.

However, tragedy struck on January 12, 2000, when guard Bobby Phills was killed in a car accident while racing with teammate David Wesley after a team practice; Wesley also had a suspended driver's license at the time. The Hornets retired Phills' #13 jersey on February 9, during a home game at the Charlotte Coliseum against his former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers; the team also wore a patch bearing his #13 on their jerseys for the remainder of the season. Phills played a sixth man role off the bench this season, averaging 13.6 points and 1.5 steals per game in 28 games, starting in just nine of them before his death at the age of 30.

Despite the loss of Phills, and a seven-game losing streak between December and January, the Hornets were competitive and held a 27–20 record at the All-Star break. At mid-season, the team acquired Dale Ellis from the Milwaukee Bucks, and re-signed free agent Chucky Brown after a brief stint with the San Antonio Spurs. The Hornets won 14 of their final 16 games of the season, posting two seven-game winning streaks between March and April, finishing in second place in the Central Division with a 49–33 record, and earning the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference; the team qualified for their fifth NBA playoff appearance.

Eddie Jones averaged 20.1 points, 4.2 assists and 2.7 steals per game, led the Hornets with 128 three-point field goals, and was named to the All-NBA Third Team, and to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, while Derrick Coleman averaged 16.7 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game, and Wesley provided the team with 13.6 points and 5.6 assists per game. In addition, Elden Campbell provided with 12.7 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game, and Anthony Mason contributed 11.6 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Off the bench, second-year center Brad Miller averaged 7.7 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, while Robinson contributed 7.0 points per game, and Baron Davis provided with 5.9 points, 3.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at The Arena in Oakland in Oakland, California, Jones was selected for the 2000 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Eastern Conference All-Star team; it was his third and final All-Star appearance. Meanwhile, second-year guard Ricky Davis participated in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest. Jones also finished tied in third place in Defensive Player of the Year voting, while Mason finished tied in eighth place; Coleman finished tied in eleventh place in Most Improved Player voting, and head coach Paul Silas finished in third place in Coach of the Year voting.

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 2000 NBA playoffs, the Hornets faced off against the 5th–seeded Philadelphia 76ers, a team that featured All-Star guard Allen Iverson, Tyrone Hill, and defensive shot-blocker Theo Ratliff. Despite both teams finishing with the same regular-season record, the Hornets had home-court advantage in the series. The Hornets lost Game 1 to the 76ers at home, 92–82 at the Charlotte Coliseum, but managed to win Game 2 at home in overtime, 108–98 to even the series. However, the Hornets lost the next two games on the road, which included a Game 4 loss to the 76ers at the First Union Center, 105–99, thus losing the series in four games.

The Hornets finished eleventh in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 732,827 at the Charlotte Coliseum during the regular season; this was the first time during their history in Charlotte that the team did not finish in the top ten in home-game attendance. Following the season, Jones, Mason and Ricky Davis were all traded to the Miami Heat, while Miller signed as a free agent with the Chicago Bulls, and Brown was released to free agency. Ellis, who was involved in a trade with the Heat, was released and then retired.