The separation of on-court success and financial profit in the world of professional sports is always uncomfortable and messy. It’s fitting that the story of a transplanted, money-losing basketball franchise would end while that team played in a competitive playoff series. And that’s exactly what happened, as league owners voted in May of 2000 to allow the Hornets to move from Charlotte to New Orleans as the team battled the New Jersey Nets in the second round of the NBA playoffs.
Following a few seasons full of wins on the court and losses in the bank, the city of Charlotte denied a referendum put forth by Hornets owners George Shinn and Ray Wooldridge that would fund the construction of a new arena for the team.