1999–2000 Charlotte Hornets season

The 1999–2000 NBA 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. The Hornets got off to a solid 16–7 start to the regular season, posting an 8-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 game 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 this season, averaging 13.6 points and 1.5 steals per game off the bench in 28 games, starting in just nine of them before his death at the age of 30.

Despite the loss of Phills, and a 7-game losing streak between December and January, the Hornets were competitive and finished the first half of the regular season strong with a respectable 27–20 record. 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 their final seven games of the season, finishing in second place in the Central Division with a 49–33 record, earning the #4 seed in the Eastern Conference, and qualifying 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, named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, and was also selected for the 2000 NBA All-Star Game in Oakland, California, 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 Davis provided with 5.9 points, 3.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game.

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 2000 NBA playoffs, the Hornets faced off against the 5th-seeded Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference First Round, but were eliminated three games to one. 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 second-year guard 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.