2004–05 Charlotte Bobcats season

The 2004–05 NBA season was the first season for the Charlotte Bobcats in the National Basketball Association. This season marked the return of NBA basketball to Charlotte after a two-year hiatus. The original Hornets had moved to New Orleans after the 2001–02 season to become the New Orleans Hornets, now the New Orleans Pelicans. The Bobcats had the second overall pick in the 2004 NBA draft, which they used to select Emeka Okafor out of the University of Connecticut. The team hired Bernie Bickerstaff as head coach during the offseason, and added veteran players like Gerald Wallace, Primož Brezec, Brevin Knight, Jason Hart, Jason Kapono, Melvin Ely and Steve Smith to their roster. The Bobcats played their first game at the Charlotte Coliseum on November 4, which was a 103–96 loss to the Washington Wizards. They would win their first game defeating the Orlando Magic 111–100 at home on November 6. However, the expansion team struggled losing ten straight games in January and March, finishing fourth in the Southeast Division with an 18–64 record. Okafor averaged 15.1 points, 10.9 rebounds, 1.7 blocks per game and was named Rookie of The Year, and selected to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.

At the time, this was reckoned as the inaugural season of the Bobcats. However, after the 2013–14 season, the Bobcats reclaimed the Hornets name and pre-2002 history after the original Hornets team changed its name to the Pelicans. As a result, this is now considered the 15th season of the Hornets/Bobcats franchise, the team having returned after suspending operations from 2002 to 2004.

As an expansion franchise, the team unveiled their new logo and uniforms, which added dark navy blue, grey, and orange to their color scheme and added side panels to their jerseys and shorts, which remained in use until 2008.