The original Hornets franchise was established in 1988 as an expansion team, owned by George Shinn. In 2002, Shinn's franchise relocated to New Orleans and became the New Orleans Hornets. In 2004, the NBA established the Charlotte Bobcats, which was regarded as a new expansion team at the time. In 2014, the Bobcats were renamed Charlotte Hornets, and acquired official history and records of the original Hornets (spanning from 1988 to 2002) from New Orleans' team.
The team is mainly owned by Basketball Hall-of-Fame member Michael Jordan, who acquired a controlling interest in the team in 2010. The Hornets play their home games at the Spectrum Center in Uptown Charlotte.