The New Orleans Hornets are an American professional basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 team based in New Orleans, Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

. They play in the Southwest Division

Southwest Division (NBA)

The Southwest Division is one of the three divisions in the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association . The division consists of five teams, the Dallas Mavericks, the Houston Rockets, the Memphis Grizzlies, the New Orleans Hornets and the San Antonio Spurs...

 of the Western Conference

Western Conference (NBA)

Below is a list of current Western Conference NBA team rosters.-Western Conference:There are a total of 15 teams in the Western Conference. The current leading team of the Western conference are the Dallas Mavericks....

 in the National Basketball Association

National Basketball Association

The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...

 (NBA). The team joined the NBA in 1988 as an expansion team

Expansion team

An expansion team is a brand new team in a sports league. The term is most commonly used in reference to the North American major professional sports leagues, but is applied to sports leagues worldwide that use a closed franchise system of league membership. The term comes from the expansion of the...

 with the Miami Heat

Miami Heat

The Miami Heat is a professional basketball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. The team is a member of the Southeast Division in the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . They play their home games at American Airlines Arena in Downtown Miami...

. The team has had three names since its inception; it was called the Charlotte Hornets (1988–2002), the New Orleans Hornets (2002–2005; 2007–present), and the New Orleans / Oklahoma City Hornets (2005–2007). The Hornets have never been to the NBA Finals

NBA Finals

The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association . The series was named the NBA World Championship Series until 1986....

 since its inception. The team has played their home games at the New Orleans Arena

New Orleans Arena

New Orleans Arena is an indoor arena in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is located in the city's Central Business District, adjacent to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome....

 since 2002. The Hornets are owned by the National Basketball Association

National Basketball Association

The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...

, with Dell Demps

Dell Demps

Dell Demps is a retired American professional basketball player and current general manager of the New Orleans Hornets. A 6'3" guard from the University of the Pacific, Demps played for the Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs, and Orlando Magic, despite being undrafted. Demps played high...

 as their general manager.

There have been nine head coach

Head coach

A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...

es for the Hornets. The franchise's first head coach was Dick Harter

Dick Harter

Dick Harter is an American basketball coach, who has served as both a head and assistant coach in both the NBA and NCAA.-Coaching career:...

, who coached for two seasons. Allan Bristow

Allan Bristow

Allan Mercer Bristow Jr. is a retired American professional basketball player, coach, and executive. Bristow played college basketball at Virginia Tech, and was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2nd round of the 1973 NBA Draft...

 is the franchise's all-time leader for the most regular-season games coached (tied with Byron Scott

Byron Scott (basketball)

Byron Antom Scott is a retired American National Basketball Association player and current head coach of the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers. He was formerly the head coach of the NBA's New Jersey Nets and New Orleans Hornets. He attended Arizona State University, but left school in his junior year to...

; 410), and the most regular-season game wins (207); Dave Cowens

Dave Cowens

David William Cowens is a retired American professional basketball player and NBA head coach. At 6'9", he played the center and occasionally the power forward position. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991...

 is the franchise's all-time leader for the highest winning percentage

Winning percentage

In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. It is defined as wins divided by wins plus losses . Ties count as a ½ loss and a ½ win...

 in the regular season (.609); Paul Silas

Paul Silas

Paul Theron Silas is a retired American professional basketball player and current head coach of the Charlotte Bobcats. He attended Creighton University, where he set an NCAA record for the most rebounds in three seasons and averaged 20.6 rebounds per game in 1963...

 is the franchise's all-time leader for the most playoff games coached (29), and the most playoff-game wins (13). Harter and Gene Littles

Gene Littles

Eugene Scapes Littles is a retired American basketball player and current coach. He played professional basketball for six years....

 are the only coaches to have not reached the playoffs with the Hornets. Scott is the only Hornets coach to have won the NBA Coach of the Year Award

NBA Coach of the Year Award

The National Basketball Association's Coach of the Year is an annual National Basketball Association award given since the 1962–63 NBA season. The winner receives the Red Auerbach Trophy, which is named in honor of the head coach who led the Boston Celtics to nine NBA Championships from 1956 to 1966...

, having won it in the . Harter and Bristow have spent their entire NBA coaching careers with the Hornets. Although no Hornets head coach has been elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach, Cowens was elected into the Hall of Fame as a player in 1991. The Hornets' current head coach is Monty Williams, who was appointed on June 7, 2010.
__FORCETOC__

Key

GC	Games coached
W	Wins
L	Losses
Win%	Winning percentage Winning percentage In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. It is defined as wins divided by wins plus losses . Ties count as a ½ loss and a ½ win...
#	Number of coaches
*	Spent entire NBA head coaching career with the Hornets

Coaches

Note: Statistics are correct through the end of the .

#	Name	Term	GC	W	L	Win%	GC	W	L	Win%	Achievements	Reference
			Regular season				Playoffs
11	*	–	122	28	94	.230	—	—	—	—
22		–	124	37	87	.298	—	—	—	—
33	*	–	410	207	203	.505	13	5	8	.385
44		–	179	109	70	.609	12	4	8	.333
55		–	363	208	155	.573	29	13	16	.448
66			82	41	41	.500	7	3	4	.429
77		–	419	203	216	.484	17	8	9	.471	2007–08 NBA Coach of the Year NBA Coach of the Year Award The National Basketball Association's Coach of the Year is an annual National Basketball Association award given since the 1962–63 NBA season. The winner receives the Red Auerbach Trophy, which is named in honor of the head coach who led the Boston Celtics to nine NBA Championships from 1956 to 1966...
88			73	34	39	.466	—	—	—	—
99		–present	82	46	36	.561	6	2	4	.333