NBA Announces ‘Charlotte Hornets’ Will Not Be Renewed For Another Season

An NBA spokesman announced Monday that the league would sadly not renew The Charlotte Hornets for a twenty-eighth season. The announcement comes on the heels of other cancellations such as ESPN Network’s Around the Horn and HBO’s Righteous Gemstones.  

Lately the Hornets franchise has been pulling out every stop to try and reclaim their “golden age” ratings of the 1990s, when the program thrived thanks to stars like Larry Johnson (“Grandmama”) and Alonzo Mourning (“Number 33”). In 2006, the teal-and-purple even brought on legendary showrunner Michael Jordan, of the award-winning Chicago Bulls, hoping he could help them boost ratings. But the venture didn’t take, and after too many seasons without even a nomination, Jordan cut ties with the organization. 

Then there was their desperate rebrand as The Bobcats, in which the franchise attempted to steal away ’90s stars from other programs, signing short stints with Seinfeld’s Jason Alexander, Family Matters’ Jaleel White, and Ally McBeal herself, Calista Flockhart. But even these slam-dunk throwbacks couldn’t bring the come-from-behind victory the program needed, and in 2014 they went back to being The Hornets.  

“Their producers have tried literally everything,” said Entertainment Tonight’s Leonard Matlin. “I thought it was a little weird bringing in Vlade Divac for a couple seasons. Don’t get me wrong, I loved him in The Lakers. But like with Frasier, I just couldn’t take him seriously in a new town with a totally new cast. Ultimately, Matlin credits the show’s downfall to a lack of romance. “There was never a will-they-won’t-they,” he said. “It was always just: They won’t.” 

But according to Matlin and other critics, The Hornets really jumped the shark in 1988, with the addition of a character named “Mugsy Bogues.” “A five-foot-three NBA player who can dunk?” said Matlin. “I mean, come on. Nobody’s gonna buy that.”