Record 56–26 (.683) | Arena New Orleans Arena | |
Playoff finish West Semifinals(eliminated 3–4) | ||
The 2007–08 New Orleans Hornets season was the Hornets' 6th season in the National Basketball Association. They returned to New Orleans full-time for the first time since 2004–05.
Contents
- NBA All Star Game
- Draft picks
- October
- November
- December
- January
- February
- March
- April
- Regular season
- Awards
- Season
- Playoffs
- Milestones
- Transactions
- References
Although they declined an option to play part of this season at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, as they did for most of the previous two seasons, they did play their first preseason game at the Ford Center on October 9 for a final curtain call.
On February 21, 2008 Bobby Jackson was traded to the Houston Rockets along with teammate Adam Haluska for Bonzi Wells and Mike James as part of a three team deal involving Houston and the Memphis Grizzlies. Also, Marcus Vinicius was traded to the Rockets where they traded him to the Memphis Grizzlies to gain the rights to Malick Badiane and Sergei Lishouk.
The Hornets finished the regular season with a record of 56–26, good enough for winning the Southwest Division. This title was clinched with their win over the Los Angeles Clippers on April 15, and marks the first division title for the franchise. Their record also ensured the 2nd seed for the Western Conference playoffs. The Hornets closed the season with a 30–11 record at home along with a 26–15 road record. The season marks a new record for wins in a season, bettering the 1996–97 Charlotte Hornets' record of 54–28 with their win against the Minnesota Timberwolves on April 9. It is only the fourth time in Hornet franchise history that they have won 50 games in a season. The Hornet's accomplishments in the season earned coach Byron Scott the NBA Coach of the Year award.
On April 29 won game 5 of their first round playoff series vs. the 7th seeded Dallas Mavericks, thereby winning the series 4–1. This mark the first time in franchise history that they have won a seven-game playoff series. In his post-season debut, Chris Paul became the first player in NBA history to have at least 30 points and 10 assists in his first two playoff games. On May 19 the Hornets season ended after they were eliminated in game 7 by the defending champions San Antonio Spurs.
NBA All-Star Game
Byron Scott was named the Western Conference Team head coach for the NBA All-Star Game on February 17, 2008. It came after the Dallas Mavericks lost to the Boston Celtics on January 31. He was the first hornets head coach to ever coach in an NBA All-Star Game in the whole franchise history. Chris Paul and David West were also named reserves for the game. This would be the first All-Star appearance for the both of them. In addition, Peja Stojaković participated in the Three Point Shootout.
Key dates prior to the start of the season:
Draft picks
New Orleans' selections from the 2007 NBA draft in New York City.
October
Record: 1–0; Home: 1–0; Road: 0–0
November
Record: 10–6; Home: 2–4; Road: 8–2
December
Record: 10–4; Home: 6–2; Road: 4–3
January
Record: 12-2; Home: 7-2; Road: 5–0
February
Record: 7–5; Home: 4–2; Road: 3–3
March
Record: 11–4 ; Home: 7–0 ; Road: 4–4
April
Record: 6-4 ; Home: 3-1 ; Road: 3-3
Regular season
*Total for entire season including previous team(s)
Awards
Season
Playoffs
Milestones
Playoffs
• Paul first player in history with back-to-back 30-pt, 10-ast, 3-steal games. Also first player in history with 30 points and 10 assists in first two career playoff games.
Transactions
The Hornets have been involved in the following transactions during the 2007–08 season.