Two days before Christmas 1988, in a brand-new arena off Tyvola Road, the Charlotte Hornets played the Chicago Bulls. The Hornets had cast-off veterans, career backups, and a 5-foot-3-inch point guard. The Bulls had Michael Jordan. And the Hornets won, 103-101, on a basket by Kurt Rambis at the buzzer. “The place went nuts,” Rambis told writer Matt Crossman for a 2013 Charlotte magazine account of the Hornets’ first year. It was the first of 364 consecutive home sellouts.
Two days before Christmas 2024, in a 20-year-old arena in the heart of the city, the Hornets played the Houston Rockets.