2005–06 New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets season
NBA professional basketball team season / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2005–06 New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets season was the team's 4th season in the NBA. They began the season hoping to improve upon their 18–64 record from the previous season (worst in the Western Conference that year). They finished the season with a 38–44 record, missing the playoffs for the second year in a row.
2005–06 New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets season | |||
---|---|---|---|
Head coach | Byron Scott | ||
General manager | Jeff Bower | ||
Owner(s) | George Shinn | ||
Arena | Ford Center (36 games) New Orleans Arena (3 games) Pete Maravich Assembly Center (1 game) Lloyd Noble Center (1 game) | ||
Results | |||
Record | 38–44 (.463) | ||
Place | Division: 4th (Southwest) Conference: 10th (Western) | ||
Playoff finish | Did not qualify | ||
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |||
Local media | |||
Television | Cox Sports Television The Cox Channel Cox 4 | ||
Radio | WTIX KTOK | ||
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Before the commencement of training camp, the City of New Orleans was hit by Hurricane Katrina.[1] With the New Orleans Arena partly damaged and the city's infrastructure in need of repair the Hornets signed a deal to play most of their games in Oklahoma City, becoming the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets for this season. In Oklahoma City, the Hornets enjoyed sell-out crowds at the Ford Center.[1]
The addition of draft pick Chris Paul resulted in the team competing for a playoff spot. In January and February, the club played winning basketball despite losing Chris Andersen to a two-year suspension for illegal drugs. Paul showed the poise and play making skills of a veteran finishing second in steals and seventh in assists as he posted a terrific 3.34 assist-to-turnover ratio, while leading all rookies with 16.1 points per game.[1]
On March 8, the Hornets returned to New Orleans with a near sell-out crowd on hand to watch the Hornets lose to the Los Angeles Lakers 113–107.[1] In March, the Hornets went into a tailspin, winning just 3 of 14 games. The Hornets went on to finish in 4th place in their division. Chris Paul was named Rookie of the Year.[2]