Charlotte Hornets Top Ten Draft Picks Ever 2.0
Number 3: Baron Davis
Drafted: 1999
Pick: 1st Round, 3rd Pick
The Hornets in 1999 were in an interesting spot. They had a fairly solid roster and had just missed the playoffs the year before. There was a feeling that a little lottery luck might net the player to put the team back into contention. This was only two years after San Antonio had lucked into the first pick and taken Tim Duncan to do something similar.
The Hornets got the third pick in the lottery and used it to pick Davis. The Hornets back court of David Wesley and Eddie Jones was pretty good, and the assumption was that Davis would be the dynamic sixth man off the bench. That idea survived one season. Davis took command the next year and did not look back.
The three years that Baron Davis was here saw the Hornets make the playoffs three straight years. Davis capped them off by making the All-Star team in the final season in Charlotte. His 2002 season saw him average eighteen points and eight assists per game. With the trade of Eddie Jones, Davis became the last face of the Charlotte Hornets until arguably Kemba Walker (Al Jefferson may have something to say about that too).
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