The Charlotte Hornets are set to put Muggsy Bogues in franchise immortality. According to Shams Charania of ESPN, the team will retire Bogues’ No. 1 jersey on Feb. 11.
Bogues, the shortest player in NBA history at 5-foot-3, became one of the defining figures of the Charlotte franchise during a career that stretched across 14 NBA seasons. He spent 10 of those years with the Hornets, from 1988 to 1998, and still sits at the top of the team’s all-time lists in assists, steals and minutes.
Hornets owners Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin made the call to retire his number as part of an effort to strengthen the organization’s ties to its past and its most important names. Bogues will become just the third player to have his jersey retired by Charlotte, joining Bobby Phills (No. 13) and Dell Curry (No. 30).
Bogues has remained close to the franchise for more than two decades, serving as both a player and ambassador after first joining the team in the 1988 expansion draft. In 632 regular-season games with Charlotte, he averaged 8.8 points, 2.9 rebounds, 8.8 assists and 1.7 steals. In 15 playoff games, he produced 10.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 1.9 steals per contest.
His NBA path also included stops with the Washington Bullets, Golden State Warriors and Toronto Raptors. He made his NBA debut in 1987 with Washington after starring at Wake Forest, and his career line finished at 7.7 points, 2.6 rebounds, 7.6 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Bogues also appeared in Michael Jordan’s "Space Jam" movie.
The jersey news comes with the Hornets off to a 3-1 start in a reworked roster era after LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges were traded in the offseason. General manager Jeff Peterson said extension talks with Brandon Miller went all the way to the final hour before Charlotte signed him to a five-year, $209 million rookie-scale extension.
Miller entered the season with career averages of 19.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game, after being taken second overall in the 2023 draft. He and Kon Knueppel are now positioned as the new faces of the franchise in Charlotte following the Ball-Bridges reset. After the Hornets beat the Brooklyn Nets on opening night, Miller said he and his teammates would do whatever it takes to make the playoffs this season.
Last season, Miller appeared in 65 games in his third year in the NBA and averaged 20.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists while shooting 43.5% from the field, 38.3% from 3-point range and 89.2% from the free-throw line.
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Hornets Need Unexpected Help To Survive Detroits Toughest Test Yet
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That opens the door for some less familiar names to matter, especially in the starting mix and on the defensive end. Dennis Schrder, Brandon Miller and Cade Cunningham are all expected to shape the flow of the game in different ways, but Charlottes bigger question is how it fills the gaps left by its missing wings and frontcourt depth. The answer could come from a surprising source, and how the Hornets handle that decision may say a lot about whether they can keep this one competitive. [Read more 🡒]