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Bringing The Buzz Back: Charlotte Seeks To Be The NBA's Hornets Again

WUNC | By Gurnal Scott
Published May 22, 2013 at 9:49 AM EDT
NBA Entertainment/Getty Images

Charlotte's NBA franchise has begun the journey toward re-embracing the past.  Bobcats owner Michael Jordan announced Tuesday that his team is on its way to being known as the Charlotte Hornets.

Jordan said he has informed the league of his decision and feels the NBA's Board of Governors will approve the name change when they convene in July.  He says this is only the first step."This is a long and extensive process and a lot of research went into us coming to this conclusion," Jordan says. 

"We spoke to our season-ticket holders, our fans, and overwhelmingly you guys wanted the Hornets name back.  And we went out and we bought name back."

The Bobcats tweeted throughout the press conference:

The Hornets were in Charlotte from 1988 to 2002 before then-owner George Shinn moved the team to New Orleans.  That franchise recently adopted the Pelicans as its new nickname. 

Charlotte will still be the Bobcats next season.  NBA officials say it could take about 18 months for the name change to become official.
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Sports NBACharlotte BobcatsMichael JordanBasketball
Gurnal Scott
Gurnal Scott joined North Carolina Public Radio in March 2012 after several stops in radio and television. After graduating from the College of Charleston in his South Carolina hometown, he began his career in radio there. He started as a sports reporter at News/Talk Radio WTMA and won five Sportscaster of the Year awards. In 1997, Gurnal moved on to television as general assignment reporter and weekend anchor for WCSC-TV in Charleston. He anchored the market's top-rated weekend newscasts until leaving Charleston for Memphis, TN in 2002. Gurnal worked at WPTY-TV for two years before returning to his roots in radio. He joined the staff of Memphis' NewsRadio 600 WREC in 2004 eventually rising to News Director. In 2006, Raleigh news radio station WPTF came calling and he became the station's chief correspondent. Gurnal’s reporting has been honored by the South Carolina Broadcasters Association, the North Carolina Associated Press, and the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas.
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