67RIEFNS No. 65: Charlotte playing as the Hornets again

The NBA is full of talent, personality and suspense. During the offseason, It’s easy to forget how wonderful the league can be. So, I’ve assembled 67 Reasons I’m Excited For Next Season (67RIEFNS). They’ll be presented in no particular order.

For the most part, I don’t have a problem with NBA teams’ nicknames and color schemes, but if I have one thematic complaint: Teams too often change what’s working.

Charlotte did the exact opposite – and it’s wonderful.

The franchise took the “Hornets” nickname back from New Orleans, which eventually became the Pelicans after moving from Charlotte. It is the perfect name for a Charlotte team, as Joe Posnanski explains:

The name was steeped in North Carolina history — during the Revolutionary War, Lord Cornwallis — a leading British General — called the fighters in the Charlotte area a “veritable nest of hornets.”

But you can’t have the Charlotte Hornets without teal and purple, a revolutionary color scheme in its day. They got that right, too, and the jerseys look sharp. So does the court. I wish they kept the teal-purple fade inside the arc, but the honeycomb design is unique and fitting.

Overall, the Hornets have gotten this right. They’re even nailing the small details like taking the original Charlotte franchise’s historical records and re-retiring Bobby Phills’ jersey.

This is a masterful reboot, though it helps Charlotte are just returning to a classic.

What the original Hornets did aesthetically worked fantastically. It still will.