The team got its name after a public survey was conducted where three names were short listed, Bobcats, Dragons and Flight. Bobcats seemed the natural choice since the city’s NFL franchise, Carolina Panthers, also had a cat related name.

The First Few Years

The first game played by the Bobcats was on November 4, 2004 where they lost to the Washington Wizards, 103-96. Coincidentally, the Wizards had been previously co-owned by Michael Jordan. After two days, the Bobcats won their first game when they beat the Orlando Magic, 111-100. On December 14, they had an exciting game against the New Orleans Hornets which they won in overtime, 94-93. The Bobcats were already proving to be a formidable team to contend with.

The first Head Coach was Bernie Bickerstaff who gave up the position in the 2007 season. He was succeeded by Sam Vincent on May 25, 2007. Vincent had previously been an assistant coach with the Dallas Mavericks.

After Sam Vincent joined as Head Coach, the Bobcats hired Rod Higgins as their new General Manager. They also hired head basketball coach of Coastal Carolina University, Buzz Peterson as the director of player personnel. Their 2007 draft included Jared Dudley of Boston College. They also traded Brandan Wright for Jason Richardson.

The Home Arenas Of The Bobcats

The first few games of the Bobcats were played at the Charlotte Coliseum which has since then been demolished on June 3, 2007. In 2005, they moved to the Charlotte Bobcats Arena where they have been playing all their home games till date. The arena is also known as The Uptown Arena and “Bobcats”. The Bobcats played their first game there on November 5, 2005. Apart from basketball, the Bobcats Arena has also hosted a number of other entertainment shows like the Rolling Stones concert in 2005 and the Red Hot Chili Peppers show in 2007.

The Bobcats were the second NBA team of the city as their previous team, the Hornets, relocated to New Orleans to become the New Orleans Hornets. The team colors are Bobcat Orange, Black, Blue, White and Silver.

The existing team includes Emeka Okafor who was named Rookie of the Year in 2005 and is the current captain. Jared Dudley, Jermareo Davidson and Jason Richardson are also some of the popular Bobcats. Fans can look forward to another exciting season and hopefully the Bobcats will make it to the playoffs this season.