New Orleans Hornets born in Louisiana
Through the 2011-12 season, exactly 100 NBA players have been born in Louisiana. In fact, Louisiana ranks 11th out of all states with the most NBA players born there. Although the New Orleans Hornets have only called the Big Easy home for 10 years, eight of their players have already been born in Louisiana.
Take a look back at the top five New Orleans Hornets players who were born in Louisiana.
5. Carldell Johnson
As the Hornets went through a massive roster upheaval in 2011-12 due to trades, free agent losses and injuries, one New Orleans player was briefly able to fulfill his lifelong dream. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, Carldell "Squeaky" Johnson played in 15 games for the Hornets averaging 1.8 points and 1.5 assists per game.
4. Bryce Drew
Many NBA fans may be surprised to learn that Bryce Drew was born in Louisiana. In fact, Drew was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana while his father, Homer Drew, was an assistant at LSU. The pride of Valparaiso, Drew played with the Hornets in New Orleans from 2002 to 2004, averaging 1.1 points per game.
3. Robert Pack
Robert Pack played for eight different teams in his 12 NBA seasons. In 2002-03, Pack played in 28 games for his hometown team, the New Orleans Hornets. That year, Pack averaged 5.2 points per game, but came up big in the NBA Playoffs. In his first playoff game against the Philadelphia 76ers, Pack scored 15 points in a losing effort.
2. Brandon Bass
Unfortunately for Hornets' fans, Brandon Bass' NBA career took off after he left Louisiana. In fact, most New Orleans fans missed out on Bass playing for the Hornets because he spent his two years with the team when they were in Oklahoma City. The former LSU star and Baton Rouge native scored 110 points in 50 games played for the Hornets.
1. Marcus Thornton
With stars such as Chris Paul and David West fighting to leave Louisiana, I still can't believe the Hornets traded away a great player who actually wanted to play in New Orleans. Like Bass, Thornton was born in Baton Rouge and starred at LSU. With a 16.7 points per game scoring average for New Orleans, Marcus Thornton is clearly the best Hornets player in history who was born in Louisiana.
Lagniappe New Orleans Hornets born in Louisiana
Tierre Brown, Randy Livingston, Donald Sloan
Patrick Michael was born in New Orleans and currently resides in the Big Easy. A loyal New Orleans NBA fan, Patrick was a diehard New Orleans Jazz fan and now cheers for the Hornets. Patrick was in the New Orleans Arena the night the Hornets were one win away from the Western Conference Finals. Follow Patrick Michael on Twitter at patmichael84.
Sources
"NBA & ABA Players Born in LA, USA," basketball-reference.com
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