Last Updated on November 24, 2025 by Mat Diekhake

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Here’s the Charlotte Hornets 1988–89 roster and regular season player statistics. This was their inaugural NBA season, and they played in the Eastern Conference’s Central Division.

Charlotte Hornets 1988–89 Roster

No. Player Pos Height Weight Birthdate Age College Years Pro
1 Rex Chapman SG 6’4″ 185 lbs Oct 5, 1967 21 Kentucky Rookie
3 Robert Reid SF 6’8″ 205 lbs Aug 30, 1955 33 St. Mary’s (TX) 11
4 Muggsy Bogues PG 5’3″ 136 lbs Jan 9, 1965 24 Wake Forest 1
5 Ralph Lewis SG 6’6″ 200 lbs Mar 28, 1963 26 La Salle 1
7 Tim Kempton PF 6’10” 245 lbs Apr 25, 1964 24 Notre Dame 1
10 Kurt Rambis PF 6’8″ 213 lbs Feb 25, 1958 31 Santa Clara 7
11 Tom Tolbert PF 6’7″ 235 lbs Oct 16, 1965 23 Arizona Rookie
14 Michael Holton PG 6’4″ 185 lbs Aug 4, 1961 27 UCLA 2
21 Kelly Tripucka SF 6’6″ 220 lbs Feb 16, 1959 30 Notre Dame 7
23 Bernard Thompson SG 6’6″ 210 lbs Aug 30, 1962 26 Fresno State 3
25 Dave Hoppen C 6’11” 240 lbs Mar 13, 1964 25 Nebraska 1
30 Kurt Nimphius C 6’10” 230 lbs Mar 13, 1958 31 Arizona State 7
33 Tim Kempton PF 6’10” 245 lbs Apr 25, 1964 24 Notre Dame 1
34 Armen Gilliam PF 6’9″ 230 lbs May 28, 1964 24 UNLV 1
44 Dave Corzine C 6’11” 250 lbs Apr 25, 1956 33 DePaul 9
45 Mike Gminski C 6’11” 250 lbs Aug 3, 1959 29 Duke 8

Note: Some players were acquired or waived during the season; the list includes those who played at least one game.

Charlotte Hornets 1988–89 Regular Season Per Game

PLR POS AGE GP GS MIN PTS REB AST STL BLK TOV FGA FGM FG% 3PA 3PM 3P% FTA FTM FT%
Kelly Tripucka SF 29 71 65 32.4 22.6 3.8 3.2 1.2 0.2 3.3 17.1 8.0 .467 1.2 0.4 .357 7.2 6.2 .866
Rex Chapman SG 21 75 44 29.6 16.9 2.5 2.3 0.9 0.3 1.5 16.9 7.0 .414 2.5 0.8 .314 2.6 2.1 .795
Dell Curry SG 24 48 0 16.9 11.9 2.2 1.0 0.9 0.1 0.9 10.9 5.3 .491 1.1 0.4 .345 1.0 0.8 .870
Robert Reid SF 33 82 54 26.2 14.7 3.7 1.9 0.6 0.2 1.3 14.8 6.3 .428 0.6 0.2 .327 2.4 1.9 .776
Brian Rowsom PF 23 34 0 15.2 6.6 4.0 0.7 0.3 0.4 0.5 4.8 2.4 .494 0.0 0.0 1.000 2.4 1.9 .802
Kurt Rambis PF 30 75 75 29.8 11.1 9.4 2.1 1.3 0.8 2.0 8.4 4.3 .518 0.0 0.0 .000 3.3 2.4 .734
Earl Cureton C 31 82 41 25.0 6.5 6.0 1.6 0.6 0.7 1.4 5.7 2.8 .501 0.0 0.0 .000 1.5 0.8 .537
Dave Hoppen C 24 77 36 18.4 6.5 5.0 0.7 0.3 0.3 1.0 4.6 2.6 .564 0.0 0.0 .500 1.8 1.3 .727
Tim Kempton PF 25 79 0 17.0 6.1 3.8 1.3 0.5 0.2 1.5 4.2 2.2 .510 0.0 0.0 .000 2.6 1.8 .686
Michael Holton PG 27 67 60 25.3 8.3 1.6 6.3 1.0 0.2 1.8 7.5 3.2 .427 0.2 0.0 .214 2.1 1.8 .839
Muggsy Bogues PG 24 79 21 22.2 5.4 2.1 7.8 1.4 0.1 1.6 5.3 2.3 .426 0.2 0.0 .077 1.1 0.8 .750
Ralph Lewis SF 25 42 0 8.0 3.2 1.5 0.4 0.3 0.1 0.6 2.9 1.4 .479 0.1 0.0 .333 0.9 0.5 .487
Rickey Green PG 34 33 2 11.2 3.9 0.7 2.5 0.5 0.0 0.8 4.0 1.7 .432 0.2 0.0 .200 0.4 0.4 .929
Tom Tolbert SF 23 14 0 8.4 2.9 1.5 0.5 0.1 0.3 0.1 2.6 1.2 .459 0.2 0.0 .000 0.9 0.4 .500
Sidney Lowe SG 29 14 0 17.9 1.6 2.4 6.6 1.0 0.0 0.6 1.8 0.6 .320 0.1 0.0 .000 2.0 0.5 .636
Greg Kite C 27 12 12 17.8 3.2 4.4 0.6 0.3 0.7 1.0 2.5 1.3 .533 0.0 0.0 .000 3.2 0.5 .600
Team Totals     82 82 241.2 104.5 40.7 28.3 8.6 3.2 16.1 90.6 41.8 .461 5.2 1.6 .312 25.1 19.3 .767

Charlotte Hornets 1988–89 Regular Season Totals

PLR POS AGE GP GS MIN PTS REB AST STL BLK TOV FGA FGM FG% 3PA 3PM 3P% FTA FTM FT%
Kelly Tripucka SF 29 71 65 2302 1606 267 224 88 16 236 1215 568 .467 84 30 .357 508 440 .866
Rex Chapman SG 21 75 44 2219 1267 187 176 70 25 113 1271 526 .414 191 60 .314 195 155 .795
Robert Reid SF 33 82 54 2152 1207 302 153 53 20 106 1214 519 .428 52 17 .327 196 152 .776
Dell Curry SG 24 48 0 813 571 104 50 42 4 44 521 256 .491 55 19 .345 46 40 .870
Kurt Rambis PF 30 75 75 2233 832 703 159 100 57 148 627 325 .518 3 0 .000 248 182 .734
Michael Holton PG 27 67 60 1696 553 105 424 66 12 119 504 215 .427 14 3 .214 143 120 .839
Earl Cureton C 31 82 41 2047 532 488 130 50 61 114 465 233 .501 1 0 .000 123 66 .537
Tim Kempton PF 25 79 0 1341 484 304 102 41 14 121 335 171 .510 1 0 .000 207 142 .686
Dave Hoppen C 24 77 36 1419 500 384 57 25 21 77 353 199 .564 2 1 .500 139 101 .727
Muggsy Bogues PG 24 79 21 1755 423 165 620 111 7 124 418 178 .426 13 1 .077 88 66 .750
Ralph Lewis SF 25 42 0 336 136 61 15 11 3 24 121 58 .479 3 1 .333 39 19 .487
Rickey Green PG 34 33 2 370 128 23 82 18 0 28 132 57 .432 5 1 .200 14 13 .929
Tom Tolbert SF 23 14 0 117 40 21 7 2 4 2 37 17 .459 3 0 .000 12 6 .500
Greg Kite C 27 12 12 213 38 53 7 4 8 12 30 16 .533 0 0 .000 10 6 .600
Sidney Lowe SG 29 14 0 250 23 34 93 14 0 9 25 8 .320 2 0 .000 11 7 .636
Team Totals     82 82 19780 8566 3338 2323 705 264 1295 7430 3426 .461 430 134 .312 2060 1580 .767

Charlotte Hornets 1988–89 Regular Season Per-48

PLR POS AGE GP GS MIN PTS REB AST STL BLK TOV FGA FGM FG% 3PA 3PM 3P% FTA FTM FT%
Kelly Tripucka SF 29 71 65 48.0 33.4 5.6 4.3 1.8 0.3 4.9 25.4 11.9 .467 1.8 0.8 .357 10.9 8.6 .866
Rex Chapman SG 21 75 44 48.0 28.5 2.8 3.7 1.5 0.5 2.4 27.3 11.3 .414 4.0 1.3 .314 3.4 2.7 .795
Dell Curry SG 24 48 0 48.0 33.6 6.2 2.9 1.5 0.2 2.6 31.0 15.8 .491 1.2 0.4 .345 2.3 1.8 .870
Robert Reid SF 33 82 54 48.0 28.1 7.0 3.1 1.5 0.5 2.4 26.9 11.5 .428 1.1 0.4 .327 3.5 2.8 .776
Kurt Rambis PF 30 75 75 48.0 22.0 14.9 3.4 2.1 1.3 3.2 13.5 6.9 .518 0.0 0.0 .000 3.9 3.2 .734
Michael Holton PG 27 67 60 48.0 19.8 5.7 13.2 2.1 0.4 3.4 14.2 6.1 .427 0.3 0.0 .214 5.4 4.3 .839
Earl Cureton C 31 82 41 48.0 13.5 9.6 2.3 0.9 1.1 2.7 10.6 5.1 .501 0.0 0.0 .000 3.1 1.3 .537
Muggsy Bogues PG 24 79 21 48.0 5.6 2.7 7.3 1.3 0.1 3.4 11.4 5.0 .426 0.2 0.0 .077 2.4 1.9 .750
Dave Hoppen C 24 77 36 48.0 6.8 13.0 1.8 0.8 0.8 2.6 11.6 6.6 .564 0.0 0.0 .500 3.4 2.5 .727
Sidney Lowe SG 29 14 0 48.0 4.3 10.4 12.0 1.8 0.0 1.6 4.8 1.6 .320 0.0 0.0 .000 2.1 1.9 .636
Tim Kempton PF 25 79 0 48.0 7.8 8.6 2.9 1.1 0.4 4.2 11.8 6.2 .510 0.0 0.0 .000 7.3 5.5 .686
Greg Kite C 27 12 12 48.0 8.8 7.9 1.3 1.1 0.0 1.9 6.7 3.9 .533 0.0 0.0 .000 3.5 2.1 .600
Rickey Green PG 34 33 2 48.0 16.7 3.0 10.7 2.1 0.0 3.4 17.1 7.9 .432 1.0 0.0 .200 1.7 0.8 .929
Tom Tolbert SF 23 14 0 48.0 16.3 8.6 8.6 0.9 0.3 3.4 14.5 6.7 .459 0.0 0.0 .000 2.5 2.9 .500
Ralph Lewis SF 25 42 0 48.0 19.2 9.0 4.5 0.9 0.1 3.6 15.3 7.4 .479 0.2 0.0 .333 5.4 3.1 .487
Brian Rowsom PF 23 34 0 48.0 7.6 7.6 2.0 0.6 0.8 1.6 9.0 4.7 .494 0.0 0.0 1.000 6.0 4.0 .802

Team Impact Index

Player Name Role Tier MPG Usage Tier PPG RPG APG STK (SPG + BPG) Impact Index* Notes Awards
Kelly Tripucka Veteran Scoring Wing / Go-to Scorer  32.4 High usage 22.6 3.8 3.2 1.4 15.50 Tripucka led Charlotte in scoring, carrying the offensive load as a veteran wing and providing a reliable scoring threat night in, night out.  —
Armen Gilliam Inside Scoring PF / Frontcourt Anchor  36.0 High usage 18.8 8.8 1.5 1.9 15.55 Gilliam was a focal point in the post, using his physicality to score inside and rebound; he became a key piece after his mid-season arrival.  —
J.R. Reid Young Two‑Way Big / Building Block  33.6 Medium-high usage 11.1 8.4 1.2 1.8 11.25 As the No. 5 pick in the 1989 draft, Reid started all 82 games for the Hornets; he contributed on both ends, especially on the boards.  NBA All‑Rookie Second Team 
Rex Chapman Athletic Scoring Guard / Secondary Option  29.6 Medium‑high usage 16.9 2.5 2.3 1.2 11.45 Chapman offered scoring punch as a young guard, showing his slashing and athletic side — he also took part in the Slam Dunk Contest during All-Star Weekend.  —
Robert Reid Veteran Wing / 3‑Level Rotation Player  26.2 Medium usage 14.7 3.7 1.9 0.8 10.45 Reid provided veteran stability, contributing efficiently on both ends, especially in a rotation role.  —
Kurt Rambis High-Effort Forward / Rebounder & Role Big  29.8 Medium usage 11.1 9.4 2.1 2.1 12.35 Rambis offered strong rebounding (9.4 rpg) and grit; his hustle and experience were valuable in the frontcourt.  —
Michael Holton Lead Point Guard / Facilitator  25.3 Medium usage 8.3 1.6 6.3 1.2 8.70 Holton ran the offense, averaging 6.3 assists per game, and was relied on for steady ball‑handling.  —
Earl Cureton Defensive Big / Role Big Man  25.0 Low‑medium usage 6.5 6.0 1.6 1.3 7.70 Cureton brought interior defense and rebounding; he was a physical presence when the Hornets needed size.  —
Muggsy Bogues Backup PG / Speed & Playmaker  22.2 Low-medium usage 5.4 2.1 7.8 1.4 8.35 Even in a reserve role (21 starts), Bogues used his speed and court vision to distribute (7.8 apg) and disrupt passing lanes (1.4 spg).  —
Dave Hoppen Reserve Center / Spot Big  18.4 Low usage 6.5 5.0 0.7 0.6 6.40 Hoppen provided bench size and rebounding, making the most of limited minutes.  —
Tim Kempton Stretch PF / Depth Role  17.0 Very low usage 6.1 3.8 1.3 0.7 5.90 Kempton contributed as a depth forward, offering a mix of scoring and rebounding in his limited role.  —
Dell Curry Scoring Guard / 3-Point Specialist  16.9 Very low usage 11.9 2.2 1.0 1.0 7.05 Coming off the bench, Curry stretched the floor with his shooting and provided a scoring spark in reserve minutes.  —
Brian Rowsom Development PF / Role Depth  15.2 Very minimal usage 6.6 4.0 0.7 0.7 5.00 Rowsom was a young, fringe-rotation player, contributing in low-leverage minutes.  —
Rickey Green Backup PG / Veteran Depth  11.2 Minimal usage 3.9 0.7 2.5 0.5 3.80 Green provided experienced backup point guard minutes when needed.  —
Tom Tolbert Deep Wing Reserve  8.4 Very minimal usage 2.9 1.5 0.5 0.4 2.15 Tolbert filled out the wing rotation, likely in end-of-bench minutes.  —
Ralph Lewis Occasion Sub / Fringe Role  8.0 Very minimal usage 3.2 1.5 0.4 0.4 2.75 Lewis was used sparingly, contributing in very limited spurts.  —

* Impact Index = (PPG + RPG + APG + STK) ÷ 2.