All-Time New Orleans Pelicans Starting-Five

Jamal Mashburn, SF, 2000-2004

Hornets Statistics: 21.1 PPG, 5.0 APG, 6.6 RPG, 1.1 SPG

It took Jamal Mashburn just four seasons to reach “all-time” status with the Hornets. In those four years, Mashburn never averaged below 20 points per contest. He was a scoring machine right from the get-go. Coming into the NBA people knew of Mashburns offensive talents. After being the fourth overall pick in the 1994 NBA Draft the small forward instantaneously showed his worth, putting up 19 points and 4.5 assists per game.

After a few injury plagued seasons with the Dallas Mavericks, in 1996 Mashburn was traded to the Miami Heat. With his addition, Miami finished with a franchise best 61 wins and an appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals, losing in five to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, a typical outcome for many teams in the 90’s. In the coming seasons, while the Heat managed to remain relevant, Mashburn’s injuries again started to pile up. Finally, after three and-a-half seasons, Mashburn was traded to his third team, thus beginning his tenure with the Charlotte Hornets.

When acquired, the Hornets knew they were getting an offensive talent that could put up 20 points on any given night. What they didn’t know, however, was how good of an OVERALL player they were attaining.

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In his first year with the franchise Mashburn registered arguably his best season as a pro. In 39.3 MPG the small forward averaged 20.1 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 5.4 APG and 1.1 SPG. Led by himself and Baron Davis, the Hornets managed to win 46 games that season. With this, Charlotte faced Mashburn’s old team the Miami Heat in the first round. Behind Mashburn’s 23.7 PPG, the Hornets upset the Heat, winning the series in a sweep. Although they ended up losing to the Milwaukee Bucks in the next round in seven, Mashburn had already made a name for himself in his new home state of North Carolina, for he averaged 24.9 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 5.7 APG and 1.2 SPG in 10 playoff games.

During the next three seasons, the Hornets reached the postseason two more times. In his three playoff appearances wearing a Hornets jersey Mashburn averaged an impressive 25 PPG to go along with four boards and four assists. These averages, however, are not as lucrative as they could have been, for in 2002, during the first round of the postseason, Mashburn had yet again fallen victim to injuries, which led to him playing only 10 minutes before being shut down entirely.

The 2003 season would inevitably be his last, for he suffered from a career ending knee injury 19 games into the season. While he unfortunately had to throw in the towel on his relatively short NBA career, his production while wearing a Hornets jersey warrants him to fall into the franchises “All-Time” category, let alone a spot on the teams all-time starting five!