Tyson Chandler was one of the most memorable big men to appear with Oklahoma City/New Orleans, although he only appeared with the team for three seasons of his tenured career.
Chandler began his career with the Chicago Bulls as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft. He spent five seasons with the Bulls before being traded to the Hornets in the 2006 NBA offseason.
In the early going, he was the ideal big man to complement Chris Paul, Peja Stojakovic and David West. He recorded 904 rebounds, then a career-best, during the 2006-07 campaign with the Hornets, finishing third in the league overall in total rebounds.
He snagged 20+ rebounds on five different occasions, including a personal-best 23 against the Memphis Grizzlies back on Feb. 13, 2007.
During the 2007-08 NBA season, Chandler registered a career-high 38 double-doubles as a member of the Hornets. He posted games with 20+ rebounds four different occasions during the regular season this time around. New Orleans finished the year with a 56-26 record with Chandler playing a pivotal role.
He averaged 11.8 points, 11.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game as an anchor in the paint for the franchise. He racked up a career-high 929 points and 606 rebounds (302 offensive) during the regular season.
The Hornets would go on to fall in seven games to the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Semifinals of the 2008 NBA Playoffs. They didn’t have quite the veteran firepower that the Spurs had, losing the series in the end.
Chandler was eventually traded to the then-Charlotte Bobcats for Emeka Okafor. He still ranks fourth all-time in franchise history in total rebounds (2,225), blocks (269) and 16th in total points (2,016).