Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets still seeking first playoff win

In 2010, the Charlotte Bobcats were excited just to make the playoffs.

The Bobcats started as an expansion team in 2004-05, and it took six years just to reach the postseason. There, they were swept by the Orlando Magic.

“They know how to play playoff basketball,” then-Bobcats coach Larry Brown said. “We haven’t figured it out yet.”

The Bobcats still haven’t figured it out.

Tonight could have been Game 5 of the Bobcats-Heat series. Instead, Charlotte was swept by the Heat, dropping its playoff record to 0-8.

The Bobcats will change their name and try again next season as the Hornets for that playoff victory. But even if it comes that soon, it would be 11 years since the franchise’s inception.

Of course, the NBA’s size and playoff structure has changed, and it’s arguably harder now than ever to win a postseason game.

How does Charlotte’s 10-plus-year wait compare historically?

Franchise	First season	First playoff win	Years until first playoff win
ATL	1950	1950	1
DEN	1977	1977	1
GSW	1947	1947	1
LAL	1949	1949	1
NYK	1947	1947	1
PHI	1950	1950	1
SAC	1949	1949	1
BOS	1947	1948	2
CHI	1967	1968	2
DET	1949	1950	2
HOU	1968	1969	2
MIL	1969	1970	2
PHO	1969	1970	2
SAS	1977	1978	2
DAL	1981	1984	4
LAC	1971	1974	4
WAS	1962	1965	4
NOP	1989	1993	5
CLE	1971	1976	6
MIA	1989	1994	6
ORL	1990	1995	6
TOR	1996	2001	6
POR	1971	1977	7
BRK	1977	1984	8
OKC	1968	1975	8
MIN	1990	1998	9
CHA	2005	2014	10+
UTA	1975	1984	10
IND	1977	1987	11
MEM	1996	2011	16

If the Hornets win a playoff game next year, they’d tie the Pacers for the second-longest wait for a franchise’s first playoff win (11 seasons). If it takes any longer, there’d be only one more franchise that took longer.

At least the Grizzlies, who needed 16 years, give Charlotte a little buffer.