No other team in sports has had to endure the relocation odyssey that the New Orleans franchise has lived through. The Hornets were born when North Carolina businessman George Shinn was awarded one of four NBA expansion franchises on April 1, 1987, and began play in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1988. As the owner of the team from its inception and the subsequent 14 seasons in Charlotte, Shinn officially filed an application with the NBA on January 17, 2002, to move the Hornets to New Orleans, Louisiana, beginning with the 2002-03 season. Four months later, the NBA’s Board of Governors unanimously endorsed the Relocation Committee’s recommendation to move the team from Charlotte, and the New Orleans Hornets were born.