Charlotte NBA franchise to become Hornets in 2014-15 season NEW YORK, July 18 (UPI) -- The National Basketball Association announced Thursday the Charlotte franchise would be allowed change its nickname from Bobcats to Hornets. Charlotte's original team in the NBA, created in 1988, was known as the Hornets. That team kept the name Hornets when it moved to New Orleans for the 2002-2003 season, but that club recently completed the process of changing its name to the Pelicans. The current team in Charlotte, which came into NBA as an expansion team in 2003, will take the name Hornets for the 2014-15 season. That will give the franchise time to do all the things involved with a name change, including the creation of a new logo. The name change had to be approved by the NBA's board of governors.