The 2008–09 New Orleans Hornets season was the 7th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association. The regular season was marred by injuries, with only Rasual Butler playing in all games. The remaining four starters missed a combined 68 games, of whom center Tyson Chandler missed 37 games. Even when not on the injured list, Chandler's season was sub-par. Perhaps partly as a result of this, on February 18 Chandler was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder for forwards Joe Smith and Chris Wilcox. Despite the less than stellar season, this was generally perceived as a payroll-shedding move. However, within a day, the trade was rescinded due to concerns regarding Chandlers turf toe, which curiously, according to Chandler and the Hornet organization was not the reason for his stints on the injury list. Battling these issues for much of the season, the Hornets finished the season with a record of 49–33, 7 games off the franchise best record of the previous season. This meant that the Hornets only finished 4th in the Southwest Division and 7th in the Western Conference. In the 2009 NBA Playoffs, the Hornets lost 1–4 in the first round to the second seeded Denver Nuggets. All four losses were severe, with the worst being a 58–point drubbing at home in Game 4, losing 63–121, which tied for the most lopsided loss in NBA Playoff history. Naturally lamented by fans and media alike, the embarrassing performance can at least be partly explained by the health situation of the players, with arguably the top 5 Hornets ailing to varying injuries.

Key dates

Offseason

On July 9 the Hornets announced they had signed their All Star point guard Chris Paul to a contract extension. Hornets owner George Shinn saying Chris is the face of our franchise and a leader both on and off the court...Getting him signed to an extension was our number one priority... On July 23 it was announced the Hornets had acquired free agent forward James Posey. Posey, a member of the 2008 Boston Celtics team that won the championship said '' I am excited to be a Hornet, it was a coveted destination for me... ''

Draft picks

Trades

December 10, 2008: The New Orleans Hornets traded Mike James to the Washington Wizards for Antonio Daniels. February 17, 2009: The Hornets traded Tyson Chandler to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Joe Smith, Chris Wilcox and rights to DeVon Hardin. The trade was nullified when Chandler failed his physical because of a previous turf toe injury.

All Stars

For the second year in a row the Hornets were represented with two players at the NBA All Star Game as Chris Paul was voted in by the fans as a starter, and David West was selected as a reserve by the NBA coaches.

Roster

Regular season

Standings

Game log

19,128 18,422 18,150 16,030 13,435 17,701 18,239 16,071 18,303 15,533 19,136 16,023 14,956 15,563 20,638 15,804 16,822 15,750 18,624 18,537 10,231 16,593 16,869 18,405 17,461 18,326 14,374 18,021 20,708 19,614 18,997 19,911 17,815 16,177 19,947 20,562 22,076 17,237 14,748 18,224 16,131 15,792 17,738 18,797 14,781 16,270 17,319 16,046 10,896 18,080 18,593 16,651 18,997 19,911 11,633 17,215 17,621 15,509 14,299 17,230 18,114 14,204 15,255 15,701 22,135 17,723 17,253 17,837 16,351 17,274 19,763 18,204 17,317 19,060 19,596 17,362 19,600 17,781 20,370 16,640 18,409 18,797

Playoffs

19,536 19,623 17,489 17,236 19,744

Player statistics

Regular Season

Playoffs

Awards and records

Awards

Records

Transactions

Trades

Free agents

Additions

Subtractions