The Sting was originally the sister organization of the Charlotte Hornets, until that NBA team relocated to New Orleans in 2002.

Robert L. Johnson, founder of Black Entertainment Television, purchased the team in January 2003, shortly after he was announced as the principal owner of an NBA expansion franchise that replaced the departing Hornets.

[1] The Sting finished their first season with a 15–13 record and qualified for the first WNBA playoffs, but lost to eventual champions Houston Comets in the one-game semifinal.

[5] During the 1998 WNBA season, Sting player Kelly Boucher became the first Canadian to play in the league.

[6] In the 1998–1999 offseason, with the folding of the American Basketball League, the Sting added former ABL guard Dawn Staley to an already impressive roster that featured Vicky Bullett and Andrea Stinson.

The NBA immediately announced, after the Hornets moved, that a new team would begin play in Charlotte starting in the 2004–2005 season.

[19] After the season, Johnson changed the Sting team colors from the Hornets' teal and purple to correspond with the Bobcats' blue and orange.

There was some speculation that the team might get a new name, but a newly released mascot following the same Sting theme made that idea unlikely.

[23] Having won the first pick in the 2005 WNBA draft, the Sting selected Minnesota player Janel McCarville.

On December 13, 2006, Bobcats Sports and Entertainment turned ownership of the team over to the league, citing low attendance in Charlotte (despite a new arena) and loss of revenue.

On January 3, 2007, the Bobcats announced that the fundraising effort by a group seeking to move the team to Kansas City had failed.