NBA Board of Governors approves Michael Jordan's sale of Charlotte Hornets
Michael Jordan's 13-year tenure as the majority owner of the Charlotte Hornets will officially come to an end in the next few weeks after the NBA's Board of Governors approved a sale to a group led by Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin for a valuation of approximately $3 billion, according to Adrian Wojnarowski.
The vote on the sale was 29-1, with New York Knicks owner James Dolan the lone dissenting voice.
Jordan purchased the franchise in 2010, back when it was still known as the Charlotte Bobcats, for a price of $275 million. He had been the league's lone Black majority owner, and the best former player to ever own a team. Jordan will maintain a minority ownership stake after the completion of the sale.
Schnall was previously a minority owner of the Atlanta Hawks, while Plotkin has been a minority owner of the Hornets since 2019. Those two will become the team's new governors, while the group also includes Charlotte-based recording artists J. Cole and Eric Church.
Jordan's reign was overall disappointing. In 13 seasons under his leadership, the team went 423-600, made just three playoff appearances and did not win a single series.
During the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season, the then-Bobcats went 7-59, which is the worst record in NBA history -- both in terms of fewest wins and lowest winning percentage. One of the few memorable accomplishments during the Jordan era was reclaiming the Hornets' name and original franchise records and history.
Last season, the Hornets went 27-55, which was the fourth-worst record in the league. They won the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft and used it to select Brandon Miller out of Alabama. That was a slightly controversial choice with Scoot Henderson still on the board, but regardless the Hornets will go into the future with an interesting young duo in Miller and LaMelo Ball.