Michael Jordan ‘Finalizing’ Sale of Charlotte Hornets After 13 Years As Majority Owner

Michael Jordan ‘Finalizing’ Sale of Charlotte Hornets After 13 Years As Majority Owner

Edwin Kiplagat
updated at June 16, 2023 at 4:08 PM
  • The Michael Jordan era in Charlotte Hornets is coming to an end
  • The NBA icon is finalizing the sale of his majority stake in the franchise
  • The Hornets have been disappointing under Jordan and have made only three trips to the postseason
  • Jordan was the only black majority owner in the NBA

NBA legend Michael Jordan is set to sell his majority stake in Charlotte Hornets to a group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall.

The Chicago Bulls icon was a majority owner for 13 years.

Michael Jordan, Charlotte Hornets, NBA
Michael Jordan was the only majority black owner in the NBA. Photo by Jeff Siner/Charlotte Observer.
Source: Getty Images

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Schnall, and Plotkin, who are minority owners with the Atlanta Hawks and Hornets, respectively, will become the organization's governors once the league concludes its review and approval process.

The six-time NBA champion will still be in charge of next week's NBA draft and the start of free agency on July 1. Once the sale is done, the 60-year-old will still retain a minority stake in the team. He was the only black majority owner in the league. He paid $275 million for that stake in 2020.

Popular rapper J. Cole will also be among the minority owners.

How did Charlotte perform under Jordan?

The Hornets haven't experienced success on the court. Under Jordan, they made only three trips to the playoffs and failed to go past the first round.

The news comes at a critical period for the franchise. They have the No. 2 pick in next week's 2023 NBA Draft and will have to choose between Scoot Henderson, Brandon Miller, and Amen Thompson, per CBS Sports.

The new owners may not bring instant success, but it will be interesting to see if they can rejuvenate a franchise from a perennial lottery team to a playoff side.

Hornets playoff drought

Sports Brief earlier reported on NBA teams with the longest playoff droughts, with Hornets leading the list.

Thanks to the Sacramento Kings clinching an NBA playoff berth this season, the Hornets officially have the longest playoff drought in the league.

They haven’t made the playoffs in seven years, with their last postseason appearance coming in 2016.

Authors
Edwin Kiplagat photo
Edwin Kiplagat
Edwin Kiplagat has five years of experience in journalism working as a Sports Editor at Africa Insight Communications and ESPN. Edwin Kiplagat is a Bachelor's Degree holder in journalism from the Multimedia University of Kenya.