Michael Jordan is officially no longer the majority owner of the Charlotte Hornets.
The NBA Board of Governors — made up of the other owners — has officially approved the sale of the Hornets to a group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall, according to multiple reports. Jordan will retain a minority share of ownership, but will not be involved in the club’s day-to-day operations. The vote was 29-1, with Knicks owner James Dolan casting the lone vote against according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The Hornets were valued at around $3 billion for the sale. Plotkin was already a minority owner in the Hornets, and Schnall was a minority owner of the Hawks (he had to move on from those shares to buy the Hornets).
This could be good for the Hornets, an organization that has been on the lower end of the spending scale in the NBA, and not just on the court (although they have been bottom-seven spending on payroll the past five years), they also have one of the smaller front offices and staffs in the league. The Hornets’ practice and training facilities are also reportedly in need of an upgrade. New owners and an infusion of cash could help the franchise.
The Hornets are also at a turning point on the court, having just drafted Brandon Miller with the No. 2 picks to play next to LaMelo Ball. Both coach Steve Clifford and GM Mitch Kupchak are in the last years of their contracts.
Jordan, a North Carolina native and the only black majority owner of an NBA team, first bought a stake in the Hornets in 2009 and became the team’s governor and face of ownership. In 2019 he bought the rest of the franchise. While he broke ground as an owner
and set a bar that other players aspire to — Grant Hill, LeBron James and others — the Hornets made the playoffs just two of the 13 full seasons he owned.
Still, this is a loss for the NBA. Jordan has been one of the most prominent faces of the NBA since the 1990s and not having him as an owner is a step back for a league that wants to promote diversity and its history.