Michael Jordan will have no ownership in the NBA now as sources claim that the Hall of Famer is nearing completion on the sale of the Charlotte Hornets to a group led by Hornets minority owner Gabe Plotkin and Atlanta Hawks minority owner Rick Schnall. In the upcoming days, a deal with the league's sanction is anticipated to be finalised.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski, Jordan will be in charge of basketball operations on June 22, when the NBA draft will take place, and July 1, when free agency will open. The Hornets will have the second pick in the draft. As per Wojnarowski, Jordan will also allegedly retain a small share of ownership in the team but his 13-year tenure as the Hornets' majority owner comes to an end with the sale. After becoming a co-owner in 2006, he acquired a majority stake in the franchise from George Shinn in 2010 for $275 million.
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Jordan became the first ex-NBA player to become a billionaire during his tenure as the team's owner and changed the name of the team back to the Hornets. But since 2010, Charlotte has just twice reached the postseason, despite Jordan's support and influence. The six-time NBA champion and five-time MVP Michael Jordan is widely regarded as the greatest player in the sport's history and has been the only Black majority owner in the league.
According to sources, in 2020, Jordan sold sizable minority ownership to Plotkin, the founder and chief investment officer of Melvin Capital, and Daniel Sundheim, the founder and chief investment officer of D1 Capital, who are both involved in the purchase of the Hornets. The Charlotte Hornets had a forgettable 2022-23 season as they finished second to last in the Easter Conference table. The move of bringing Steve Clifford as beach coach backfired for the team.
