NBA legend Jordan's sale of the Hornets has been approved after a success-starved spell in charge of the Charlotte franchise; he will remain as a minority owner but his departure leaves the league without a single black majority owner
Monday 24 July 2023 15:46, UK
Michael Jordan has agreed to sell the Charlotte Hornets after 13 years in charge of the NBA franchise, according to a report.
Jordan's sale of the Charlotte Hornets to an ownership group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall has been approved by the NBA Board of Governors has voted to approve, meaning the sale can proceed.
The news of sale, said to be for around $3bn, was widely reported on Sunday by United States-based media and it brings an end to Jordan's 13-year run as majority owner of the franchise.
Jordan, who bought the Hornets for $180m in 2010, will remain on as a minority owner but the sporting legend's decision to sell leaves the NBA without a Black majority owner.
Jordan agreed to sell the team on June 16 - but when an NBA owner decides to sell it first must be approved by the league's Board of Governors.
Plotkin has been a minority stakeholder with the Hornets since 2019, while Schnall has been a minority owner of the Atlanta Hawks since 2015. He has been forced to sell his investment in that team.
As an owner Jordan never came close to matching his success as a player, where he won six NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls while becoming one of the game's greatest players ever.
Charlotte went 423-600 under Jordan, the 26th-best record over that span.
The Hornets never won a playoff series in that time and haven't been to the postseason in the past seven seasons.
The owner members of the Hornets' new ownership group include artist J. Cole, Dan Sundheim, Ian Loring, country music singer-songwriter Eric Church, Chris Shumway and several local Charlotte investors, including Amy Levine Dawson and Damian Mills.
