CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Michael Jordan is finalizing a deal to sell shares in the Charlotte Hornets, a move that will end his 13 years at the helm of the organization, the team announced Friday. Jordan was traded to a team led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall, the Hornets said. Plotkin has been a minority owner of the Hornets since 2019. Schnall has been a minority owner of the Atlanta Hawks since 2015 and has been selling his stock in the team. It is unclear how long the sale process will take to be finalized by the NBA's Board of Governors. Jordan is expected to retain a stake in the Hornets, the team he bought in 2010 for about $275 million. Jordan’s decision to sell leaves the 30-team NBA without any Black majority ownership. The sale price was not immediately announced; ESPN, citing sources, said the franchise is worth $3 billion. The most recent sale of an NBA team came when Mat Ishbia bought the Phoenix Suns, a deal that when closed in December valued the franchise at $1 billion 4. Through spokeswoman Estee Portnoy, Jordan declined to comment. As impressive as Jordan is on the court - North Carolina national champion, two-time Olympic gold medalist, six-time NBA champion and endless discussion about the greatest player of all time all - the Hornets have yet to reach a winning streak in his season. as the owner. Charlotte went 423-600 in his 13 seasons as owner, the 26th best record in that stretch and 30 games. He never won a playoff game during that time and has not made the playoffs in the last seven seasons. . Other members of the new Hornets own team - waiting for approval - are artist J. Cole, Dan Sundheim, Ian Loring, country music singer-songwriter Eric Church and many local Charlotte investors , including Amy Levine Dawson and Damian Mills.
“In the same way that it’s wonderful that one of our greatest, Michael Jordan, could become the principal governor of a team, he has the absolute right to sell at the same time,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said earlier this month at the NBA Finals. “Values have gone up a lot since he bought that team, so that is his decision.” “I would love to have better representation in terms of principal governors,” Silver said. “It’s a marketplace. It’s something that if we were expanding that the league would be in a position to focus directly on that, but in individual team transactions, the market takes us where we are.”
