Michael Jordan is ready to move on as majority owner of the Charlotte Hornets.
The NBA legend has agreed to sell his majority stake in the Hornets after 13 years as the team’s owner, the team announced on Friday.
A group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall will purchase Jordan’s stake for an approximate $3 billion valuation, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported. Plotkin is a minority owner of the Hornets and Schnall is currently a minority owner of the Atlanta Hawks. Daniel Sundheim, who joined Plotkin in buying a significant minority stake in the team from Jordan in 2020, is also part of the group.
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Jordan will remain in charge of the Hornets’ basketball operations through the 2023 NBA Draft and into the start of free agency on July 1, Wojnarowski reported. He will keep a minority stake in the team once the sale is approved by the NBA’s Board of Governors.
Jordan paid $275 million for the majority stake in the then-Charlotte Bobcats in 2010. He has been in charge of the franchise since and has been the NBA’s only Black majority owner.
While Jordan is known as one of the NBA’s greatest players and winners from his time with the Chicago Bulls, his Hornets teams have struggled immensely. Charlotte has made just two playoff appearances since Jordan became the owner and failed to reach the second round. The team is in the midst of a seven-season playoff drought and earned a 27-55 record in 2022-23.
The Hornets got some lottery luck exactly one month ago. The team had the fourth-best odds of getting the No. 1 pick and a chance to select Victor Wembenyama. While the San Antonio Spurs won the Wembanyama sweepstakes, the Hornets will be on the board next after jumping up to the No. 2 pick.