Michael Jordan’s sale of the Charlotte Hornets cleared its final sizable hurdle Sunday.
The NBA board of governors approved the approximate $3-billion purchase by the group led by Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Jordan joined the franchise’s ownership group in 2006 when he first purchased a minority stake in the then-Bobcats. He then assumed majority ownership in March 2010 after he purchased a controlling stake from previous owner Robert L. Johnson for $250 million.
Up until recently, Schnall was a minority owner of the Atlanta Hawks. Plotkin, meanwhile, purchased a minority stake in the Hornets from Jordan in 2019. Jordan will retain a minority stake in the team once the sale is fully executed, which will reportedly occur within the next two weeks.
New York Knicks owner James Dolan was the only member of the 30-person board to vote against the sale, sources told Wojnarowski.
Jordan first entered into an agreement to sell the team in June, signifying the approaching end of the basketball icon’s 13-year tenure.
Charlotte struggled during Jordan’s reign as majority owner, finishing with a .500 record or better in just three campaigns. In 2011-12, the Chicago Bulls legend’s second year in charge, the franchise went 7-59 during the regular season, which still stands as the worst single-season winning percentage of all time at .106. The Hornets also failed to win a single playoff series; the Miami Heat bested them in their postseason trips in both 2014 and 2016.
Jordan is widely regarded as the greatest NBA player of all time. A five-time MVP, six-time Finals MVP, 14-time All-Star, 10-time scoring champion, former Defensive Player of the Year, and an 11-time All-NBA selection, he spent the majority of his career with the Bulls from 1984-98, missing one season in 1993-94 playing minor league baseball. Following a three-year retirement, he returned in 2001-02 to play for the Washington Wizards, spending two years with the D.C. club before retiring for a second and final time in 2003.
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