Michael Jordan finalizing sale of majority share of Charlotte Hornets

Almost three months after announcing that he would sell a majority share of the Charlotte Hornets, Michael Jordan is finalizing an agreement with Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin, as reported by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Plotkin was already a minority stakeholder in the franchise while Schnall owned a piece of the Atlanta Hawks.

Back in March, initial reports of the potential sale stated that Jordan was already speaking with Plotkin, who brought his share in 2019. Per The Associated Press:

“Four years ago, Michael Jordan sold a stake in the Charlotte Hornets to a Gabe Plotkin-led group,” Jump Management, Jordan’s family office, said in a statement on Wednesday. “As a natural step in a process due to that transaction, Michael and Gabe are in discussions about his group potentially buying an additional stake.”

Plotkin is the founder of a hedge fund, Melvin Capital, that was caught up in the GameStop "meme stock" controversy in 2021. Schnall is the president of the private equity firm that helped spur the sale of the Atlanta Hawks in 2015.

Jordan, the man largely considered the greatest basketball player of all time, was the first former player to become majority owner and the only Black majority owner after he purchased the then-Charlotte Bobcats from Bob Johnson, the founder of the television network BET, in 2010. (Johnson made history as the league's first Black majority owner when the expansion franchise began play in 2004.) Jordan originally purchased a minority share in 2006 and served as the team's head of basketball operations.

On the whole, the Bobcats/Hornets never enjoyed a fraction of the success Jordan garnered as a player under his leadership. The franchise only had two playoff appearances (both first-round losses to the Miami Heat), three seasons with a record above .500 and only one player winning a regular season award for on-court play (LaMelo Ball's Rookie of the Year in 2021).

Charlotte has the second overall pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, which will be Jordan's last as majority owner. He will still retain a stake in the team once the sale is approved by the other team owners and the NBA.