CHARLOTTE, NC (AP) — The NBA’s Board of Governors has voted to approve Michael Jordan’s sale of the Charlotte Hornets to an ownership group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall, according to a person familiar with the situation.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on Sunday on condition of anonymity because the sale won’t become official for at least another week.
The decision ends Jordan’s 13-year tenure as majority owner of the franchise. He will remain a minority owner.
Jordan agreed to sell the team on June 16. However, when an NBA owner decides to sell it must first be approved by the league’s Board of Governors.
Jordan’s decision to sell leaves the NBA without a majority black owner.
Plotkin has been a minority stakeholder in 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.
The sale price is reported to be around $3 billion, according to ESPN.
As an owner, Jordan never came close to his success as a player, where he won six NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls while becoming one of the game’s greatest ever players.
Charlotte went 423-600 under Jordan, the 26th best record during that span.
The Hornets never won a playoff series in that time and haven’t been to the postseason in the last seven seasons.
Owner members of the new Hornets ownership group include artist J. Cole, Dan Sundheim, Ian Loring, country singer-songwriter Eric Church, Chris Shumway and several local Charlotte investors, including Amy Levine Dawson and Damian Mills.
