The NBA’s board of governors approved the sale of the Hornets, sources said

Adrian Wojnarowski, Senior NBA Insider23 July 2023, 5:19 PM ET

CloseThe Woj Pod Host Joined ESPN in 2017

The NBA’s board of governors approved the sale of the Charlotte Hornets to a group led by Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin, paving the way for ending Michael Jordan’s 13-year run as majority owner, sources told ESPN on Sunday.

The BOG’s vote was 29-1 to approve the sale — with New York Knicks owner James Dolan registering the only vote against, sources said.

The completed team sale – purchased at a valuation of around $3 billion – will be executed in the next one to two weeks, sources said.

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Schnall, who had been a minority owner in the Atlanta Hawks, and Plotkin, a minority owner in the Hornets, would become franchise governors. Jordan will retain a minority stake in the franchise.

Jordan, a six-time NBA champion and five-time MVP, is widely regarded as the greatest player in the history of the game and is the league’s only black majority. Jordan paid $275 million for a majority stake in the franchise in 2010.

Jordan had previously sold significant minority stakes to Plotkin, founder and chief investment officer of Melvin Capital, and Daniel Sundheim, founder and chief investment officer of D1 Capital, in 2020. Sundheim is part of the current group buying the Hornets, sources said.

Schnall, vice president of the private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice in New York, was part of the group (which included majority owners Tony Ressler and Grant Hill) that bought the Atlanta Hawks in 2015 for $850 million.

After a 27–55 season fraught with injuries to most of the team’s top players, the Hornets selected Alabama’s Brandon Miller as the No. 1 pick.