PARIS, FRANCE - JANUARY 24: Michael Jordan attends a press conference before the NBA Paris Game ... [+]
The Michael Jordan Era in Charlotte is coming to a close.
The legendary former NBA star is finalizing a deal to sell the Charlotte Hornets to Gabe Plotkin and Rich Schnall, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Plotkin is a minority owner of the Hornets and Schnall is a minority owner of the Atlanta Hawks.
Jordan, 60, purchased the team for $180 million in 2010, when he bought out Robert Johnson, and the franchise is now worth $1.77 billion, according to annual financial estimates and valuations published by Forbes.
The six-time NBA champion first became an investor in the Hornets (then the Bobcats) in 2006.
He was the NBA's only Black majority owner.
On his watch, the Hornets got their name and brand back after being called the Bobcats (2004-14) but the team hasn’t made the playoffs since 2016 and hasn’t won a playoff series since the pre-Jordan Era in 2002.
Charlotte finished 27-55 last season — the NBA’s second-worst record — and as a result they have the No. 2 pick in next week’s NBA Draft in Brooklyn