Sources: NBA’s governors approve Hornets sale

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

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

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

Schnall, who had been a minority owner with the Atlanta Hawks, and Plotkin, a minority owner with the Hornets, will become the franchise’s governors. Jordan will keep a minority stake in the franchise.

Jordan, a six-time NBA champion and five-time MVP, is largely considered to be the greatest player in the history of the game and had been the league’s only Black majority owner. Jordan paid $275 million for a majority stake in the franchise in 2010.

Jordan had previously sold a significant minority stake 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 purchasing the Hornets, sources said.

Schnall, the co-president of the private equity firm of Clayton, Dubilier & Rice in New York, was part of a group (including majority owner Tony Ressler and Grant Hill) that purchased the Atlanta Hawks in 2015 for $850 million.

After a 27-55 season riddled with injuries to most of the team’s top players, the Hornets selected Alabama’s Brandon Miller with the No. 2 pick in the June NBA draft.