Michael Jordan finally made the big decision to bring to an end his time as the majority owner of the Charlotte Hornets after 13 years at the helm. The Hornets did not have a whole lot of success under Jordan’s leadership, but it has proven to be an incredible investment for him.

He purchased the team for $275 million in 2010 and is now set to get around $3 billion for it. MJ has been praised for his business acumen, but a fan claimed he’s only getting all of this money because LeBron James has elevated the league. Jordan’s former teammate Ron Harper took offense to that and clapped back at the fan.

LeBron certainly has played a big part in the NBA being where it is today. He has been the face of the league for over a decade at this point and has taken it to new heights, just as Jordan did in the 1990s.

The NBA’s revenue topped $10 billion for the first time in 2022 and it just keeps going from strength to strength. Would the league have gotten to that point last year without LeBron? Probably not, but it still would have kept growing at a very good rate. Jordan was always going to make a ton of money by selling the Hornets, whether LeBron showed up or not.

Michael Jordan’s Tenure As Majority Owner

The Hornets had not had a whole lot of success in their history and Jordan was looking to change that after becoming majority owner in 2010. He ultimately couldn’t turn things around, however, as the team only made the playoffs twice in his 13 full seasons as the majority owner.

They were swept by the Miami Heat in the first round in 2014 and they then lost to the Heat again in the first round in 2016, although the series did go to seven games. It did seem like things might be changing in the 2021-22 season when they went 43-39, with LaMelo Ball leading the way.

Unfortunately for Jordan, Ball missed much of this past season and the team fell apart without him. Would MJ still be the majority owner had Ball led the Hornets to some kind of success in 2023?