"He's an owner who's very engaged": Denny Hamlin raves about Michael Jordan as owner despite 'His Airness' flopping massively with Hornets
Michael Jordan's tenure as the owner of the Charlotte Hornets was quite dismal, but his ownership role in the NASCAR racing team 23XI with racing veteran Denny Hamlin saw some massive praise coming from the latter. Hamlin drives for Joe Gibbs Racing, but also co-owns 23XI alongside the Chicago Bulls legend, who called him an "engaged owner."
Hamlin spoke to Fox Sports about how Jordan was a super fan and took an active interest in the team's operations:
"I know he's a super fan. I was watching the race and I see him reaching over and talking to [Bubba Wallace crew chief] Bootie [Barker] and I'm like, 'Oh, man. Oh, my gosh, I know Bootie's got to be so worried about messing this up with Michael right behind them.' But he's an owner who's very engaged. And that is what we need."
This comes on the back of Michael Jordan selling the Hornets earlier this year to a group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall.
According to ESPN, the sale is valued at a whopping $3 billion. Jordan had purchased a majority stake in the NBA franchise for $275 million in 2010 when they were still known as the Charlotte Bobcats.
Michael Jordan did not have a great run as the owner of the Charlotte Hornets
A North Carolina native who also attended the University of North Carolina, Michael Jordan was looked at as the perfect face to lead the Hornets, but his success wasn't even close to half of what he experienced as an NBA player.
In his 13 seasons with the franchise, Charlotte made the playoffs twice but was sent packing in the first round on both occasions in 2014 and 2016. Their only winning season came in the 2021-22, where they went 43-39 but were eliminated in the play-in tournament.
As an owner, Jordan did make some questionable choices when his draft picks fizzled. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Cody Zeller, Noah Vonleh and Frank Kaminsky were all busts. But he did hit the jackpot with LaMelo Ball who was the third overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft and also won the Rookie of the Year.
Before the sale of the team, the Hornets finished this past season with a disappointing 27-55 record with Ball playing just 36 games due to injury. Now, with rookie Brandon Miller in its ranks, Charlotte will hope to make a playoff run with a young unit taking on key roles. But it's safe to say that Michael Jordan's ownership of the Hornets wasn't what the world saw coming.