Skip Bayless calls out Michael Jordan's body of work as an owner - "The greatest at playing is the worst at picking players"
Michael Jordan is regarded as one of the best players to ever play basketball. But he has never been able to translate that to success as an NBA owner, and with MJ reportedly intending to sell enough shares to no longer be the majority owner of the Charlotte Hornets, analyst Skip Bayless blasted the icon.
"The point is, this hurts my heart, because he was the Black owner in all of sports," Bayless said on "Undisputed."
"And when he first took over, I had the highest hopes for him, but this has been now 17 seasons that we've gone through with him as the operator of the Charlotte Hornets, the GM, hands on, and to your point, if you go 17 seasons and make the playoffs only three times in the NBA and you never win a playoff series in 17 seasons and your playoff record is 3- 12, which is by far the worst over that span in the NBA, something was very wrong.
"The greatest at playing is the worst at picking players."
With a stacked career that included six NBA championships, six NBA Finals MVP awards, five MVP awards and even 14 All-Star selections, Michael Jordan has stamped himself with one of the best legacies in NBA history.
Last week, it was reported that Michael Jordan is planning on selling a majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets franchise to a group led by Hornets' minority owner Gabe Plotkin and Atlanta Hawks' minority owner Rick Schnall.
Michael Jordan as the owner of the Charlotte Hornets
In 2010, Michael Jordan purchased the Charlotte Hornets for $275 million. The team drafted LaMelo Ball (2020), P.J. Washington (2019), Malik Monk (2017), Bismack Biyombo (2011), Gerald Henderson (2009) and Kemba Walker (2011).
However, in the 17 seasons of Jordan being the owner of the Charlotte Hornets, they were only able to make the playoffs three times but failed to win a playoff series.
For a player who had immense success as one of the NBA's most dominant ever, Jordan could not figure out how to turn the franchise into a winning team capable of deep playoff runs.
The Charlotte Hornets also experienced a controversial incident with Miles Bridges. Bridges was charged with felony domestic charges in 2022 after he injured his wife and later turned himself in to the police. A high prospect in trade talks during the offseason, he has not returned to the NBA since the incident. He pled guilty to one felony charge in November.
The Charlotte Hornets (22-50) are 14th in the Eastern Conference standings. They find themselves in an uneasy situation with an imminent shift happening with ownership.
Michael Jordan, the owner of the Charlotte Hornets, was the only Black owner of an NBA franchise. When the deal becomes final, it will mark the end of Jordan's 13-year run as owner of the team.