Charlotte Hornets Spending Low, Underperforming in Michael Jordan Era

Michael Jordan may have been the GOAT on the court, but his on-court success hasn’t translated to his ownership of the Charlotte Hornets.

With their 29-point loss to the Hawks in the play-in round, Charlotte has now missed six straight playoffs and failed to win a playoff series for 18 straight seasons — that’s tied with the Kings and Timberwolves for the longest active streak in the NBA.

The Hornets had its best season by win total (43) since 2015-16, but it still wasn’t enough.

• The Hornets have made the postseason only twice since Jordan bought the team in 2010.
• Since then, Charlotte has never finished higher than 15th in attendance (2021-22).
• The team relocated to New Orleans in 2002, then became the Charlotte Bobcats from 2004-2014, finishing in the lottery eight of those 10 seasons.

The 2016-17 campaign ($103M) was the only year in which Jordan’s teams were among the top 10 payrolls since 2010. They had the third-lowest 2021-22 payroll ($122M).

Jordan — whose net worth is $1.7 billion — has seen some return on his initial investment. 

He bought the Hornets in 2010 for around $180 million, and they’re currently valued at $1.57 billion — but that still makes them the fourth-lowest NBA team by value.

With young superstar LaMelo Ball leading the team for the foreseeable future, better days — and returns — could be ahead.