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Michael Jordan was an inspiration to many as the only Black majority stake owner of an NBA franchise but now he’s relinquishing that title for a potentially huge payout. According to swirling reports, Michael Jordan will offload his majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets for a reported $3 billion dollars.
News of the sale went wide last Friday (June 16) after the Charlotte Hornets issued a statement leaguewide that Michael Jordan will sell off his ownership stake to The Buyer Group consisting of Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall.
More from the Hornets’ PR team via NBA.com:
Plotkin, who acquired a minority stake in the Hornets in 2019, has been an alternate governor on the NBA Board of Governors since 2019 and is the founder and chief investment officer of Tallwoods Capital LLC. Schnall is co-president of Clayton, Dubilier & Rice LLC, where he has worked for 27 years, and has been a significant minority owner of the Atlanta Hawks and an alternate governor on the NBA Board of Governors since 2015. Schnall is in the process of selling his investment in the Hawks, which is expected to be completed in the next several weeks.
The Buyer Group will also include Chris Shumway, Dan Sundheim, Ian Loring, Dyal HomeCourt Partners, North Carolina natives recording artist J. Cole and country music singer-songwriter Eric Church, and several local Charlotte investors, including Amy Levine Dawson and Damian Mills.
Jordan, 60, will retain a minority stake in the Hornets and will reportedly still work with the team’s front-facing actions in some capacity. A report from CNBC states that Jordan, who initially purchased his stake for $275 million, will net 10 times as much if the sale is approved by the NBA Board of Governors.
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Moriah Mills is continuing her on-again, off-again Twitter assault against Zion Williamson, which has included her airing out dirty laundry while simply declaring her love and devotion to the young NBA star. Moriah Mills, who has been tweeting nonstop for days, saw her name trending once more after she apparently threatened to post private sex tapes over Williamson not providing a wire transfer.
On Monday (June 19), Moriah Mills, reportedly 32, fired off a series of tweets threatening to leak a series of sex tapes that she alleges Williamson recorded on what she referred to as his “trap phone” along with other thoughts.
“You about to be a bounce around just like KD and all the hoes you fucked behind my back [peace sign emoji] no one gets away with betraying me I promise you,” Mills tweeted, coming after she promoted her OnlyFans page and shared images of her wearing Williamson’s jersey number when he played at Duke University.
Mills added, “Even if he doesn’t get traded he will not be the star franchise player anymore all trust is gone I know he mad !!! Should of stop lying to everyone you claim you care about. Your not a priority anymore your just a bust your not my king anymore either @Zionwilliamson I’m tired of giving you chances.”
Things went decidedly left when Mills began messaging the New Orleans Pelicans and NBA Twitter handles threatening to release the videos and urging the Pelicans to trade their star player.
“NBA I have sex tapes of me and @Zionwilliamson and he also has them on his trap phone @NBA @PelicansNBAtrade him now he doesn’t deserve to be in New Orleans !!! Sex tapes dropping soon,” Mills tweeted.
After missing a supposed wire transfer, Mills had this to say.
“Where is my wire transfer @Zionwilliamson you a liar and cheat where the f*ck is my money @PelicansNBA @nba trade this fraud he doesn’t deserve to be in Nola. Does your bm know you still trying to fly me out,” Mills wrote.
On Twitter, the reactions to Moriah Mills continuing to air out Zion Williamson are coming in and we’ve got some of them below.
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Photo: Moriah Mills / @thisismoriahmills
Michael Jordan is finalizing a deal to sell the majority share of the Charlotte Hornets, the franchise announced Friday, leaving the 30-team NBA without any Black majority ownership.
Jordan is selling to a group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall, the Hornets said. Plotkin has been a minority stakeholder in the Hornets since 2019. Schnall has been a minority owner of the Atlanta Hawks since 2015 and is in the process of selling his investment in that team.
It’s not clear how long the process of selling will take to be finalized by the NBA’s Board of Governors. Jordan plans to keep a minority stake in the Hornets, the team he bought in 2010 for about $275 million.
Jordan’s decision to sell ends his unsuccessful 13-year run overseeing the organization.
“In the same way that it’s wonderful that one of our greatest, Michael Jordan, could become the principal governor of a team, he has the absolute right to sell at the same time,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said earlier this month at the NBA Finals. “Values have gone up a lot since he bought that team, so that is his decision.”
In that same news conference at the finals, Silver said the Board of Governors are focused on diversity in ownership groups.
“I would love to have better representation in terms of principal governors,” Silver said. “It’s a marketplace. It’s something that if we were expanding that the league would be in a position to focus directly on that, but in individual team transactions, the market takes us where we are.”
The sale price was not immediately announced; ESPN, citing sources, said the franchise was being valued at $3 billion. The most recent sale of an NBA team came when Mat Ishbia bought the Phoenix Suns, a deal that when struck in December valued that franchise at $4 billion.
Jordan declined comment on the sale through his spokesperson, Estee Portnoy.
For as great as Jordan was on the court — national champion at North Carolina, two-time Olympic gold medalist, six-time NBA champion and in the never-ending conversation for best player ever — the Hornets never reached a championship level during his time as the owner.
Charlotte went 423-600 in his 13 seasons in charge, the 26th-best record over that span. It never won a playoff series in that time and hasn’t even been to the postseason in the last seven seasons.
Other members of the new potential Hornets ownership group — pending the approval — are recording artist J. Cole, Dan Sundheim, Ian Loring, country music singer-songwriter Eric Church, Chris Shumway and several local Charlotte investors, including Amy Levine Dawson and Damian Mills.
Along with the Hornets, HSE ownership includes the NBA G League’s Greensboro Swarm and NBA 2K League’s Hornets Venom GT, as well as managing and operating the Spectrum Center, each of which is included as part of the sale.
When Jordan, who grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina, purchased majority ownership in the team, it created a great amount of buzz.
But the Hornets’ struggles and inability to turn things around bothered Jordan. The first inclination that he was looking to get out of the NBA ownership business came in 2020, when he sold a minority stake to Plotkin and Sundheim.
The Hornets are coming off an injury-plagued 27-55 season and hold the No. 2 pick in the NBA draft. Victor Wembanyana is expected to go first overall on Thursday night, leaving Charlotte with the choice of either G League star guard Scoot Henderson or Alabama’s Brandon Miller.
Charlotte’s biggest star is LaMelo Ball, and the team still has some decent foundational parts to build around including Terry Rozier, Gordon Hayward, P.J. Washington and Mark Williams, the team’s starting center who played well last year as a rookie.
Jordan was often criticized as an owner for not spending enough in free agency to make the Hornets competitive.
He took over a team in 2010 that had won 44 games the year before but had been swept by the Orlando Magic in the first round.
It went downhill from there.
Charlotte — still the Bobcats at the time — was 34-48 in its first year under Jordan and then an NBA-worst 7-59 the following year. But despite the abysmal record, Charlotte failed to land the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft lottery and Anthony Davis.
Charlotte got back to the playoffs in 2013-14 but was swept by the Miami Heat. Two years later, the Hornets won 48 games but lost again to the Heat in the first round, this time in seven games.
In the seven years since, Jordan’s Hornets have had only one winning season and have twice exited early in the play-in tournament as the 10 seed.
Charlotte has not won a playoff series since the 2001-02 season and has never won an NBA championship
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Ja Morant has been suspended 25 games by the NBA thanks to his love of waving firearms on social media. The vibe on Twitter is that the high-flying point guard got off light.
ESPN reports that on Friday (June 16), the NBA announced that the Memphis Grizzlies point guard had been suspended 25 games for “conduct detrimental to the league” at the start of the 2023-2024 NBA season. The formal suspension comes after a second incident in which Morant was seen brandishing a gun on social media, this time in May.
Back in March, the NBA suspended Morant for 8 games for a similar incident where he showed off a firearm on Instagram Live while in a club in Denver. In response to that situation, Morant reportedly enrolled in counseling.
After the second incident, NBA Twitter fully expected NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to drop the hammer on Morant, with many speculating at least a half a season on ice for the talented player. Now it’s a question of Morant staying on the straight and narrow after his second strike.
“Ja Morant’s decision to once again wield a firearm on social media is alarming and disconcerting given his similar conduct in March for which he was already suspended eight games,” said NBA commissioner Adam Silver n a statement. “The potential for other young people to emulate Ja’s conduct is particularly concerning. Under these circumstances, we believe a suspension of 25 games is appropriate and makes clear that engaging in reckless and irresponsible behavior with guns will not be tolerated.”
Silver added, “For Ja, basketball needs to take a back seat at this time. Prior to his return to play, he will be required to formulate and fulfill a program with the league that directly addresses the circumstances that led him to repeat this destructive behavior.”
Source: Ronald Martinez / Getty
In response, Morant issued his own statement which address his assigned homework.
“I’ve had time to reflect and I realize how much hurt I’ve caused,” said Morant in a statement he released on Friday. “I want to apologize to the NBA, the Grizzlies, my teammates and the city of Memphis. To Adam Silver, Zach Kleiman and Robert Pera — who gave me the opportunity to be a professional athlete and have supported me — I’m sorry for the harm I’ve done. To the kids who look up to me, I’m sorry for failing you as a role model. I promise I’m going to be better. To all of my sponsors, I’m going to be a better representation of our brands. And to all of my fans, I’m going to make it up to you, I promise.”
Peep Twitter’s reactions to Ja Morant’s punishment in the gallery.
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It’s game time! The Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat will face off in Game 1 of the 2023 NBA Finals at Ball Arena in Denver on Thursday (June 1). The game will broadcast live at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
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The Heat advanced to the finals after beating the Boston Celtics 103-84 in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference on Sunday.
If you don’t want to miss all the NBA Finals actions, we’ve put together a comprehensive list of ways to watch and stream games from your TV, laptop, desktop, tablet and any other compatible device along with links to buy tickets to games.
How to Stream the 2023 NBA Finals Online for Free
The 2023 NBA Finals kicks off on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT on ABC. Those who already have cable or local channels through a TV antenna, can check local listings for additional channel information.
Basketball fans can also watch the NBA finals live on ABC.com in addition to ESPN outlets such as ESPN+, ESPN2, ESPN Radio and ESPN Deportes.
No cable? No worries! You can stream the 2023 NBA Finals games live and with a free trial from DirectTV Stream, YouTube TV (the official sponsor of the NBA Finals), Fubo and Express VPN — if you’re streaming outside of the U.S.
Shopping for the best streaming deals? DirectTV Stream is discounted $30 over three months, plus a free trial for five days. DirectTV Stream’s cheapest plan — the Entertainment package — is $64.99 (regular $69.99) for 75+ channels including ABC, NBC, Fox, CBS, ESPN, TNT, Nickelodeon, MTV, BET, VH1, TLC and HGTV; access to on-demand content and DVR storage.
DirectTV Stream
$64.99 $74.99 13% off% OFF
DirectTV Stream also offers free Max, Starz and other channels with higher-priced plans, which range from $89.99-$99.99.
Although Sling TV doesn’t offer a free trial, new subscribers can join at a discounted rate starting at $30 for the first month. Sling Blue lets you access dozens of channels including ABC, Fox, NBC, ESPN, ESPN2, A&E, AMC, MTV, BET, E!, VH1 and Bravo (DVR storage included).
Can you watch the NBA Finals on NBA League Pass? Finals games will not be available to watch live but subscribers can listen live on ESPN Radio and watch on NBA League Pass three hours after the game airs.
Elsewhere on the roster of affordable streamers, Fubo TV’s Pro package is $74.99/month after a free trial for a week. You’ll get access to 160 channels (100+ sporting events), cloud DVR and streaming on up to 10 screens.
Hulu + Live TV starts at $69.99 to stream 75+ live and on-demand channels — including ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPN News, ESPN U, FS1, FS2, Fx, MTV, TruTV, BET, Food Network, Lifetime, Paramount Network, ID and TLC — along with everything on Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN+. Another similarly priced streaming option, Vidgo starts at $69.99/month for 110+ live channels, on-demand and DVR.
Want to watch the NBA Finals live and in person? As you’ve probably guessed, tickets are pretty steep but passes for Game 1 start at around $530-$700 for general seating and upwards of $10,000 for courtside, VIP seating. Find tickets via StubHub, Vivid Seats, Ticketmaster and SeatGeek.
Want to show your team spirit? Visit NBA.com and Fanatics.com for official NBA gear and gifts for Father’s Day. Save up to 70% off clearance items at Fanatics and enjoy free shipping on orders over $24 at the NBA store.
2023 NBA Finals Schedule: Denver Nuggets vs. Miami Heat
Game 1: Thursday, June 1 at 8:30 p.m. ET, ABC
Game 2: Sunday, June 4 at 8:00 p.m. ET, ABC
Game 3: Wednesday, June 7 at 8:30 p.m. ET, ABC
Game 4: Friday, June 9 at 8:30 p.m. ET, ABC
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LeBron James will have to endure a long offseason of people questioning his greatness from the comfort of their couches and game controllers despite willing the seventh-seeded Los Angeles Lakers to the Western Conference Finals. The Denver Nuggets, the top-seeded team in the Western Conference, swept the Lakers in their best-of-seven series and some NBA fans are unfairly making LeBron James the fall guy.
LeBron James, who turns 39 this year, spent years carrying the Cleveland Cavaliers on his shoulders and doing so at an elite level for years. After two decades of basketball, wear and tear is natural and the high-flying exploits aren’t there every night but all of the greats have off nights.
James didn’t have an off night on Monday, leading all scorers with 40 points and remaining on the floor for the entire game. James supporting cast of Davis and Reaves did what they could but they were outmatched by Nikola Jokic, who led all Nuggets scorers with 30 along with 13 assists and 14 rebounds, and Jamal Murray, who poured in 25 points and was electrifying in the WCF.
You don’t even need to be a fan of James or his team to realize what he was able to do while pushing the age of 40 is incredible. There are a few NBA players who spent 20 seasons in the league and many of them are in the Basketball Hall of Fame. James will join those ranks once he decides to hang up his sneakers for good and hopefully, he holds off on doing so after the bitter sting of the loss settles down.
The comparisons to the great Michael Jordan are inevitable and people making a case for LeBron being an inferior player will have all their stats ready for an imaginary showdown neither man asked for.
The jeers from the armchair athletes of the world will cease to matter and besides, anyone who needs to take off their shoes and then put them in their laps to tie them can’t rightly call LeBron James a bum.
But they’re certainly going to try.
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Photo: Getty
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Source: Elsa / Getty
Carmelo Anthony is moving on to the next phase of his life. On Monday, May 22, the superstar and future Hall of Famer announced that he is retiring from the NBA after a 19-season playing career.
The high-scoring forward was drafted with the 3rd pick in the 2003 NBA Draft (behind LeBron James and, wait for it…Darko Milicic), by the Denver Nuggets shortly after leading the Syracuse Orange to a national title during his sole collegiate season. Melo would play eight seasons for the Nuggets before a blockbuster trade sent him to the New York Knicks in early 2011.
The Brooklyn-born and Baltimore-raised star’s time in NYC had its highs but was also tumultuous, and he was eventually traded in 2017 to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Melo would become somewhat of a journeyman, playing for the Rockets, Trailblazers and lastly with the Lakers in the 2021-2022 season.
“Now the time has come for me to say goodbye,” in a clip Melo shared on Twitter that features a number of his career highlights.
“People ask what I believe my legacy is,” continues Anthony, before referencing his son, Kiyan Anthony, a hoop prospect himself. “It’s not my feats on the court that come to mind, all the awards or praise. Because my story has always been more than basketball. My legacy, my son … I will forever continue through you. The time has come for you to carry this torch.”
No pressure.
Despite never making it to an NBA Finals, Melo still cooked up10 NBA All-Star selection, six All-NBA selection and three Olympic gold medals and a spot on the 75 greatest NBA players list. His kicks with Jordan Brand also moved units.
Check out reactions to Hoodie Melo closing the chapter on his NBA career in the gallery.
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The NBA playoffs are winding down with the Eastern Conference and Western Conference Finals in full swing. In the east, the Boston Celtics are now down 0-3 in their best-of-seven series against the Miami Heat, with the Los Angeles Lakers sharing the same record against the Denver Nuggets.
In NBA lore, few teams are as notable as the Celtics and Lakers given the long length of their rivalry and dominance on the court in different eras. In fact, it was expected by some that the two teams would meet in the 2023 NBA Finals, but both teams are on the brink of elimination.
On Sunday (May 21), The Celtics headed down to Miami to face the Heat in a must-win game after going 0-2 at their home arena. It was expected that the trio of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart would have an offensive explosion.
Instead, it was Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and Gabe Vincent, who led all scorers with 29 points, owning the night. It was also a night that saw Tatum and Brown shoot 33 and 35 percent from the field respectively, and they didn’t get much help elsewhere although Grant Williams did give 12 off the bench. Butler scored 24 for the Heat but did so on 5-13 shooting, and got to the line seven times and sinking six.
On Saturday (May 20), Jamal Murray went off for 37 points against the Lakers, with Nuggets big man passing wizard Nikola Jokic dropping 24 with eight assists. The Lakers have been competitive in spurts but each game in the series has been huge swings and momentum changes that LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and coach Darvin Ham haven’t been able to figure out.
Tonight, the Lakers will take on the Nuggets in a win-or-go-home game for King James and Los Angeles. Even still, they would need to win four games to climb out of this major hole they’ve built for themselves. On Tuesday, the Celtics and Heat resume their series in a must-win for Boston.
On Twitter, the reaction to how the NBA Playoffs are currently playing out is all over the place. We’ve got reactions from NBA fans below.
[h/t NBA.com]
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LeBron James is no stranger to criticism after a tough loss considering he remains as one of the most recognizable figures in the NBA. After the Los Angeles Lakers fell to the Denver Nuggets in Game 2 of the NBA Western Conference Finals, fans on Twitter are giving LeBron James and Anthony Davis the business.
Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic is the top name for Denver but it was the exploits of Jamal Murray that lifted the team over James and company. Murray poured in 37 points in a fourth-quarter explosion where he scored 23 points after his team was down in the second half. Jokic, continuing his uncanny triple-double production, dropping 23 points on 9-21 shooting and hauling in 17 rebounds with 12 assists.
On the other side, James scored 22 points on 9-19 shooting and dropped 10 assists, and pulled down nine boards. Davis made just four of 15 shots to score 18 along with 14 rebounds. Austin Reaves, once again showing expert poise went eight for 16 from the field with 22 points and was joined by Rui Hachimura who dropped 21 points.
Nuggets head coach Mike Malone expressed some frustration on how his team has been covered in the press with all the attention going towards the Lakers. While Los Angeles remains to be a marquee team, few analysts predicted them to be squaring off with anyone this deep into the playoffs.
After Nikola Jokic’s monster game in the opener, his pick-and-roll partner Jamal Murray took the spotlight in the Western Conference finals Thursday night.
“You win Game 1 and all everybody talked about was the Lakers,” Malone said. “Let’s be honest, the national narrative was, ‘Hey, the Lakers are fine. They’re down 1-0, but they figured something out.’ No one talked about how Nikola just had [a] historic performance. He’s got 13 (playoff) triple-doubles now, third all-time. What he’s doing is just incredible.”
On Twitter, LeBron James and Anthony Davis are getting blasted for their performance. We’ve got the tweets below.
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Victor Wembanyama will have all eyes on him after it is widely understood that the French basketball phenom will be selected first overall in the 2023 NBA Draft this summer. On Tuesday, the NBA Draft Lottery concluded with the San Antonio Spurs landing the top pick and NBA fans have plenty to say.
Victor Wembanyama, 19, currently plays for the French professional basketball team Metropolitans 92 of the LNB Pro A. Wembanyama, who is listed at 7-foot-4 although online reports list him at ranges of 7-foot-5 and 7-foot-2, is thought to be the greatest basketball prospect to emerge in quite some time. Despite his long frame, Wembanyama has the dribbling and passing skills of a guard which had every team in the NBA hoping to land the big man.
The good fortune experienced by the Spurs couldn’t have been more timely considering that the team, coached by Gregg Popovich, isn’t the elite team it once was during the David Robinson and Tim Duncan era. Under Popovich’s tutelage, the Spurs won five NBA championships, the last coming in 2014. It should also be noted that the last time the Spurs had the top pick of the draft, they selected Duncan.
With Wembanyama all but certain to be selected by the team, the fortune of the Spurs is expected to change almost immediately. It will be interesting to see how Wembanyama plays alongside the young core of Keldon Johnson, Tre Jones, and Devonte’ Graham.
On Twitter, both Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs see their names trending with all kinds of reactions. We’ve got the best of them listed below.
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