Bob Johnson is a prominent figure in modern African American history. But among his many exploits, the ownership of the Charlotte Bobcats definitely stands out as his crowning achievement. In fact, Johnson became the first African American to own a big-name sports franchise, paving the way for others like Michael Jordan to follow in his footsteps.
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But the history of his Bobcats team is rather interesting and even coincides with the birth of MJ’s Charlotte Hornets. The original Charlotte Hornets team started back in 1988 as an expansion team by George Shinn. Unfortunately for the city of Charlotte, Shinn eventually took the team over to New Orleans and renamed the franchise the New Orleans Pelicans in 2013.
As for the residents of Charlotte, they were promised another expansion team, and there was a bidding war to buy the rights for the team. The list of parties bidding even included Hall Of Famer Larry Bird. Eventually, a group of investors led by Bob Johnson acquired the rights and went full steam towards developing the team. The organization even had a ” help name the team” voting contest, but in the end, decided against going with the highest voted name.
Instead, Johnson chose the name “Bobcats” which kept in line with Charlotte’s other franchise, the Carolina Panthers. It was always no coincidence that North Carolina was home to several Bobcat packs, but people didn’t see these connections, instead believing that Johnson had named it after himself. The former Bobcats owner even played along with the trope.
Johnson even appeared on NBA on TNT, where Magic Johnson questioned the former owner if he had named the team after himself. Answering the question, the Bobcats owner said,
“When you pay $300 million you can name it anything you want.”
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In the end, the rumor remained unverified as Johnson’s sarcastic answer did very little to confirm the hilarious media narrative. But the media were correct in predicting the Bobcats’ struggle as a young team, as the franchise had just one winning season. Soon, North Carolina native Michael Jordan took over the franchise as the majority owner and kick-started the Charlotte Hornets as we know it today.
Michael Jordan’s Charlotte Hornets
On February 17, 2010, an ownership group led by Jordan purchased a majority share of the Bobcats franchise, signaling the end of Bob Johnson’s era with the Charlotte-based team. In 2013, Jordan and the board rebranded the team, using its original 1988 name, The Charlotte Hornets.
Jordan’s 13 years as the owner of the Hornets was a resounding failure. They did manage one post-season appearance which saw them go up against the Miami Heat. The team lost in 7 games and has never made the playoffs since.
On June 16, 2023, Jordan announced he was selling his majority stake in the team to a group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall. The final valuation at the time of the sale was $3 billion, and Jordan got every penny and more for his Carolina team. Even if MJ never won any silverware as an owner, he sure did make a huge return on his investment, making him the richest basketball player of all time.
