J. Cole, Eric Church Involved in New Hornets Ownership Group

Two prominent North Carolina natives from the music industry will have an ownership stake in the Hornets.

Rapper J. Cole and country music artist Eric Church are both members of the ownership group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall that is finalizing the purchase of a majority stake in the Hornets from NBA legend Michael Jordan, according to a release from the team on Friday.

“The Buyer Group will also include 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,” the release said.

Jordan, who has been the majority owner of the Charlotte basketball franchise for the last 13 years, is expected to step into a minority role once the deal is approved by the NBA’s Board of Governors. 

The current timeline makes it likely that Jordan will continue to oversee basketball operations through the NBA draft next week and the start of free agency on July 1.