Michael Jordan became a basketball star at North Carolina. Now he'll try to turn around the state's money-losing NBA team by becoming the first ex-player to be a majority owner in the league.
The NBA's Board of Governors on Wednesday unanimously approved Jordan's $275 million bid to buy the Charlotte Bobcats from Bob Johnson. Jordan will take over the team immediately after serving as a minority investor with the final say on basketball decisions since 2006.
"Purchasing the Bobcats is the culmination of my post-playing career goal of becoming the majority owner of an NBA franchise," Jordan said in a statement. "I am especially pleased to have the opportunity to build a winning team in my home state of North Carolina.
"I plan to make this franchise an organization that Charlotte can be proud of, and I am committed to doing all that I can to achieve this goal."
The six-time NBA champion and five-time league MVP will be charged with turning around the fortunes of the 6-year-old Bobcats, who are on pace to lose about $30 million this season because of sluggish ticket and sponsorship sales.
The 47-year-old Jordan, who will assume about $150 million in debt in the deal, becomes the second black majority owner of a major pro sports team. He replaces the first in Johnson, who paid $300 million for the expansion franchise, but lost tens of millions annually and saw the value of the team decline as Charlotte fans struggled to warm to the NBA again after the Hornets left for New Orleans in 2002.
Johnson won't completely end his relationship with the team. A spokeswoman for Johnson said he'll be a minority investor in Jordan's ownership group.
"The best decision I made since acquiring the Bobcats was to convince my friend Michael to become an investor in the Bobcats and to appoint him as managing member of basketball operations," Johnson said in a statement. "As the new majority owner of the Bobcats, his dedication will be stronger now more than ever."
Commissioner David Stern predicted last week the deal would be approved easily by the league's owners. Stern said last week that background and financial checks on Jordan produced nothing that would stop the deal, and expressed optimism Jordan's iconic status in this area will boost the franchise.
Jordan grew up in Wilmington, N.C., and led North Carolina to an NCAA title with a last-second shot before starring with the Chicago Bulls. Jordan briefly ran the Wizards basketball operations and returned as a player with Washington before being fired from his management role in 2003.
"We are pleased that Michael Jordan's purchase of majority ownership of the Bobcats was approved by the NBA's Board of Governors and closed in such a smooth and expeditious fashion," Stern said. "We look forward to the continued growth of the Bobcats, on and off the court, under his leadership."
The Bobcats (35-32) won their first game with Jordan in charge. Sitting courtside near the Charlotte bench on Wednesday night, Jordan watched the Bobcats rally to beat Oklahoma City 100-92 to maintain their hold on sixth place in the Eastern Conference. Team officials hope a playoff appearance after Jordan takes control will boost interest in the franchise, which plays in a 5-year-old downtown arena.
"While there is still plenty of work to do both on and off the floor, our attendance, television ratings, corporate support and on-court performance are headed in the right direction," Bobcats president Fred Whitfield said. "That trend will only continue as Michael transitions into all facets of our business."
Jordan, who has declined interview requests since striking a deal to buy the team on Feb. 26, is scheduled to hold a news conference Thursday night.
language points:
to turn around the money-losing NBA team：想要扭轉球隊的虧損局面
The NBA's Board of Governors：NBA理事會
majority owner：大老板 minority investor: 小投資人
the final say: 最終發言權
assume about $150 million in debt in the deal：在項交易中，喬丹需要為球隊承擔大約1億5000萬美元的債務。
Chicago Bull:芝加哥公牛隊 Wizards:奇才隊
our attendance, television ratings, corporate support and on-court performance are headed in the right direction：我們的球場票房，電視收視率，球隊輔助工作以及球隊的場上表現均朝著好的方向發展和改善著。
相關中文報道：
NBA理事會在北京時間3月18日凌晨宣布，喬丹投資收購山貓大部分控股的交易正式通過，喬丹將成為山貓的大股東。
聯盟總裁大衛-斯特恩在正式通過收購案后表明，很欣慰能夠看到這樁涉及2億7500萬美元的收購能夠如此順利和迅速地完成，“我們很高興喬丹通過收購山貓的大部分股權的行為得到了NBA理事會的同意，能夠進行的如此的迅速和順利。”斯特恩說，“我們期待山貓隊能夠在喬老板的帶領下茁壯成長，無論是球場內還是球場外。”
目前，喬丹是以個人投資者的身份成為大股東，但是他一直希望尋找一名當地的合作伙伴。喬丹在收購中接過了球隊原有的超過1億5000萬的債務，將彌補球隊未來的損耗以及努力實現盈利。據了解，本年度山貓隊的財政虧損達到了3000萬。
47歲的喬丹自從2006年就成為了山貓的小老板之一，并一直有意成為球隊的大老板，山貓的收購案在十個月前就開始醞釀，在近一個月才最終敲定。而當時作為山貓的小老板，喬丹擁有山貓的優先售股權。而他的朋友們也都紛紛表示，認為喬丹能夠在這個新的角色取得成功。這樁交易在2月底基本成型，并與原有股份持有者鮑勃-約翰遜在2月底就股權轉讓達成了一致。3月13日，大衛-斯特恩發表聲明表示，喬丹的收購案已經提交董事會，將在一周內進行公布。而今天，在董事會正式投票決議通過喬丹的收購案。
喬丹也憑借此舉成為了聯盟歷史上首位職業球員出身的球隊大股東以及NBA第二位黑人大老板，也將是NBA現存的唯一一名黑人大老板，另一位名人堂成員“魔術師”約翰遜也操有湖人隊的小部分股權，只不過湖人隊的大部分控股操控在巴斯家族的手中。而山貓隊的前任老板約翰遜在04年成功組建山貓隊之后，也成為了NBA歷史上首位黑人大老板，但由于他的股權已經易主到喬丹手上，因此喬丹也取代之成為現存的唯一一名黑人大老板。
最近他頻繁亮相在山貓隊的比賽和訓練當中，使得山貓隊的人氣急升。山貓隊是于04-05賽季建隊正式進入聯盟的，球隊的第一任老板鮑勃-約翰遜為建隊共投入了3億美元，但由于連年虧損，約翰遜最終決定出售球隊。
喬丹被認為是籃球史上最偉大的運動員，也是全球所熟悉的NBA球員。在他為公牛和奇才隊效力的15個賽季里，共獲得過6次總冠軍，5次當選 NBA最有價值球員，13次入選NBA全明星隊，2次獲得奧運會金牌。他職業生涯共收獲32292分，在NBA史上排名第三位,可他場均30.12分是 NBA史上的最高紀錄。
但很多人質疑喬丹能否當好球隊老板，此前山貓隊從來未曾進入過季后賽，但他們的成績逐年有所提高，繼上賽季打出43.7%的勝率后，目前山貓正以34勝32負，51.5%的戰績列在東部第六的位置，如果山貓隊能夠在常規賽余下時間能夠保持近來7戰6勝的強勢，那么本賽季，這支球隊將極有可能在喬丹的帶領下創造隊史紀錄地打出50%以上的勝率并最終闖入季后賽。
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