According to STEREOGUM, artists J. Cole and Eric Church are a part of a group that recently bought the majority share of the Charlotte Hornets, an NBA team previously owned primarily by Michael B. Jordan for the last 13 years. 

Cole is an acclaimed rapper from Fayetteville, North Carolina, who has been known for his love of basketball. As reported by STEREOGUM, not only does he have a background as a redshirt player and former point guard for St. John’s University, but in recent years, J. Cole expanded his horizons by playing basketball in Rwanda and Canada and was even spotted attending the NBA Finals as a spectator. Meanwhile, Eric Church, a country rock icon, is a dedicated fan of the North Carolina Tarheels who once went to extreme lengths by canceling a 2022 concert so that he could attend one of their games against their rivals Duke. 

Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall, both of whom own minority shares in other teams, are the heads of this group. Consequence mentions that other group members to own this majority share outside of Cole and Church include: Amy Levine Dawson, Damian Mills, Chris Shumway, Dan Sundheim, Ian Loring, and Dyal HomeCourt Partners.

Consequence also points out that Jordan was the only Black majority owner when he bought the share for $275 million back in 2006. Now he continues to hold minority ownership of the Charlotte Hornets and his organizational position in which he will oversee Thursday’s NBA Draft on June 22.