NBA
The complete list of black NBA owners in 2023
Mat Issa is based in Sterling Heights, Michigan. Yes, he spells his name with one "t." He's obsessed with NBA history, so much so that he's dedicated nearly two years of research to his two mini-series', "Blazing the Trail" and "The Quest for the Best." Right now, Mat goes to law school and writes about the NBA for The Analyst, Forbes, and of course, Basketball Insiders. His work has also been featured in ESPN, SB Nation, FanSided, Basketball News, ONE37pm, and Raptors Republic. Also, he's a lifelong Spartans fan. Go Green!
All posts by Mat IssaUpdated14 Dec 2023
In August, Michael Jordan completed the sale of his majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets to a group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall. With that transaction, there are no longer any black majority owners in the NBA. The only two majority owners of color left now are Joe Tsai (of the Brooklyn Nets) and Vivek Ranadive (Sacramento Kings).
Despite there being no more black majority owners, there are (as the title of this post suggests) a handful of black minority owners.
Former Athletes Turned Owners
For starters, despite no longer being a majority owner of the team, Jordan is still a minority owner of the Hornets. Jordan isn’t the only former hooper turned minority stakeholder. Dwyane Wade (Utah Jazz), David Robinson (San Antonio Spurs), and Grant Hill (Atlanta Hawks) all hold minority stock in NBA teams.
There is also a current black athlete who owns a share of an NBA team. But he doesn’t play basketball. Cleveland Browns two-time All-Pro edge rusher Myles Garrett is a minority owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Other Famous Black Minority Owners
Coincidentally, one of the individuals involved in the group that Jordan sold the Hornets to was none other than the venerable rapper J. Cole. So, Cole is a minority owner of the team.
Another famous artist, the fellow known as Usher, is a minority owner alongside Garrett on the Cavaliers. The multi-faceted Will Smith is a minority owner of the Philadelphia 76ers (for some reason, this was the most surprising name on the list for me). His wife, Jada Pinkett Smith (whom he has a controversial relationship with, to say the least), is also a minority owner of the 76ers.
The other black minority owners include Damian Willis (Hornets), Valerie Daniels-Carter (Milwaukee Bucks), and Sheila Johnson (Washington Wizards). Johnson is the co-founder of the BET network.
