{"id":89670,"date":"2025-06-10T19:50:11","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T19:50:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/89670\/"},"modified":"2025-06-10T19:50:11","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T19:50:11","slug":"former-nba-journeyman-defends-michael-jordans-legacy-as-hornets-owner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/89670\/","title":{"rendered":"Former NBA Journeyman Defends Michael Jordans’ Legacy as Hornets Owner"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former NBA Journeyman Defends Michael Jordans’ Legacy as Hornets Owner<\/a> originally appeared on Athlon Sports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In a league where legacies are endlessly debated, one thing remains constant: Michael Jordan\u2019s shadow looms large over everything basketball. But as a team owner, particularly with the Charlotte Hornets, Jordan has taken more heat than praise. Now, one former Hornets player is stepping in to challenge that narrative.<\/p>\n

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Raymond Felton, the former fifth overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft and a North Carolina Tar Heel like Jordan, offered a passionate defense of His Airness during a recent appearance on Podcast P with Paul George. And it wasn\u2019t just a throwaway comment, it was a personal, pointed message for Hornets fans and Jordan\u2019s critics.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people give him dirt about being an owner,\u201d Felton said. \u201cBut a lot of people don\u2019t understand, man, it\u2019s not easy\u2026 sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Felton, who played his first five seasons in Charlotte, recalled moments where Jordan would lace up and trash talk him in practice, still fueled by the same fire that won six championships with the Bulls. But that same intensity didn\u2019t guarantee success from the front office. And Felton believes that\u2019s exactly where public perception fails Jordan.<\/p>\n

Jordan purchased a majority stake in the Charlotte Bobcats (now Hornets) in 2010. At the time of his exit in 2023, the franchise was valued at a stunning $3 billion. Still, on the court, the results were underwhelming: a 467-638 record (.422 win percentage), only three playoff appearances, and zero series wins.<\/p>\n

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That record, Felton admits, doesn\u2019t scream greatness. But the expectations for Jordan have always been, unfairly, otherworldly.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously he ain\u2019t going to live up to being anything else in life outside of being the man who he is in a game of basketball. He\u2019s the GOAT\u2026 so anything he do ain\u2019t going to live up to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Nov<\/p>\n

Nov 29, 1997; Landover, MD, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Michael Jordan (23) in action against the Washington Wizards at the USAirways ArenaPorter Binks-USA TODAY via Imagn Content Services&comma; LLC<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the burden of being the best to ever do it. Every move, every draft pick, every signing, scrutinized under the lens of a flawless playing career. And for Felton, that\u2019s where the public misses the bigger picture: Jordan\u2019s ownership tenure, while imperfect, was a high-risk, high-reward endeavor in a small market, not a reflection of diminished passion or basketball IQ.<\/p>\n

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With Jordan now re-entering the NBA in a new capacity as part of NBC\u2019s coverage next season, a fresh chapter begins. A chapter not defined by team records, but by perspective. And if his voice resonates the way his fadeaway did, fans may finally appreciate his mind as much as they did his game.<\/p>\n

As for Felton? His message is simple.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople always got a lot of negativity to say\u2026 but they don\u2019t understand how hard it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related: Three Trade Suitors Emerge for LaMelo Ball in NBA Draft Rumors<\/a><\/p>\n

Related: Hornets Can’t Rely on LaMelo Ball’s Inconsistency Next Season<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports<\/a> on Jun 10, 2025, where it first appeared.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former NBA Journeyman Defends Michael Jordans’ Legacy as Hornets Owner originally appeared on Athlon Sports. In a league…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":89671,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3777],"tags":[7,920,684,473,3878,685,935,6,19868,526,13797,468],"class_list":{"0":"post-89670","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-charlotte-hornets","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-bulls","10":"tag-charlotte","11":"tag-charlotte-hornets","12":"tag-charlottehornets","13":"tag-hornets","14":"tag-michael-jordan","15":"tag-nba","16":"tag-north-carolina-tar-heel","17":"tag-paul-george","18":"tag-raymond-felton","19":"tag-washington-wizards"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/114660810730958173","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89670","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89670"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89670\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89671"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89670"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89670"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89670"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}