Michael Jordan lost nearly half a billion dollars to the value of NBA side Charlotte Hornets thanks to the Draft lottery picks going against him.
Jordan is the athlete from American sports who has best transcended across the Atlantic to the UK and the rest of Europe, even before the Last Dance docu-series.
It’s barely even being the GOAT of basketball that made the former Chicago Bulls star famous outside of his home country, and it’s just as much about his shoes.
Recent film Air gave everyone an insight into the Nike trainers that carry his name but history could have been a lot different if Adidas had just replied to him.
He earned less than $100 million during his playing career, which is hardly a figure to cry about, but his net worth is now around the $2 billion mark.
He’s used his wealth to become principal owner and chairman of NBA side Charlotte Hornets but his record as an owner isn’t like that of his playing career.
And now his bad luck with the Hornets has continued after they missed on getting the number one pick in the Draft lottery to San Antonio Spurs.
The luckiest team called Spurs in sport managed to sign French star Victor Wembanyama, who has been described by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski as “maybe the greatest prospect in the history of team sports.”
Wojnarowski was told by one NBA executive that the 19-year-old could be worth around $497 million to any franchise’s value just by signing for them.
The boost in value would have in theory seen them go from worth £1.37bn to being worth £1.69 billion and with his stake in the side that hits Jordan massively.
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The six time NBA champion owns 70% of the franchise meaning that not getting the number one draft pick and thus missing out on Wembanyama has cost him personally £338 million.
“Victor Wembanyama is the singular, greatest prospect in NBA draft history,” Wojnarowski said earlier this week, “He is so advanced skill-wise that nobody has ever seen anyone like him.”
On Tuesday he scored 14 points in the fourth quarter for Boulogne-Levallois Metropolitans as they completed a comeback against rivals Paris Basketball.
After that he celebrated with his teammates and got a picture with Kylian Mbappe before heading to Nike’s office in Paris to find out the results of the lottery.
The Hornets were the second last team coming out of the hat, giving them the second pick and leaving the Spurs to sign the teenage sensation.
“My heart’s beating [fast],” Wembanyama said after he found out where he was going. “I’ve got everyone I know, everyone I love around me. It’s a really special moment I’m going to remember the rest of my life.”
