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：想要扭转球队的亏损局面
The NBA's Board of Governors：NBA理事会
majority owner：大老板  minority investor: 小投资人
the final say: 最终发言权
assume about $150 million in debt in the deal：在项交易中，乔丹需要为球队承担大约1亿5000万美元的债务。
Chicago Bull:芝加哥公牛队         Wizards:奇才队
our attendance, television ratings, corporate support and on-court performance are headed in the right direction：我们的球场票房，电视收视率，球队辅助工作以及球队的场上表现均朝着好的方向发展和改善着。

相关中文报道：

NBA理事会在北京时间3月18日凌晨宣布，乔丹投资收购山猫大部分控股的交易正式通过，乔丹将成为山猫的大股东。

联盟总裁大卫-斯特恩在正式通过收购案后表明，很欣慰能够看到这桩涉及2亿7500万美元的收购能够如此顺利和迅速地完成，“我们很高兴乔丹通过收购山猫的大部分股权的行为得到了NBA理事会的同意，能够进行的如此的迅速和顺利。”斯特恩说，“我们期待山猫队能够在乔老板的带领下茁壮成长，无论是球场内还是球场外。”

目前，乔丹是以个人投资者的身份成为大股东，但是他一直希望寻找一名当地的合作伙伴。乔丹在收购中接过了球队原有的超过1亿5000万的债务，将弥补球队未来的损耗以及努力实现盈利。据了解，本年度山猫队的财政亏损达到了3000万。

47岁的乔丹自从2006年就成为了山猫的小老板之一，并一直有意成为球队的大老板，山猫的收购案在十个月前就开始酝酿，在近一个月才最终敲定。而当时作为山猫的小老板，乔丹拥有山猫的优先售股权。而他的朋友们也都纷纷表示，认为乔丹能够在这个新的角色取得成功。这桩交易在2月底基本成型，并与原有股份持有者鲍勃-约翰逊在2月底就股权转让达成了一致。3月13日，大卫-斯特恩发表声明表示，乔丹的收购案已经提交董事会，将在一周内进行公布。而今天，在董事会正式投票决议通过乔丹的收购案。

乔丹也凭借此举成为了联盟历史上首位职业球员出身的球队大股东以及NBA第二位黑人大老板，也将是NBA现存的唯一一名黑人大老板，另一位名人堂成员“魔术师”约翰逊也操有湖人队的小部分股权，只不过湖人队的大部分控股操控在巴斯家族的手中。而山猫队的前任老板约翰逊在04年成功组建山猫队之后，也成为了NBA历史上首位黑人大老板，但由于他的股权已经易主到乔丹手上，因此乔丹也取代之成为现存的唯一一名黑人大老板。

最近他频繁亮相在山猫队的比赛和训练当中，使得山猫队的人气急升。山猫队是于04-05赛季建队正式进入联盟的，球队的第一任老板鲍勃-约翰逊为建队共投入了3亿美元，但由于连年亏损，约翰逊最终决定出售球队。

乔丹被认为是篮球史上最伟大的运动员，也是全球所熟悉的NBA球员。在他为公牛和奇才队效力的15个赛季里，共获得过6次总冠军，5次当选 NBA最有价值球员，13次入选NBA全明星队，2次获得奥运会金牌。他职业生涯共收获32292分，在NBA史上排名第三位,可他场均30.12分是 NBA史上的最高纪录。

但很多人质疑乔丹能否当好球队老板，此前山猫队从来未曾进入过季后赛，但他们的成绩逐年有所提高，继上赛季打出43.7%的胜率后，目前山猫正以34胜32负，51.5%的战绩列在东部第六的位置，如果山猫队能够在常规赛余下时间能够保持近来7战6胜的强势，那么本赛季，这支球队将极有可能在乔丹的带领下创造队史纪录地打出50%以上的胜率并最终闯入季后赛。
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