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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — American basketball legend Michael Jordan is learning how to win without scoring a basket. His Charlotte Hornets are winning and enter the season with high expectations. Jordan appears to be finally changing the losing culture around his franchise.
Looking relaxed, the six-time NBA champion smiled on Tuesday as he talked about how gratifying winning a seventh would be — as if he knows something the rest of the NBA doesn’t.

Jordan said helping the Hornets win their first NBA title as an owner is something that drives him in his post-playing career.

The Hall of Famer said it would be more rewarding because it’s tougher being an owner than it is being a player.

“I can impact the game in shorts and tennis shoes,” Jordan said at a Press conference at the team’s downtown arena.

“When I had those on it was easy to prove people wrong. It’s hard to do that now when I have a suit on. I have to rely upon other people understanding my message and my focus.”

But he can take some satisfaction knowing he has the Hornets heading in the right direction.

Charlotte is coming off a 43-39 season and Jordan hopes that with Lance Stephenson joining Al Jefferson and Kemba Walker, the building blocks are in place for his small-market team to make a run at the title.

Jordan took over as the Hornets primary owner in 2010 and made a commitment shortly thereafter to “strip things down.”

For him, that meant breaking up a playoff team he felt was decent, but not good enough to win a championship.

So Charlotte jettisoned players like Gerald Wallace and Stephen Jackson and began the process of rebuilding.

It meant suffering through a 7-59 season, the worst in NBA franchise history.

“That is tough for a competitor like me,” Jordan said.

“But it left me even more determined to turn things around.”

Things seem to be headed in that direction — with Jordan often helplessly sitting courtside in a suit.

Mark Price, who played 12 seasons in the NBA, said he can relate to how hard it is for Jordan not to be able to throw on a No. 23 jersey and take the floor.

“Mike wouldn’t have achieved what he achieved in his life if he hadn’t been a super competitive person,” said Price, now an assistant coach for the Hornets.

“You don’t lose that. So he’s trying to have an impact as an owner.”

Trying to find how to do that has led to criticism of Jordan — that his hands-on involvement has resulted in poor personnel decisions and losing records. — AFP.