The Charlotte Hornets were not able to make it to the playoffs in the 2021-22 NBA season, but their 43-39 record is the franchise's best in six seasons. That was not enough for James Borrego to hold on to his job as head coach of the Hornets, as he was handed a pink slip shortly after Charlotte lost to the Atlanta Hawks in the play-in phase.

According to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report,

League sources had been whispering about Charlotte chairman Michael Jordan's dissatisfaction with the Hornets' lackluster defense, though it's fair to wonder which bench leader could have had greater success on that end of the floor with such a young unit and a roster that is devoid of a trademark rim protector.

Stats don't lie about how porous the Hornets' defense was in Borrego's final season at the helm. Charlotte finished the regular season ranked 26th in the league in terms of scoring defense, having allowed opponents to average 115.1 points per contest. It was mainly the reason why the Hornets, despite being third with 115.2 points per game were only third with a +0.1 scoring margin average.

Michael Jordan may not have the best resume when it comes to running an NBA team from the front office, but when it comes to defense, his opinion definitely holds water considering how great he was in that area during his playing days.