NBA legend and Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan played a huge role in saving the 2020 playoffs, as the six-time champion advised Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook on how the postseason can continue while also making real change for African Americans in the wake of the Jacob Blake shooting.
While speaking to the Houston Rockets media on Friday, Westbrook talked about Jordan's impact on the meeting, via Michael Shapiro of Sports Illustrated:
“Well [Jordan] has always been huge in trying to give back not just to communities, but African-American communities,” Westbrook told the media in a Zoom call on Friday. “During the meeting between myself and players and owners, he was huge. He was huge in making sure that whatever we want to do together, we get it done.”
“We’ve had previous conversations with ownership and players and some of the things that we wanted we weren’t able to get done. But MJ was adamant about making sure that we get things done and get them done the right way.”




Michael Jordan reached out to Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook to get a better understanding of what the players hoped to achieve going forward after Jacob Blake was shot seven times.
Some players wanted to leave Disney World since they didn't feel comfortable playing anymore after another Black man got shot. Other players, meanwhile, wanted to continue to play and bring more attention to the racial issues in America since they have such a large platform at Disney World.
Jordan is always going to be the go-to guy when it comes to getting players and owners on the same page. All the current stars of the league looked up to Jordan, so they take his words very seriously and don't really look at him as a traditional “owner.”