It’s a good time to be an NBA owner.
Franchise values have skyrocketed in recent years, with billion-dollar sales now the norm.
What franchise is the most valuable, though? And what goes into determining how much each team is worth?
CNBC senior sports reporter Michael Ozanian broke it all down.
What is the most valuable NBA franchise?
The five most valuable NBA franchises, according to Ozanian, are as follows:
- Golden State Warriors, $9.4 billion
- New York Knicks, $7.5 billion
- Los Angeles Lakers, $7 billion
- Chicago Bulls, $5.8 billion
- Houston Rockets, $5.7 billion
These five teams have had varying degrees of success on the court in recent years, but they are all thriving financially. The keys are market size, stadium deals and local TV partnerships — which the Warriors have done best under Joe Lacob and Peter Guber.
“They’ve done an incredibly great job of maximizing the revenues from their new arena (Chase Center),” Ozanian said. “And the timing was great for the Warriors, too. They moved in at a time when they were becoming a champion. They had arguably one of the top players in all of the NBA with Steph Curry. So, they’ve been able to sell things like season tickets, sponsorships at the arena, naming rights to the arena.”
Not only that, but the Warriors have done unique things to continue increasing their value in recent year.
“They were able to sell those sponsorships and season tickets in multi-year agreements, so that over the next five years, the bulk of their arena revenue is guaranteed,” Ozanian explained. “So, even as they’ve stumbled like last year, not making the playoffs, you didn’t see their season ticket holders flee. Even if they wanted to, they really couldn’t.
“Another smart move they did was they sold personal seat licenses to season ticket holders. In other words, you had to buy the right to buy your season tickets. Now, if you’re going to invest a lot of money in a personal seat license, you’re less likely to just give up on those season tickets after a bad year or two because you invested a lot of money in the right to buy the tickets. So, the Warriors, as a result of all this, get nearly $200 million more than any other NBA team in local revenue. In other words, revenue that is not evenly distributed among the league’s 30 teams.”
While the financials off the court matter in they valuations, Ozanian does factor in on-court success in these metrics. That’s why the Lakers’ trade for Luka Doncic could make one of the NBA’s glamor teams even more valuable.
“Star power impacts valuations because it drives fans,” Ozanian said. “And what you want and the reason why you bring stars to your team is you want to win a championship. You want to at least be a contender.
“Winning teams generally, not always, tend to drive more fans, get higher ticket prices. They’re able to get more sponsorship revenue. They’re able to get higher prices for their luxury suites. So, in subsequent years for a trade like we’re talking about with the Dallas Mavericks, if you’re LA, you’re really hoping that this is going to drive the Lakers to a championship.
“It’s very important for the Lakers, too, because they’re playing in Crypto.com Arena — which the Lakers … do not control the arena’s economics. That building is owned by Phil Anschutz. He controls the economics. That makes ticket revenue to Lakers games very, very important in terms of the overall Lakers revenue. So if he’s successful there, that will help the Lakers a lot.”
What is the least valuable NBA franchise?
The five least valuable NBA franchises, according to Ozanian, are as follows:
- Memphis Grizzlies, $3.2 billion
- Minnesota Timberwolves, $3.25 billion
- New Orleans Pelicans, $3.3 billion
- Charlotte Hornets, $3.35 billion
- Indiana Pacers, $3.4 billion
These five teams are based in smaller markets, but it’s interesting to note that some of them have been successful on the court recently.
The Grizzlies have made the playoffs in three of the last four years, while the Timberwolves and Pacers both advanced to the conference finals last season. Memphis and Minnesota also have two of the NBA’s most popular young stars in Ja Morant and Anthony Edwards, respectively.
The Hornets were the last of these teams to be sold, with Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin purchasing the majority stake from Michael Jordan for a valuation of $3 billion in 2023. The Timberwolves’ sale is ongoing as Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez attempt to gain control from Glen Taylor in what’s become a messy transaction.
How exactly did Ozanian and CNBC determine that these teams were the least valuable, though?
“Sports teams are valued based on multiples of revenue,” Ozanian said. “So, for example, NBA teams are typically (worth) somewhere between 10 to 13 times (of their) revenue. Other leagues are valued on different multiples of revenue. The NFL is somewhat comparable to the NBA. Major League Baseball and the NHL are at lower multiples to the NBA and the NFL.
“The reason why you look at revenue multiples, instead of say multiples of earnings, is because it’s depending on how much you pay players. You could have a huge for instance up front or bonus payment for a player in a particular, it could really sway what your bottom line is.
“So, at CNBC, we go back and we look at historical transactions. We spend a lot of time getting the details of, when teams are sold, what was the team’s revenue? What was the enterprise value that it was sold for? And then what was the ratio of enterprise price value to revenue. And then we try to look at the specifics of those deals, what market was the team in, what were the arena economics and then we apply that to our valuations going forward.”
What was the most expensive NBA franchise sale?
The Phoenix Suns were sold for $4 billion in December 2022 to Mat Isbia and Justin Ishbia. That was the most expensive franchise sale in league history, but it’s a record that could soon be broken.
The Boston Celtics are on the market after owner Wyc Grousbeck announced last summer his intention to sell his majority stake in the reigning NBA champions. For multiple reasons, Ozanian believes the Celtics — who ranked seventh on his list at a $5.5 billion valuation — will draw a lot of interest.
“The Boston Celtics are a great brand,” he explained. “They’ve won more NBA championships than any other team. They do great when it comes to ticket revenue. They also have a very good local TV deal. They own 20% of the regional sports network that broadcasts their game (NBC Sports Boston).
“The challenge for the Celtics is that they do not control their arena’s economics. The building is owned by the owner of the Boston Bruins. That means that the Celtics don’t get any money from non-NBA events like concerts — that all goes to the owner of the Bruins. They don’t do a great business when it comes to luxury suites or hospitality because, again, those economics are controlled by the Boston Bruins.
“They had a great season last year, winning the NBA championship. They generated over $100 million in revenue just from the postseason. So what you’re looking at at a $5.5 billion valuation, really, is a number that you’re affixing to a great team, a great brand, but one that really isn’t in the top three or four in terms of the economics of the NBA.”
Even though the Celtics aren’t quite at the top of Ozanian’s list, he foresees a potential bidding war depending on who the interested parties are. But that could all change if the Celtics’ minority owner swoops in and takes control.
“Well, it’s going to be very interesting to see what the Celtics are sold for,” he said. “Reports in the media going back several months were saying the bidding was going to be hot. There were going to be at least four or five bidders.
“… The press had also been mentioning that the team could sell for $6 billion. The sports bankers that I’ve spoken to when I put together this list of NBA valuations all say that Celtics are worth $4.5 to maybe in the low $5 billion. I’m giving them a few hundred million dollars more because they’re such a great brand, but we’ll see where it ends up. We don’t know, something is only worth what somebody is willing to pay.
“I suspect at this point in time, the favorite to buy the team is Steve Pagliuca, who already owns a little over 20% of the team. If that’s the case, Pagliuca has sort of an easier road to buying the team because he would only have to buy out the Grousbeck family, which owns a little less than 30%. If another individual or group were to come in besides Pagliuca, they would not only have to buy out the Grousbecks, but most likely Pagliuca because he has what are known as tag-along rights, meaning he has the right to sell his stake in the team should the Grousbecks sell their stake.”
Full list of NBA franchise values 2025
See CNBC’s full list of NBA franchise values from Nos. 1 to 30 below.
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