The Knicks have been one of the NBA’s most dysfunctional teams this season. On the court, the team has gone just 23-33, with $72MM man Joakim Noah failing to make a significant impact, and Jeff Hornacek and Phil Jackson not always on the same page when it came to the use of the triangle. Off the court, things have been even worse, with Jackson criticizing star forward Carmelo Anthony, and owner James Dolan at odds with former Knicks star Charles Oakley.
On the west coast, the Lakers haven’t been much better, racking up a 19-38 record, good for the No. 14 seed in the West. The team hasn’t made as many off-court headlines, but the structure of the front office is currently up in the air, with new advisor Magic Johnson publicly declaring that he wants to be the one calling the shots on roster decisions.
Despite the problems in New York and Los Angeles, the Knicks and Lakers remain the NBA’s two most valuable franchises, according to a report from Kurt Badenhausen of Forbes. The Knicks and Lakers are the only teams valued at more than $3 billion by Forbes.
Team valuations are up around the league, with the Warriors leading the way among this year’s increases — according to Forbes, the Dubs are 37% more valuable that they were at this time in 2016. In total, 18 teams have a valuation exceeding $1 billion, which is up from 13 teams last year and just three teams in 2015. The average NBA franchise is now worth $1.36 billion, according to the report.
Here’s the full list of NBA franchise valuations, per Forbes:
- New York Knicks: $3.3 billion
- Los Angeles Lakers: $3 billion
- Golden State Warriors: $2.6 billion
- Chicago Bulls: $2.5 billion
- Boston Celtics: $2.2 billion
- Los Angeles Clippers; $2 billion
- Brooklyn Nets: $1.8 billion
- Houston Rockets: $1.65 billion
- Dallas Mavericks: $1.45 billion
- Miami Heat: $1.35 billion
- Cleveland Cavaliers: $1.2 billion
- San Antonio Spurs: $1.175 billion
- Toronto Raptors: $1.125 billion
- Phoenix Suns: $1.1 billion
- Sacramento Kings: $1.075 billion
- Portland Trail Blazers: $1.05 billion
- Oklahoma City Thunder: $1.025 billion
- Washington Wizards: $1 billion
- Orlando Magic: $920MM
- Utah Jazz: $910MM
- Detroit Pistons: $900MM
- Denver Nuggets: $890MM
- Atlanta Hawks: $885MM
- Indiana Pacers: $880MM
- Philadelphia 76ers: $800MM
- Memphis Grizzlies: $790MM
- Milwaukee Bucks: $785MM
- Charlotte Hornets: $780MM
- Minnesota Timberwolves: $770MM
- New Orleans Pelicans: $750MM
For comparison’s sake, Forbes’ 2016 valuations can be found right here.
Hey Dolan: Now’s a good time to sell. Look at the value! You could sell high!
-the Knicks fan base.
How much did Dolan buy the team for
Nothing his father gave him the team
how the hell are the Knicks worth more than used tolet paper
i highly doubt the Sixers are worth only 800million.
They should be a lot higher they play in the 5th largest market
Nobody watches the Sixers.
I watch the sixers
TV ratings and sales revenue suggest otherwise.
How can Sacramento be worth more than OKC? They’re both relatively small markets, but OKC has much more national attention. Each team has a star, and the Thunder have had recent deep playoff runs. I can’t imagine Durant leaving caused their value to drop by a huge amount, but probably a little.
Ever since the sonics became the thunder I have wondered what franchise could move to seattle without causing the same rift. Every team has a fanbase but some seem more integral to the nba than others (ie celtics lakers 76ers knicks to name a few). As a NBA fan I think the clippers/Nets becoming the sonics would be ok since those cities already have another team. But with the Timberwolves being so far down on this list and not really having a large market as well a lack of a successful history or strong fanbase they might be an option too. Of course technically any team can be the answer or the sonics might never come back only time will tell
Based on the comments, there seems to be confusion. Fiscal value has little to do with the current on court product, except in the case of the warriors. The Lakers and Knicks are valuable because of 1, large market. 2, crazy tv deal. 3,Average attendance (not current year but multiple years) 4, assets.
Now these things can be effected by having a good team, but no matter how many championships lebron is given by the league, the cavs will always be middle of the pack in value.
Someone’s a little salty