Most valuable NBA teams of 2016
By John Buhler
Forbes compiled the list of the top 50 most valuable professional sports franchises of 2016. Here are the eight NBA teams that made the top 50 this year.
The NBA continues to grow with many likable star players scattered across all 30 teams. An increase in television exposure internationally has directly led to a salary cap explosion in summer 2016, as many NBA franchises are now valued at over $1 billion.
Forbes released its top 50 most valuable professional sports franchises in 2016 and eight NBA teams cracked the top 50. Some come as no surprise, but a few poorly run organizations were able to make the top 50 thanks to their access to major media markets.
The NBA’s most valuable franchise is the New York Knicks, who were No. 7 on Forbes’ list and valued at $3 billion. Playing in the Big Apple and having the iconic Madison Square Garden helped make the Knicks the most valuable possession in the NBA.
The Chicago Bulls rolled in at No. 18 at $2.3 billion. Having the NBA’s greatest player star for the franchise for years always makes the Bulls one of the leaders in merchandise sales.
In the Year of Kobe Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers were No. 10 on the list at a value of $2.7 billion, as jersey sales, playing in the second biggest media market, and the farewell tour of the team’s star shooting guard helped Los Angeles into the top 10.
The Boston Celtics, the Los Angeles Clippers,and the Golden State Warriors were all in the top 30 at 22, 24, and 29, respectively. Boston is in a unique situation where the Celtics don’t pay rent on the TD Garden and having a diehard fan base doesn’t hurt a team that didn’t have a star player.
Los Angeles exploded in value after the sale of the team from Donald Sterling to Steve Ballmer. Entering year three of Ballmer’s ownership, Los Angeles should exceed the $2 billion price he paid for the club in 2014.
Golden State crushes the opposition in jersey sales, as the team has four of the NBA’s best 15 players in two-time NBA MVP point guard Stephen Curry, shooting guard Klay Thompson, power forward Draymond Green and its most recent acquisition, four-time scoring champion Kevin Durant.
The two other teams to crack the top 50 in the NBA were the Brooklyn Nets (No. 34) and the Houston Rockets (No. 47). Russian billionaire owner of the Nets Mikhail Prokhorov was able to buy an even larger stake of the team from a minority owner and continues to benefit from having his team in a major media market and a state-of-the-art facility in the Barclays Center.
Houston is in the fourth biggest media market in the country. The organization is well-run behind owner Leslie Alexander and general manager Daryl Morey. Having a rabid fan base and a huge international reach thanks to former star center Yao Ming continues to make the Rockets an immensely valued NBA franchise.
Will more than these eight teams crack the top 50 next year? Potentially, as the NBA continues to experience rapid growth in viewership domestically and internationally. The biggest question is if a medium-to-smaller market will be able to crack the top 50 at some point? We’ll see.
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