Golden State Warriors’ $9.14bn valuation tops NBA as average team hits $4.6bn

The NBA, where a Big Three combination of players often proves successful on the floor, also has a Big Three in terms of franchise value.

The Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers are by far the league’s most valuable franchises, Sportico announced Wednesday in its annual assessment.

According to the report, the Warriors are worth $9.14 billion, the Knicks are worth $8.3 billion and the Lakers are worth $8.07 billion. Golden State is considered the second most valuable franchise in American sports, behind only the Dallas Cowboys ($10.3 billion).

The ratings include both the owner’s real estate and team-related businesses such as WNBA franchises.

The average NBA team is worth $4.6 billion, up 15% from last year and nearly twice as much as four years ago.

The Warriors, who have an affiliated WNBA expansion team starting next year, saw their value increase 10% from 2023. The Knicks were up 12% and the Lakers were up 10%.

The Brooklyn Nets are fourth on the list with a value of $5.7 billion, a 43% increase from the club’s thirteenth place last year. Billboard named the Nets’ Barclays Center venue the highest-grossing arena in the world as of April.

Rounding out the top 10 are the Los Angeles Clippers ($5.68 billion), the for-sale Boston Celtics ($5.66 billion), the Chicago Bulls ($5.56 billion), the Miami Heat ($5 billion), the Houston Rockets ($4.77 billion) and the Toronto Raptors ($4.66 billion).

Of the top 10 franchises, only the Lakers and Celtics have no control over their locations.

The bottom three on the list are the Minnesota Timberwolves ($3.29 billion), the New Orleans Pelicans ($3.09 billion) and the Memphis Grizzlies ($3.06 billion).

According to Sportico, NBA teams have a higher value-to-revenue ratio than that of any other major American sports league. On that list, the MLS is second, followed by the NFL, the NHL, the WNBA, the NWSL and the MLB.