New York Knicks Take Back No. 1 Spot from Los Angeles Lakers; Kobe Bryant Is NBA’s Highest-Paid Player
New York, NY (January 23, 2013) – Forbes announces its annual valuations of the National Basketball Association’s 30 teams, naming the New York Knicks as the most valuable team worth $1.1 billion (p. 102). The New York Knicks’ value increased 41% over the past year, which allowed them to regain the top spot from the Los Angeles Lakers. According to this year’s valuations the average NBA team value is $509 million, a 30 % gain from last year. The increase is driven by from higher television revenue, new and renovated arenas and the NBA’s new collective bargaining agreement.
The Top 10 Most Valuable Teams in the NBA are:
Rank |
Team |
Owner |
Current |
1-Year |
Debt/Value |
Revenue |
Operating Income |
|
1 |
New York |
Madison Square Garden |
$1,100 |
41% |
0% |
$243 |
$83.2 |
|
2 |
Los Angeles |
Jerry Buss, |
1,000 |
11 |
11 |
197 |
47.8 |
|
3 |
Chicago |
Jerry Reinsdorf |
800 |
33 |
7 |
162 |
34.2 |
|
4 |
Boston |
Wycliffe and |
730 |
51 |
22 |
143 |
18.7 |
|
5 |
Dallas |
Mark Cuban |
685 |
38 |
29 |
137 |
13.0 |
|
6 |
Miami |
Micky Arison |
625 |
37 |
18 |
150 |
14.9 |
|
7 |
Houston |
Leslie Alexander |
568 |
25 |
18 |
135 |
26.6 |
|
8 |
Golden State |
Joe Lacob, |
555 |
23 |
27 |
127 |
29.1 |
|
9 |
Brooklyn |
Mikhail Prokhorov, |
530 |
48 |
53 |
84 |
-16.6 |
|
10 |
San Antonio |
Peter Holt |
$527 |
26% |
9% |
$135 |
$14.7 |
PLUS:
- NBA’s Top-Paid Players (p. 24) – Although last season’s lockout was intended to reduce player salaries, the stars are still raking it in. Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant is the NBA’s top-paid player, with $59.8 million in earnings. Bryant will have earned $280 million for a total career salary when his Lakers contract expires at the end of the 2013-2014 season. Miami Heat’s LeBron James comes in at No. 2 with $57.6 million in earnings. The New York Knicks have two of the top earning players; Carmelo Anthony at No. 6 with $28.4 million in earnings and Amar’e Stoudemire at No. 7 with $27.9 million in earnings.
- Boston Bullish (p. 98) – Money man Wyc Grousbeck and his partners have made a killing owning the Boston Celtics. Grousbeck’s love for the game mixed with his smart business tactics have led the Celtics’ value to increase 51% this year. He signed a new television deal that will double cash flow for the Celtics. Even after recently receiving a ridiculously high offer for the team, selling is not an option for Grousbeck right now.
For more information, visit: www.forbes.com/nba after 12:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, January 23.
Contact: Christina Vega at 212.206.5155 or cvega@forbes.com
