It’s safe to say the NBA is turning profit
For the first time in history, every NBA team is worth more than $1 Billion. This month, FORBES revealed their annual most valuable franchise list, which revenue for the entire league was up 22% from last year. The company is taking into consideration its international growth, as many investors believe the NBA could upstart international teams (hence the 16-team playoff format).
Unlike the NFL, which is struggling to gain growth outside of the states, the NBA isn’t taking China’s consumption of the product light; which could be the first expansion.
Take a look at the top 10 most valuable teams of 2018 below.
| Rank |
Team |
Owner(s) |
Current Value ($bil) | 1-Year Value Change (%) | Revenue ($mil) | Operating Income ($mil) |
| 1 | New York Knicks | Madison Square Garden Company | $3.6 | 9% | $426 | $140 |
| 2 | Los Angeles Lakers | Jerry Buss Family Trusts, Philip Anschutz | 3.3 | 10 | 371 | 136 |
| 3 | Golden State Warriors | Joe Lacob, Peter Guber | 3.1 | 19 | 359 | 120 |
| 4 | Chicago Bulls | Jerry Reinsdorf | 2.6 | 4 | 281 | 95 |
| 5 | Boston Celtics | Wycliffe & Irving Grousbeck, Robert Epstein, Stephen Pagliuca | 2.5 | 14 | 257 | 85 |
| 6 | Brooklyn Nets | Mikhail Prokhorov | 2.3 | 28 | 273 | 52 |
| 7 | Houston Rockets | Tilman Fertitta | 2.2 | 33 | 296 | 95 |
| 8 | Los Angeles Clippers | Steve Ballmer | 2.15 | 7 | 257 | 35 |
| 9 | Dallas Mavericks | Mark Cuban | 1.9 | 31 | 233 | 21 |
| 10 | Miami Heat | Micky Arison | 1.7 | 26 | 253 | 63 |
| League Average: | $1.65 | 22% | $246 | $52 | ||