Analysis: Warriors at forefront as average NBA team worth reaches $4.6B

The National Basketball Association, where a trio of players often proves successful on the court, also has a top three in terms of franchise value.

According to Sportico's annual assessment released on Wednesday, the Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks, and Los Angeles Lakers are the league's most valuable franchises by a significant margin.

The Warriors are valued at $9.14 billion, the Knicks at $8.3 billion, and the Lakers at $8.07 billion. In fact, the Warriors are considered the second most valuable franchise in all of U.S. sports, trailing only the Dallas Cowboys who are worth $10.3 billion.

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These valuations take into account not only the team itself, but also the real estate owned by the franchise and any related businesses, such as WNBA teams.

On average, an NBA team is worth $4.6 billion, which is a 15 percent increase from last year and nearly double the value from just four years ago.

The Warriors, who will have a WNBA expansion team starting next year, saw a 10 percent increase in their value from 2023. The Knicks had a 12 percent rise, and the Lakers saw a 10 percent hike.

The Brooklyn Nets come in fourth on the list with a value of $5.7 billion, a significant 43 percent increase from their 13th place ranking last year. Billboard has even named the Nets' Barclays Center venue as the highest-grossing arena in the world as of April.

Rounding out the top 10 are the Los Angeles Clippers ($5.68 billion), the Boston Celtics who are currently for sale ($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).

Interestingly, only the Lakers and Celtics do not have ownership of their own venues among the top 10 franchises.

On the other end of the spectrum, the bottom three teams on the list are the Minnesota Timberwolves ($3.29 billion), the New Orleans Pelicans ($3.09 billion), and the Memphis Grizzlies ($3.06 billion).

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According to Sportico, NBA teams have a higher value-to-revenue ratio than any other major U.S. sports league. Following the NBA, MLS comes in second, followed by the NFL, NHL, WNBA, NWSL, and MLB.