Warriors, Knicks, Lakers, Bulls and Celtics Headline NBA Valuation Rankings for 2022
The Golden State Warriors were once an NBA laughingstock.
Now they're the class of the league.
Sportico released its NBA franchise valuations Tuesday, and the Warriors are by far the most valuable team at $7.56 billion. That marks a 25 percent increase from 2021 and puts them nearly $1 billion ahead of the New York Knicks.
- Golden State Warriors ($7.56 billion)
- New York Knicks ($6.58 billion)
- Los Angeles Lakers ($6.44 billion)
- Chicago Bulls ($4.09 billion)
- Boston Celtics ($3.92 billion)
- Brooklyn Nets ($3.86 billion)
- Los Angeles Clippers ($3.73 billion)
- Toronto Raptors ($3.34 billion)
- Houston Rockets ($3.3 billion)
- Dallas Mavericks ($3.26 billion)
This is the first time the Knicks have fallen to the second spot in the team valuation rankings. Despite having not won a championship in nearly 50 years and being mismanaged by governor James Dolan, the Knicks remain consistently relevant thanks to their prime New York City location and the aura of Madison Square Garden.
The Warriors' ascent to the top spot is a testament to a strong ownership group and a generational superstar.
Joe Lacob's group of investors bought the Warriors 12 years ago for $450 million. The franchise was largely ignored on the national scale and had made the playoffs just once since 1994.
A few strokes of drafting genius from the front office, highlighted by the arrival of Stephen Curry, combined with the bustling Bay Area tech community turned the Warriors into an NBA juggernaut. The Warriors are worth about 17 times what Lacob paid for them, and he could likely get even more on the open market if the franchise came up for sale.
Franchise valuations across sports have long undersold their actual sale price, as the combination of safety of investment and scarcity drives up bidding.
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