Bank Shot: NBA Teams Valued At $160B, Led By Golden State Warriors ($11B)
Friday, October 24, 2025 at 03:16PM By Barry Janoff
October 24, 2025: The NBA returned to play this week for the 2025-26 season, bringing with it 30 teams that are collectively scoring the highest franchise values in league history.
The NBA’s teams are valued at a record $5.4 billion on average and $160 billion collectively, up 21% last season.
The financial marks are being driven in large part by the recent sale of the Boston Celtics and the in-progress sale of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Also driving NBA team values are the new 11-year media rights deals, signed in July 2024 and beginning this season, with Disney’s ESPN and ABC, NBCUniversal’s NBC and Amazon’s Prime Video, valued at $77 billion.
However, the pace-setter in the NBA is not for sale.
The Golden State Warriors, majority owned by Joe Lacob and Peter Guber, lead the league with a value of $11 billion — a financial first for the NBA — and $880 million in revenue, where the league average is $417 million, according to a new report from Forbes.
Only the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys are more valuable among sports franchises worldwide at $12.6 billion, and also had more revenue among North American teams, S1.2 billion in 2024, also via Forbes.
Although they lag behind in value, the Warriors WNBA siblings Golden State Valkyries, which begin play this past season, are the league’s most valuable franchise at $500 million, according to Sportico. They also play in the Chase Center and are majority owned by Joe Lacob and Peter Guber,
The NBA’s Top Five most valuable franchises also include the Lakers ($10 billion), New York Knicks ($9.75 billion), Los Angeles Clippers ($7.5 billion) and Celtics ($6.7 billion).
The Celtics were sold to a group led by private equity mogul Bill Chisholm for $6.1 billion, with the sale being finalized and approved by the NBA this past August.
According to ESPN, businessman Mark Walter is scheduled to present his bid to acquire the Los Angeles Lakers to the NBA's Advisory Finance Committee (today) and could be approved as the franchise's new majority owner by the end of the month.
The committee will review Walter's bid at a $10 billion valuation to buy a controlling share of the franchise from the Buss family and then make a recommendation to the Board of Governors, which could vote on whether to approve Walter as soon as the end of next week.
He is the controlling owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Walter also owns the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks, the Billie Jean King Cup, the new Cadillac Formula 1 team and the Professional Women's Hockey League. He is a part owner of Chelsea FC of the English Premier League. (Full story here.)
The Clippers began play in the Intuit Dome in 2024 after spending 25 years alongside the Lakers in what is now Crypto.com Arena. According to Forbes, “With the improved sponsorship and premium seating offerings, the move boosted the club’s revenue 61% year-over-year, and sent the Clippers’ valuation soaring 36% to $7.5 billion.”
Forbes said revenue and operating income (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) are estimated for the 2024-25 regular season and are net of revenue sharing and arena debt service. Playoff revenue is excluded.
Team values are enterprise values (equity plus net debt) and include the economics of the team’s arena (including non-NBA revenue that accrues to the team’s owner) but not the value of the arena real estate itself.
Team values also exclude other related businesses with separate financial statements, such as ancillary real estate developments or team-owned regional sports networks.
Forbes Top Ten Most Valuable NBA Teams in 2025:
1. Golden State Warriors: $11 billion
2. Los Angeles Lakers: $10 billion
3. New York Knicks: $9.75 billion
4. Los Angeles Clippers: $7.5 billion
5. Boston Celtics: $6.7 billion
6. Chicago Bulls: $6 billion
7. Houston Rockets: $5.9 billion
8. Miami Heat: $5.7 billion
9. Brooklyn Nets: $5.6 billion
10. Philadelphia 76ers: $5.45 billion
11. Phoenix Suns $5.425 billion
12. Toronto Raptors $5.4 billion
13. Dallas Mavericks $5.1 billion
14. Atlanta Hawks $5 billion
15. Cleveland Cavalier $4.8 billion
16. Washington Wizards $4.7 billion
17. Denver Nuggets $4.6 billion
18. Sacramento Kings $4.45 billion
19. San Antonio Spurs $.4 billion
20. Oklahoma City Thunder $4.35 billion
21. Milwaukee Bucks $4.3 billion
22. Portland Trail Blazers $4.25 billion
23. Indiana Pacers $4.2 billion
24. Utah Jazz $4.1 billion
25. Orlando Magic $3.9 billion
26. Charlotte Hornets $3.8 billion
27. Detroit Pistons $3.65 billion
28. Minnesota Timberwolves $3.6 billion
29. New Orleans Pelicans $3.55 billion
30. Memphis Grizzlies $3.5 billion
Source: Forbes
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