How Does The Value Of The Timberwolves Compare In The NBA?
We all know that professional sports generate big profits. Honestly, most of us can’t really comprehend the kind of money that swirls around these teams. We hear the number but genuinely understanding the amount is really hard for us common folk to do.
This week, the Los Angeles Lakers sold reportedly for ten billion dollars. Of course, the Lakers are a legacy team in the NBA sharing the most titles with Boston. Prior to the sale of the Lakers, Boston sold for six billion dollars. I don’t think any of the folks buying these teams are searching the floorboards of their cars, or under the couch cushions looking for change like most of us have done at some point in our lives.
The price tag of the Lakers is in part to the past successes of those previous teams, but it also has to do with where they are located. The glitz and glam of L.A. and Hollywood stars sitting courtside; I’d say they probably have the biggest celebrity following of NBA teams. I know we have Josh Duhamel here in Minnesota, but being a Lakers fan, or should I say being seen at a Lakers game, seems to be part of the gig in Hollywood.
The New York Knicks are close on the heels of the Lakers for a celebrity fanbase.
Most of us know that the Lakers were not originally placed in LA, but rather here in Minnesota. The team started in Minneapolis in 1947 and moved west in 1960.
The sale of the Lakers got me thinking if they’re worth ten billion, what are the Timberwolves worth? Again, understanding the Wolves don’t have the history or the geographic location that the Lakers do.
In February of this year, CNBC released their valuation of all NBA teams. They placed the Minnesota Timberwolves at 29th out of 30 teams with a valuation of 3.25 billion. The only team with a lower valuation according to the CNBC story was the Memphis Grizzlies.
The teams above Minnesota are New Orleans, who hasn’t been a legit threat in a while- if ever, at 3.3 billion dollars, and the hapless Charlotte Hornets who somehow have a value of 3.35 billion.
The funny thing is, CNBC estimated the Lakers to be worth seven billion, and the Golden State Warriors had the highest value at just under ten billion, I guess somebody knows something CNBC doesn’t.
Oh, by the way, the two teams that will square off in Game 7 on Sunday for the NBA Championship are 24th and 26th respectively in the rankings. Oklahoma City is 24th with a value of 3.5 billion and Indiana is 26th at 3.4 billion.
But I guess paying more for a brand like the L.A. Lakers gives you an opportunity for a return on that investment that most teams don’t offer.
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