NBA franchises jump in value as two top $10bn
NBA franchises have increased in value by 20 per cent to an average $5.51bn, according to the Sportico 2025 NBA Valuation Report.
The data shows the continued growth in the North American league, a league where the lowest-valued team – the Memphis Grizzlies – are worth a colossal $4bn.
But the Golden State Warriors have managed to top the rankings for a fifth year in succession, with the San Francisco franchise valued at north of $11bn.
Their $11.33bn valuation puts them behind only NFL side the Dallas Cowboys $12.8bn in the global valuation rankings.
A deal by Premier League club Chelsea’s co-owner Mark Walter to purchase the LA Lakers valued the Californian franchise at $10bn, while the New York Knicks are in third.
NBA valuations
Valuations of $10bn and above place the Lakers and Golden State Warriors in an ultra-value club with NFL trio the Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Rams, and New York Giants.
The Los Angeles Clippers and Boston Celtics are worth either side of $6.5bn with the former completing their first season in the super Intuit Dome and the latter seeing a bid backed by private equity giants Sixth Street.
Sportico issues valuations for all major North American leagues, and states that the “average NBA team revenue for the 2024–25 season reached $408 million, driven in part by non-NBA events at team-operated venues”.
Their valuation pack values the average US NFL franchise at $7.13bn, while NBA teams average $5.51bn, MLB $2.82bn and NHL $2.1bn.
The NBA returned to China in 2025, staging pre-season matches in a nation that booted them out in 2019 after a row over Hong Kong.
The Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns played a pair of pre-season matches in Macau, while NBA officials are looking at advanced plans to form an NBA Europe competition this side of the pond to maximise on interest within the sport.