Report: Warriors are the highest-valued franchise in the NBA

Yet again, Sportico have announced their annual assessment and placed the Warriors as the most valuable franchise in the NBA. The Golden State club is then followed closely by the Knicks in second place, and then the Lakers in third, who all lead the top of the list by a wide margin. 

According to their study, the San Francisco organization are worth $9.14 billion, while New York is set at $8.3 billion and Los Angeles are $8.07 billion. Their report states that the Warriors are also considered the second-most valuable franchise in U.S. sports, only trailing behind the Dallas Cowboys, who are worthy $10.3 billion.

According to Sportico, their analysis also include ownership’s real estate and team-related businesses such as WNBA franchises. The average NBA club is worth $4.6 billion, which is a 15% rise compared to last season, and almost twice the worth from four years ago. This comes as a surprise, considering how tv ratings have decreased.

BREAKING: @warriors crack $9B, lead 2024 @NBA Team Valuations as every team is now worth more than $3 billion.

The latest from @kbadenhausen, read the full story ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/LlMWEEFNW7

— Sportico (@Sportico) December 18, 2024

Out of the top three teams, the Knicks had the biggest jump in value since 2023, with a 12% rise. As for the Lakers and Warriors, who are set to have an affiliated WNBA expansion team in 2025, both saw a 10% increase in value.

However, the organization with the most important raise were the Nets, who are fourth on this prestigious list with a $5.7 billion value. Their rise in comparison to last year was of 43%, when they ranked 13th. Also, Billboard magazine cited Brooklyn’s Barclays Center as the world’s highest-grossing arena since April.

The rest of the top 10 clubs are completed by the LA Clippers ($5.68 billion), the reigning champs Boston Celtics ($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). From the top-tier teams, only the Lakers and Celtics don’t control their own venues.

At the bottom of this analysis are the Minnesota Timberwolves ($3.29 billion), the New Orleans Pelicans ($3.09 billion) and the Memphis Grizzlies ($3.06 billion).

The Sportico assessment also explains how NBA organizations have a higher value-to-revenue ratio than those of any other major U.S. sports league, meaning that basketball continues to grow as a brand despite its’ popularity downfall. Coming close second is the MLS, then followed by the NFL, the NHL, the WNBA, the NWSL and MLB.