(Reuters) – The New York Knicks are the NBA’s most valuable team for a seventh consecutive year, according to the annual list published by Forbes on Monday.
The Knicks, who have just one playoff series victory since 2000 and last won an NBA title in 1973, are worth $5.8 billion, up 16% from a year ago, according to Forbes https://www.forbes.com.
The Golden State Warriors ($5.6 billion), Los Angeles Lakers ($5.5 billion), Chicago Bulls ($3.6 billion) and Boston Celtics (3.5 billion) rounded out the top five.
It marked the first time since Forbes began tracking the finances of NBA teams in 1998 that three franchises were worth $5 billion each.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic that kept fans from attending games for most of the 2020-21 NBA season, the average team value rose 13% to $2.48 billion due to record sponsorship revenue and high expectations for the league’s next media rights deal.
The reigning NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks were 17th on the list with a value of $1.9 billion, up 17% from last year.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
