The Knicks may be a mess on the court, but they are still a cash cow where it counts the most.
for the second straight year, the New York Knicks are the NBA’s most valuable franchise, according to the annual league list that was published by Forbes on Wednesday.
The Knicks are worth a whopping $1.4 billion and have increased venue after the renovation of Madison Square Garden, which led to an all-time record profit of $96 million last season.
The Los Angeles Lakers finished second with a valuation of $1.35 billion. If you really need to know why the Lakers have no problem paying Kobe Bryant what he wants, just look at the numbers. L.A. made $66 million last year despite having a league-high payroll and a luxury-tax bill of $29.3 million.
The Bulls are the third highest valued team, at $1 billion,
The Boston Celtics, at $875 million, came in at No. 4 on the list.
Forbes estimated that the average franchise is now worth $634 million, up 25 percent from just a year ago. Profits doubled to an all-time high of $23.7 million per team.