The Celtics are valued at $2.8 billion, fifth in the NBA

[Roy H.]

On Wednesday, Forbes released its annual valuation of the league’s 30 franchises with each team reaching at least $1 billion for just the second time. The average team is worth $1.9 billion, which is up 13 percent from last year and up 200 percent from five years ago. Every team improved from last season with the exception of the Cleveland Cavaliers, which, of course, lost LeBron James to the Los Angeles Lakers.

The league’s exploding revenues have largely been goosed by large TV deals. TNT and ESPN’s $24 billion TV deal is split evenly between the teams, and Forbes reports that teams received more than $110 million last season from various shared revenues such as sponsorships, licensing and national media. ...

Here is a rundown of the top-10 franchises by value, with the full list available on Forbes:

1. New York Knicks: $4 billion
2. Los Angeles Lakers: $3.7 billion
3. Golden State Warriors: $3.5 billion
4. Chicago Bulls: $2.9 billion
5. Boston Celtics: $2.8 billion
6. Brooklyn Nets: $2.35 billion
7. Houston Rockets: $2.3 billion
8. Dallas Mavericks: $2.25 billion
9. Los Angeles Clippers: $2.2 billion
10. Miami Heat: $1.75 billion

As I've said before, this is the primary reason that I'm not all that sympathetic to contenders that don't go deep into the luxury tax.

[CelticsPoetry]

How in the hell can the Knicks be #1 or near the top every year. They've been a horrible team for at least 20 years now, no big name players (Stoudemire, Anthony? Please...). Barely sniffed the playoffs. Do they sell out their games?

[Roy H.]

How in the hell can the Knicks be #1 or near the top every year. They've been a horrible team for at least 20 years now, no big name players (Stoudemire, Anthony? Please...). Barely sniffed the playoffs. Do they sell out their games?

MSG + media.

[CelticsPoetry]

How in the hell can the Knicks be #1 or near the top every year. They've been a horrible team for at least 20 years now, no big name players (Stoudemire, Anthony? Please...). Barely sniffed the playoffs. Do they sell out their games?

MSG + media.

I never got the whole MSG thing. Maybe it's a cultural thing as I'm not from the States. It's just a sports centre, why do people make it to be oh so much more? Like in real life, some of these franchises' values are artificially bloated just because of perception.

[Roy H.]

How in the hell can the Knicks be #1 or near the top every year. They've been a horrible team for at least 20 years now, no big name players (Stoudemire, Anthony? Please...). Barely sniffed the playoffs. Do they sell out their games?

MSG + media.

I never got the whole MSG thing. Maybe it's a cultural thing as I'm not from the States. It's just a sports centre, why do people make it to be oh so much more? Like in real life, some of these franchises' values are artificially bloated just because of perception.

A lot is perception.  It’s seen as a basketball Mecca. More practically, they can charge large ticket prices that are in no way related to the product on the floor.

And of course, the sheer real estate value of a giant stadium in Manhattan is astronomical.