The NBA is the most popular sports league around the globe with the games being televised in more than 200 countries. Millions of fans on a daily basis are following the NBA which brings billions of dollars to the league.

Of course, not every team has an equal value which depends on many factors but not necessarily on winning.

The best example is the New York Knicks who stand at the top of the list with a value of $5 billion and have lost nearly 70% of their games over the past six seasons and won only one playoff series since 2000.

The is the sixth straight year the Knicks are on top of the list of most valuable teams.

The Knicks are part of publicly traded Madison Square Garden Sports, which is controlled by the billionaire Dolan family. The Knicks are only the third sports club in the world to reach a $5 billion valuation, after the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Yankees, thanks to a $1 billion MSG renovation and a blockbuster local TV deal.

When the best players in the league chose who are they going to sign with, how big the team market is playing a huge role in their decision.

Still, the Knicks are an exception here as they have failed to land a superstar since Carmelo Anthony left the ‘Big Apple’ in 2017. But on the other hand, the two LA teams do not have any trouble landing superstars since they are an attractive destination that brings them income away from the basketball court.

Another reason why the team market is very important is the endorsements. For example, when Derrick Rose was on top of his game and he was offered a huge contract by Adidas, one of the main conditions by the sneaker company was for him to sign a long-term deal with a team from a big market like Chicago.

Despite the financial challenges faced by many of the NBA’s teams during the pandemic, the overall value of those franchises continues to increase.

The average value of an NBA team has increased to $2.2 billion, from $2.1 billion last year which is a 4% increase that is the smallest gain since 2010.

For comparison, it matches the rise in value for MLB teams and trails the 7% gain for the NFL. NHL values fell 2%.

A dozen of the NBA’s 30 franchises are valued at $2 billion or more, with the six most valuable of them representing nearly two-thirds of the total franchise value gains over the past 12 months.

24 of the 30 NBA teams have increased their value in the past year while the other six, Memphis, New Orleans, Detroit, Charlotte, Atlanta, and Oklahoma City,  have the same value as the year before.

The Warriors overtook the Lakers for the No. 2 spot this season due to the opening of the $1 billion Chase Center in San Francisco in 2020 with a value of $4.7 billion. The Warriors became the first team since 1999 to break the Knicks and Lakers, which were consistently top two.

The Warriors, just like the Knicks, have seen their value increase by a league-best 9% in the past year. Meanwhile, the Warriors have the second-highest debt value in the league with 23%, with only the Memphis Grizzlies with a higher percentage at 25%. The Warriors are the team with the highest revenue of $474 million and the highest operating income of $200 million.

The Los Angeles Lakers are the team with the third-highest value in the NBA with $4.6 billion. They are the last team that was on the top of the list before the Knicks took the throne six years ago. Their value has increased by 5% in the last year and their debt value is only 1%.

Here is the full list of NBA franchise valuations, per Forbes: