Golden State Warriors majority owner Joe Lacob. Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The Warriors remain the NBA’s most valuable team, according to Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico, who unveiled the website’s updated NBA franchise valuations for 2023 on Wednesday.

Badenhausen projects the Warriors’ value at $8.28 billion, making them one of three teams to surpass the $7 billion mark this year. The Knicks have a projected worth of $7.43 billion, while the Lakers come in at $7.34 billion, per Sportico.

As Badenhausen details, Sportico spoke to more than 30 team executives, owners, investors, bankers, consultants and lawyers in compiling their latest NBA franchise valuations. According to Sportico, the average value of an NBA team is up 33% from a year ago and 70% from when the site first started publishing valuations three years ago.

A combination of factors are contributing to the soaring value of NBA franchises, says Baudenhausen. Those factors include national media deals, international opportunities, scarcity (ie. only 30 teams are available), and an equal 1/30th stake in the league.

In the past, we’ve used Forbes as our primary source for NBA franchise valuations, but with Badenhausen making the move from Forbes to Sportico and the outlet establishing itself as a go-to resource for sports business news, we’re highlighting Sportico’s projections in 2023.

Of course, it’s worth noting that figures from Sportico, Forbes, or any other media outlet are just estimates and often don’t quite match up with the sale prices for franchises that change hands. But these projections are usually in the right ballpark and remain useful for getting a sense of the league’s most and least valuable teams.

Here’s Sportico’s full list of NBA franchise valuations for 2023:

  1. Golden State Warriors: $8.28 billion
  2. New York Knicks: $7.43 billion
  3. Los Angeles Lakers: $7.34 billion
  4. Boston Celtics: $5.12 billion
  5. Chicago Bulls: $4.83 billion
  6. Los Angeles Clippers: $4.56 billion
  7. Miami Heat: $4.17 billion
  8. Philadelphia 76ers: $4.13 billion
  9. Toronto Raptors: $4.11 billion
  10. Houston Rockets: $4.05 billion
  11. Dallas Mavericks: $4.03 billion
  12. Phoenix Suns: $4 billion
  13. Brooklyn Nets: $3.98 billion
  14. Sacramento Kings: $3.46 billion
  15. Denver Nuggets: $3.4 billion
  16. Atlanta Hawks: $3.35 billion
  17. Washington Wizards: $3.33 billion
  18. San Antonio Spurs: $3.29 billion
  19. Portland Trail Blazers: $3.28 billion
  20. Indiana Pacers: $3.27 billion
  21. Utah Jazz: $3.24 billion
  22. Cleveland Cavaliers: $3.22 billion
  23. Milwaukee Bucks: $3.2 billion
  24. Orlando Magic: $3.12 billion
  25. Detroit Pistons: $3.1 billion
  26. Oklahoma City Thunder: $3.08 billion
  27. Charlotte Hornets: $3 billion
  28. Minnesota Timberwolves: $2.94 billion
  29. Memphis Grizzlies: $2.82 billion
  30. New Orleans Pelicans: $2.72 billion

For the most part, the most significant valuation increases (by percentage) within the last year belonged to the teams on the bottom half of this list. Besides the Bucks, whose projection rose by 32%, every franchise in the bottom 10 received at least a 50% bump from Sportico’s 2022 valuations.

The Nuggets, who cracked the top half of this list following their 2023 championship, were another big riser — their valuation increased by 60% and they moved up six spots.

It’s worth noting that the Mavericks‘ reported valuation in Mark Cuban‘s sale to the Adelson and Dumont families reportedly came in around $3.5 billion, well below Sportico’s valuation.

However, more recent reporting has suggested the final valuation will be closer to $4 billion when the transaction closes. That was also a unique situation since Cuban is retaining control of basketball operations as part of the sale agreement, despite surrendering majority control of the business. He’ll hang onto about 25% of the franchise, according to Sportico.

More must-reads:

TODAY'S BEST
Oilers get good news and bad news on Mattias Ekholm
Rams HC Sean McVay makes big statement about Matthew Stafford's future
Packers CB Jaire Alexander's preference revealed amid trade buzz
Cubs on the verge of losing significant trade acquisition
Blackhawks young star won't play for Canada in World Championship
Longtime Spurs HC Gregg Popovich ends coaching career
Rockets stun Warriors, force deciding Game 7 with road win
Another Connor Hellebuyck meltdown pushes Jets-Blues to Game 7
Yankees All-Star infielder shocked by his own injury news
LeBron James suffered concerning injury in Lakers' season-ending loss
Nuggets coach accuses referees of ‘absolutely crazy’ handling of Nikola Jokic
Tony Stewart extends an official offer to Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Insider shares if there's any 'concern' regarding 49ers, Brock Purdy contract extension talks
Grizzlies make decision on head-coaching job
LeBron James suffered UCL injury in Lakers' Game 5 loss
Tyler Ankrum to start from pole after NASCAR Truck Series practice, qualifying at Texas rained out
Team executive explains why Giants should make this Jaxson Dart decision
Steelers have a potential star who is seriously flying under the radar
How the Steelers' future quarterback plans could be in jeopardy
Watch: Jalen Brunson dispatches Pistons with clutch three-pointer for Game 6 win 

Want more Warriors news?

Join the hundreds of thousands of fans who start their day with Yardbarker's Morning Bark, the best newsletter in sports.