NBA Board of Governors approves sale of Timberwolves

Four years after starting the process to take over, Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez are officially in charge of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved the sale on Tuesday of the controlling interests in both the Timberwolves and the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx from Glen Taylor, whose ownership of the Timberwolves comes to an end after 31 years.

In a $1.5 billion transaction that is expected to close this week, Lore and the three-time Major League Baseball MVP Rodriguez will serve as co-chairmen. Lore will sit as the Timberwolves' governor while Rodriguez will become alternate governor. Those roles flip for the Lynx.

Tuesday's vote concludes a drawn-out process for Lore and Rodriguez to take over the two franchises, a timeline that first began in 2021. In March 2024, with the value of NBA franchises continuing to skyrocket, Taylor attempted to cancel the sale, noting that Lore and Rodriguez failed to meet certain contractual deadlines.

The tandem took Taylor to arbitration, where a 2-1 decision in February favored Lore and Rodriguez.

The NBA signed off on the transaction two other times -- in 2021 and 2023 -- when Lore and Rodriguez purchased shares of the Timberwolves and Lynx that amounted to around 20 percent.

Taylor, 84, purchased the Timberwolves in 1994 for $88 million.