Knicks Named Among Most Valuable Teams

According to Sportico, the New York Knicks fell just short of being the NBA’s MVT.

With the Association’s franchises ranked by value, the Knicks placed second behind only the Golden State Warriors. The Knicks franchise is valued at $8.3 billion, sandwiched by two California entries: the Warriors ($9.14 billion) lead while the Los Angeles Lakers ($8.07 billion) are third. After a bit of a gap, the Brooklyn Nets ($5.7 billion) and Los Angeles Clippers ($5.68 billion) round out the top five.

Though the top three remained unchanged (with Golden State topping it for the third straight year), the Knicks’ value was up 12 percent, best among the retained, reigning trio. The Clippers are cited as a team to watch in next season’s rankings thanks to the opening of their new home, the Intuit Dome in Inglewood.

It has been a strong year in several ways for the Knicks, who completed a 50-win season over the spring with new franchise face Jalen Brunson in tow. New York then engaged in an eventful offseason by trading for Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns, ensuring that Madison Square Garden remains packed on a nightly basis.

List curator Kurt Badenhausen noted that the Knicks earned their edge in the financial standings thanks in part to James Dolan’s control of assets like MSG and the NHL’s New York Rangers as well as being one of the big winners in the NBA’s local TV deals: Badenhausen notes that while local television accounted for only 11 percent of the league’s total revenue last year, the Knicks and Lakers took 25 percent of tha tally.

The good news for all 30 teams is that revenue is set to boost even further come next season, when a new national television deal kicks in. The deal will welcome Amazon and NBC, as well as their respective streaming services to the fold while retaining ABC and ESPN under the Walt Disney Company umbrella.

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