Forbes Magazine’s yearly assessment of the finances of basketball outline that the Knicks have benefited from July’s capture of power forward Amar’e Stoudemire from the Phoenix Suns. The signing helped the team to sell all its season tickets for the first time since the 2001-02 season. In addition, Madison Square Garden Inc., owner of the Knicks, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. signed a 10-year sponsorship deal worth at least $30 million. These factors saw the value of the Knicks rise by 12% to $655 million, placing them ahead of the Lakers ($643 million) and the Chicago Bulls ($511 million).
The LeBron James factor contributed to the biggest rise and fall of the year, as he moved to the Miami Heat from the Cleveland Cavaliers. James’ capture as a free agent, the most hyped move of the year, saw the Heat’s value increase 17% to $425 million, while the Cavaliers dropped 26% to $355 million.
At the other end of the scale, Forbes placed the Milwaukee Bucks at the bottom of the 30-team list with a value of $258 million, narrowly behind the Minnesota Timberwolves ($264 million) and the Memphis Grizzlies ($266 million).
Forbes’ figures for the league as a whole give further credence to NBA commissioner David Stern’s crusade to cut costs. The average value of an NBA team increased 1% to $369 million, but this is still 2.6% lower than the high of $379 million set two years ago. Operating income dropped to an average of $6.1 million, 22% lower than the previous season, while 17 teams lost money, the most since 1998-99 when a lockout shortened the NBA season.
Talk of another lockout for the 2011-12 season is currently rife with a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) yet to be signed. Stern’s bid to cut $750 million off player costs, lowering the share of basketball-related revenue that goes to players from 57% to around 40%, remains one of the key sticking points in discussions.
