For the fourth straight year, and despite front office and player turmoil, the New York Knicks are the NBA’s most valuable team.
The Knicks are worth US$613 million, Forbes’ latest rankings show, an increase of 1 percent over their value last year.
For the fourth consecutive year, the Los Angeles Lakers are ranked second by Forbes, at US$584 million, up from US$560 million.
Rounding out the top five are the Chicago Bulls at US$504 million, the Detroit Pistons at US$480 million and the Cleveland Cavaliers at US$477 million.
The biggest change in value belongs to the Portland Trail Blazers, who increased by 21 percent to US$307 million. They still rank only 20th out of 30 franchises.
Also showing a huge increase are the NBA champion Boston Celtics, up to US$447 million from US$391 million. The biggest drop in value hit the New Jersey Nets, who fell 13 percent to US$295 million, 26th overall.
Below the Nets are the Grizzlies at US$294 million, the Hornets at US$285 million, the Bobcats at US$284 million and the Bucks at US$278 million).
The average team value is US$379 million.
Forbes also ranked the value of franchises in the other major pro sports this year. The Dallas Cowboys topped the NFL at more than US$1.6 billion, the New York Yankees led baseball at over US$1.3 billion and the Toronto Maple Leafs led the NHL at US$448 million.
RSS