Forbes Ranks NBA Franchise Values

What's your favorite NBA organization worth? According to a recent Forbes ranking of NBA Franchise Values the average NBA franchise is worth about $379 million. Topping the list, the New York Knicks are the Most Valuable at $613 million. Their overall value rose 1 percent from last year. Their value will most likely rise even more if they can land Lebron James and/or other big names in the coming free agent war of 2010. One of the report's authors feels we could see NBA franchise values drop should the current recession be a lengthy one for the US economy.

Here's the top 10 NBA Franchises by Value:

1)New York Knicks
2)LA Lakers
3)Chicago Bulls
4)Detroit Pistons
5)Cleveland Cavaliers
6)Houston Rockets
7)Dallas Mavericks
8)Phoenix Suns
9)Boston Celtics
10)San Antonio Spurs

From Bloomberg.com:

The value of the Knicks rose 1 percent over the last year, with $29.6 million in operating income last season and revenue of $208 million. The Knicks are owned by Cablevision Systems Corp.

The Los Angeles Lakers ranked second for the fourth straight year, gaining 4 percent to $584 million. The Chicago Bulls were third at $504 million, the Detroit Pistons fourth at $480 million and the Cleveland Cavaliers fifth at $477 million.

The three teams with the biggest gains were the Portland Trail Blazers, NBA champion Boston Celtics and the Oklahoma City Thunder, who moved from Seattle during the offseason.

The Thunder surprisingly moved up on the list due to the fact they moved out of Seattle. The team now plays in a soldout arena (for now) and the owners keep all the revenue. The franchise moved up to 24th on the list at $300 million.

Even NBA real estate is hurt by the credit crisis. According to the article, the New Jersey Nets are the franchise most effected by the economy right now. They've been trying to borrow money to build a new $950 million arena which would allow the team to move to Brooklyn.

Read the full Bloomberg article here.

See the full list of NBA Franchise Values here.

In a related Forbes.com piece, they discuss the best clutch players for the buck. The survey only considers player who average 5 or more points in the 4th quarter. Coming in at the top spot, the San Antonio Spurs guard, Manu Ginobli who made $9 million in 2007-08 and has a 57.4 % clutch shooting percentage. Coming in at #2 and #3 were Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns and of Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers. Kobe's clutch-time shooting % is 44.8 when the games on the line and his 2007-08 pay was close to $20 million. While these numbers might not give you an edge in fantasy hoops leagues, they definitely might help you place bets or choose your team in NBA Live.

See the Best Clutch Players slideshow at Forbes.com.