Joe Lacob, a minority owner of the Boston Celtics, and Peter Guber, chairman of Mandalay Entertainment, have just paid the most amount of money ever for a professional basketball team.
The price? $450 million, which tops the $401 million Robert Sarver paid for the Suns in 2004.
According to CNBC, “The Warriors franchise, which was bought by Chris Cohan in 1995 for $119 million, was valued at $315 million by Forbes in December of last year, but the Warriors’ location in the Bay area undoubtedly added more interest and thus a higher price.”
“I am incredibly excited to have the opportunity to be the next steward of this storied NBA franchise. This is my dream come true,” Lacob said. “Peter and I intend to do what we do best—innovating and building. It is our passion to return the Warriors to greatness and build nothing short of a championship organization that will make all of us in the Bay Area proud.”
Lacob and Guber beat out three other finalists, including Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, who had been considered the favorite to buy the team. Apparently, there’s a price that’s even too high for Ellison, who is listed as the sixth-richest person in the world with $28 billion. In the past 16 seasons since Cohan bought the team, the Warriors have had the second worst record in the league behind the Los Angeles Clippers.
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The NBA is claiming a cumulative loss for its 30 teams of $370 million, and yet one of the worst franchises in the league is sold for nearly half a BILLION dollars? This is going to make it a bit harder for the owners to claim poverty and lock out the players if they don't get a CBA this time around..