Top 25 NBA players for 2025-26 include Jokic, SGA and Giannis
USA TODAY Sports asked its top writers and reporters to rank the top 25 NBA players heading into the 2025-26 season and this is their consensus list.
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The average cost and lowest price to own an NBA team continue to rise and the gap between the Golden State Warriors and everyone else, including their historic peers in Los Angeles, New York and Boston, is still growing during the tail end of the Steph Curry era in the Bay Area.
These were the among bigger takeaways from Sportico’s latest NBA franchise valuations ahead of the start to the 2025-26 season.
The Warriors, according to the sports business website, are worth a league-high $11.33 billion approaching Curry’s 17th season with the team. It’s the fifth consecutive year Golden State has been atop these rankings, but the Warriors now trail only the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys in franchise valuation among American professional sports teams.
Golden State’s worth increased by more than $2 billion since Sportico’s valuation rankings in 2024, and the franchise has increased in value dramatically since the team moved into the Chase Center in San Francisco in 2019 and built an accompanying mixed-used development called Thrive City.
The Los Angeles Lakers, who were sold earlier this year at a $10 billion valuation, jumped ahead of the New York Knicks for the second-most valuable NBA franchise. The Knicks, Los Angeles Clippers and Boston Celtics rounded out the top five as determined by Sportico. The Celtics ($6.1 billion) and Portland Trail Blazers ($4.25 billion) have also been sold in recent months, which in turn raised Sportico’s average price tag for an NBA team by more than 20% to $5.51 billion in 2025.
Only three years ago, according to Reuters, the average NBA franchise valuation was $2.58 billion. Last year, meanwhile, there were three teams valued at more than $6 billion by Sportico. That has jumped to eight ahead of this season. The Memphis Grizzlies were once again the lowest-valued franchise in the league this year at $4 billion, which is nonetheless about a $994 million increase from 2024.
Here’s a breakdown of all the 2025 NBA franchise valuations as determined by Sportico:
NBA franchise valuations 2025: How much is every team worth?Golden State Warriors: $11.33 billionLos Angeles Lakers: $10 billionNew York Knicks: $9.85 billionLos Angeles Clippers: $6.72 billionBoston Celtics: $6.35 billionBrooklyn Nets: $6.22 billionChicago Bulls: $6.12 billionMiami Heat: $6.03 billionPhiladelphia 76ers: $5.61 billionHouston Rockets: $5.53 billionDallas Mavericks: $5.24 billionToronto Raptors: $5.22 billionPhoenix Suns: $5.09 billionAtlanta Hawks: $5.02 billionSacramento Kings: $5 billionCleveland Cavaliers: $4.86 billionDenver Nuggets: $4.8 billionWashington Wizards: $4.78 billionIndiana Pacers: $4.76 billionMilwaukee Bucks: $4.54 billionSan Antonio Spurs: $4.5 billionOklahoma City Thunder: $4.34 billionUtah Jazz: $4.27 billionPortland Trail Blazers: $4.25 billionMinnesota Timberwolves: $4.24 billionOrlando Magic: $4.21 billionDetroit Pistons: $4.17 billionCharlotte Hornets: $4.13 billionNew Orleans Pelicans: $4.02 billionMemphis Grizzlies: $4 billion