CELTICS NO. 4 IN FORBES RANKING OF MOST VALUABLE NBA FRANCHISES

WEEI

By Jerry Spar
 
 
The Celtics are worth $875 million and are the fourth-most valuable franchise in the NBA, according to the annual league list published by Forbes on Wednesday.

According to Forbes’ numbers, the C’s had $169 million in revenue over the past year, with $47 million in operating profit.

The Knicks, worth $1.4 billion, are ranked No. 1 for the second straight year. They earned a league-record profit of $96 million, a 27 percent jump from last year, as the three-year, $1 billion renovation of Madison Square Garden starts to pay off.

The Lakers rank second at $1.35 billion, earning $66 million last year, a 35 percent increase. The Bulls, who have led the league in attendance for four straight seasons, are third at $1 billion, up 25 percent.

The Nets, who moved from New Jersey to Brooklyn, jumped from 14th two years ago ($357 million) to fifth ($780 million).

The rest of the top 10 consists of the Rockets ($775 million), Heat ($770 million), Mavericks ($765 million), Warriors ($750 million) and Spurs ($660 million).

The average franchise value is $634 million, up a whopping 25 percent from last year after profits averaged $23.7 million.

As for individual players, Forbes figures that Kobe Bryant earned $64.5 million in salary and endorsements to lead the way. LeBron James is next at $61 million, followed by Derrick Rose ($38.6 million, Kevin Durant ($31.8 million) and Dwyane Wade ($30.7 million). Rounding out the top 10 are Carmelo Anthony ($30.4 million), Amar’e Stoudemire ($28.2 million), Dwight Howard ($26.5 million), Dirk Nowitzki ($23.2 million) and Chris Paul ($22.7 million).

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