Boston Celtics owners put NBA championship winning team up for sale
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Owner Wyc Grousbeck of the Boston Celtics holds the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy during the 2024 Boston Celtics championship parade.
PHOTO: AFP
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BOSTON – Boston Celtics’ owners Boston Basketball Partners, led by Wyc Grousbeck, said on July 1 that they intend to sell all the shares of the team that won the National Basketball Association (NBA) championship in June.
“The controlling family of the ownership group, after considerable thought and internal discussion, has decided to sell the team for estate and family planning considerations,” the team announced in a statement.
The managing board of the ownership group expects to sell a majority interest in 2024 or early 2025, with the balance closing in 2028, and expects Grousbeck to remain as the governor of the team until the second closing in 2028, the team added.
Grousbeck and partner Stephen Pagliuca led a group that purchased the team in 2002 for US$360 million (S$650 million then), ESPN reported.
The value of teams has skyrocketed since then, with the Phoenix Suns reportedly selling for US$4 billion (S$5.4 billion) in February 2023 and the Milwaukee Bucks and Dallas Mavericks fetching US$3.5 billion each since then.
The Celtics were valued at US$4.7 billion last October by Forbes magazine, having leapt 18 per cent in value to rank behind only the Golden State Warriors (US$7.7 billion), New York Knicks (US$6.6 billion) and Los Angeles Lakers (US$6.4 billion).
The sale comes at a time when the league is in the midst of negotiating a US$76 billion media deal with ESPN, Comcast and Amazon. The deal has not yet been announced.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver has said when the league finishes negotiating its media deal, it will look to expand, likely adding two new franchises.
The Celtics beat the Mavericks 4-1 in the best-of-seven Finals on June 17 to deliver the storied franchise an NBA-best 18th championship.
Boston are favourites to retain their crown next season with the duo of Finals Most Valuable Player Jaylen Brown and All-Star forward Jayson Tatum.
Boston and Tatum are finalising a five-year extension worth US$314 million, which would be the largest deal in NBA history, The Athletic and ESPN reported on July 1.
The 26-year-old averaged 26.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game in 74 regular-season starts before adding 25.0 points, 9.7 boards and 6.3 assists per game in Boston’s 19-game romp through the play-offs.
Tatum was an All-NBA first-team selection for the third straight year and has been named to five All-Star Games. He has spent his entire seven-year NBA career in Boston and has career averages of 23.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists over 513 games.
The Celtics also locked up starting guard Derrick White to a US$126 million contract extension earlier on July 1.
Meanwhile, four-time NBA champion Klay Thompson agreed to a sign-and-trade deal to join Dallas, according to multiple reports, closing the historic championship chapter of his career with the Golden State Warriors.
In a statement on July 1, the Warriors did not confirm details of the trade but thanked Thompson for his contributions to their dynastic run and promised his No. 11 jersey would be retired by the franchise someday.
Thompson, 34, teamed with Stephen Curry for four NBA championships in 13 seasons with the Warriors but turned down a contract extension offer last season that was reportedly for two years and US$48 million.
ESPN reported Thompson would sign a three-year, US$50 million contract to join the Mavericks and team with All-Star guards Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. As part of the three-team trade, the Mavericks confirmed they are trading Josh Green to the Charlotte Hornets. REUTERS, AFP, BLOOMBERG
