Why are the Knicks and Nets, both in New York, separated by a river, with a market value difference of US$2 billion?

Affected by the epidemic environment, the NBA regular season was reduced to 72 games last season. The shortened schedule did not affect the growth rate of each team's market value at all. According to statistics, the average market value of NBA teams has increased from US$2 billion in 2020 to US$2.4 billion. A list of the current top five teams in the league by market value:

5. Boston Celtics US$3.18 billion< /p>

4. Brooklyn Nets $3.4 billion

3. Los Angeles Lakers $5.14 billion

2. Golden State Warriors $5.21 billion

1. New York Knicks US$5.42 billion

In the past 8 years, the Golden State Warriors’ market value growth has topped the league. With the support of winning 3 championships in the small ball system and Curry’s personal charm , the Warriors' market value in 2010 was US$350 million, surpassing the purple and gold giant Lakers to rank second in the league.

When Curry renewed his contract with a four-year maximum salary of US$215 million this summer, many fans stood up and questioned the operation of the Warriors management. "The annual salary of 50 million U.S. dollars is considered a high salary and low performance" and other doubts have been raised repeatedly, but these fans have never seen that the Warriors, who did not make the playoffs last season, had a net profit of 200 million U.S. dollars, ranking first in the league. "Ku has gravity" and has become the Warriors. The code of wealth!

Currently, the richest owner in the NBA is former Microsoft President Ballmer. The latest statistics show that his personal assets exceed US$100 billion, ranking 10th in the world. The current total market value of the entire NBA league is US$72 billion. His wealth alone is enough to buy the entire NBA. The current market value of the Los Angeles Clippers he owns is US$2.75 billion.

In the NBA player total assets rankings, Jordan, as the owner of the Hornets, ranks first with a net worth of US$2.2 billion; Magic Johnson currently ranks second with a net worth of US$1 billion thanks to investments off the court. ; James’ career salary exceeds US$400 million, ranking first in league history. Coupled with off-court investments and endorsements, James currently ranks third at US$850 million.

Among the top five teams in terms of market value, New York has two teams on the list. He is well-deserved for this international metropolis where every inch of land is precious!

New York is undoubtedly a world-class city. It is the center of global economy, finance, media, education, entertainment and fashion. In this city you will find many international institutions, Multinational companies and world-class banks have their headquarters here, as well as the United Nations headquarters.

As early as 2018, New York’s GDP reached 801.7 billion U.S. dollars. In this small city, the permanent population reached more than 9 million, plus the influx of people from all over the world The population of New York City has already exceeded 10 million. It is no exaggeration to call this the most magical and charming city in the world!

The Knicks’ home court at Madison Garden Arena and the Nets’ home court at the Brooklyn Center are only separated by a river on the map, but from the perspective of the team’s market value, there is a difference of US$2 billion. The Knicks Its market value is a whole more than that of an NBA team, the Nets.

(1) Nets

In 2018, the former Russian owner of the Nets publicly sold the team's equity. Tsai Chongxin, a sharp businessman, did not miss this opportunity and spent US$1.15 billion to become the Nets. Major shareholder of the Nets. A year later, Prokhorov decided to officially withdraw from the NBA and sold the remaining 51% of his shares to Tsai Chongxin. The two acquisitions cost 2.35 billion US dollars, setting a record for the largest transaction amount of an NBA team!

In order to control the team’s independent operation rights, Tsai Chongxin spent nearly one billion U.S. dollars to buy the Barclays Center Arena in Brooklyn. These two investments of nearly 3.4 billion U.S. dollars accounted for nearly 1 billion of Tsai Chongxin’s investment. /3 net worth.

In order to quickly increase the market value of the Nets, Tsai Chongxin chose to imitate the method of increasing the market value when the Warriors won the championship:

Signing Durant with a ruptured Achilles tendon for 164 million in 4 years

137 million in 4 years to sign the "thorny" player Irving

40 million in 4 years to sign the "muddleheaded" Jordan

In the 20-21 season, after having obtained When Harden had the opportunity, the Nets took out many high-quality rookies and draft picks, and used all their means to form the three most powerful offenses in history, but they ultimately lost to injuries. Misfortunes never come singly. The high salaries of the Big Three required the Nets to pay more than $100 million in luxury tax (the league reduced it by 1/3 due to the epidemic). Last season ended in a helpless and slightly embarrassing way.

The current market value of the Nets is only 3.4 billion U.S. dollars. Boss Tsai feels a bit like losing money in the past two years. With the accumulation of salaries of the Big Three next season, Griffin, Brown and others will renew their contracts and introduce the Spurs. Veteran Mills, the Nets' luxury tax has exceeded 150 million US dollars, and it is not just talk about disbanding if they don't win the championship!

(2) Knicks

Compared to the Nets’ crazy signings, the Knicks, who have no worries about selling tickets, are very low-key. Due to shortcomings and the pursuit of high-ranking rookies, the team's record has been at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. Head coach Thibodeau was introduced last season. With the comprehensive performance of Randall, Rose, Barrett and others, he unexpectedly reached the playoffs again after nine years as the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. Although he was defeated by the Hawks, he was defeated by the Hawks. The Knicks' performance this season is absolutely eye-catching!

1. The geographical difference is too big

The Knicks’ home stadium, Madison Garden, is located in Manhattan, New York. It is a fashionable gathering of celebrities from all walks of life. The celebrity guests on the sidelines are more famous than the NBA players on the court. Tickets are almost sold out as soon as they are on sale.

In addition, the Madison Garden Arena is geographically close to the largest train station in the United States: Pennsylvania Station. Tourists from out of town come to visit this iconic building as soon as they get off the train, which also makes the Knicks Attendance at home games has always been among the top in the league.

On the other hand, the Nets in Brooklyn were the slums of New York a few decades ago. The unemployed and homeless people from the bottom of society were mainly concentrated here. The economic development was lagging behind and the infrastructure was compared to those across the river. Manhattan neighborhoods are far apart, which makes wealthy people reluctant to come here to watch games and local civilians unwilling to pay the high ticket prices. Without fans to watch the games, the team's advertising revenue is difficult to increase, and the team's overall revenue has experienced negative growth, which ultimately resulted in the team's market value remaining stagnant in the past two years.

2. There is a huge difference in influence

To give an example, last season the Knicks made it to the playoffs for the first time. Tickets for the first playoff game were as low as $1,001 and as high as $1,001. Reaching US$13,200, such a high price that tickets were sold out within one day of release. If we calculate based on an average of 20,000 spectators per game and an average ticket price of 3,000 US dollars, the home ticket revenue for a playoff game will reach 60 million US dollars. You must know that the Knicks’ player salary last season did not exceed 100 million US dollars. The ticket revenue from two home games is enough to pay the players' salary for a year.

Knicks owner Dolan is one of the founders of American television broadcasts. He knows the Knicks fan market well. Even if there is no superstar, the celebrity guests on the sidelines alone are enough to attract fans' attention. , this is why the Knicks have always been known as a bad team, but they have always been at the forefront of the league in national live broadcasts every season.

On the other hand, the Brooklyn Nets, although they have a gorgeous offensive Big Three, the ticket sales of the playoff team are not ideal. The price was as low as 200 US dollars. After a week, only 90% of the tickets were sold. Compared with the hot Knicks market, although the two teams are in the same city, their influence is very different!

Behind the US$2 billion difference in market value between the two teams, I personally believe that this is inseparable from the local fan culture. If Madison Garden Arena is compared to a gathering place for rich people, then Buck, across the river Lai Center is undoubtedly a team for the common people.

The class differences between Brooklyn and Manhattan are too obvious. Pride and arrogance have been deeply ingrained in the hearts of New York Knicks fans. The Nets want to rely on traffic to support their market value. At present, there is no doubt that It's a failure!