It's no surprise that the Detroit Pistons, which has been a pretty marginal team in the past several years, is ranked 23 out of 30 in the NBA by Forbes magazine when it comes to financial worth.
The good news is that the team's value has really skyrocketed in the past year, jumping 80 percent from $450 million last year to $810 million, according to last year's ranking. In 2014, the Pistons were ranked 25th.
This year, the Lakers team was number one in the ranking, valued at $2.6 billion. Last year, the New York Knicks were number one, valued at $1.4 billion.
Kurt Badenhausen of Forbes explains what's going on:
What do you get when you combine a massive new $24 billion television contract, a nearly six-year bull market in equities creating tremendous wealth, and cheap credit? You get a massive rise in sports franchise values, with the NBA serving as ground zero for the current boom. The average NBA team is now worth $1.1 billion, 74% more than last year. It is the biggest one-year gain since Forbes began valuing teams in the four major U.S. sports leagues in 1998.
Forbes had this to say about the Pistons:
The Pistons cleaned house last year after a fifth straight season out of the playoffs. Coach Maurice Cheeks and longtime president of basketball operations, Joe Dumars, were both canned last year. The Pistons have struggled to fill luxury suites and sign corporate partners in economically-depressed Detroit.
The Pistons had great hopes of making the playoffs after the team dumped Josh Smith. The team went on a great winning streak. But now that Brandon Jennings is injured and out for the season, it's very iffy that the team will play any post-season games.
-- Allan Lengel
