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Look Who’s Laughing Now: Golden State Warriors Nearly Double in Value Over Three Seasons


Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

In 2010, the Golden State Warriors looked a bit different than they do now. The team finished the season with a record of 36-46, of course missing the playoffs. November of that season, Joe Lacob and Peter Guber decided to purchase the franchise for a record amount of money, raising eyebrows everywhere across the NBA.

Lacob and Guber paid $450 million for the Warriors, the most anyone has ever paid for an NBA franchise. To put it frankly, even their best friends had to chuckle a bit. A team that finished 10 games under .500 featuring a mediocre roster at best was sold for a record amount of money. Something just didn’t add up.

Fast forward to present day. The team features Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, Andrew Bogut and most recently Andre Iguodala as their top-tier additions since then. Coming off a season in which they advanced to the second round of the playoffs to the eventual Western Conference Champion San Antonio Spurs, the Warriors have turned the tables.

Friday, the Warriors were said to have been valued at around $800 million according to sources with knowledge of the situation that revealed such numbers to ESPN. In January of this year, Forbes valued the Warriors at roughly $550 million, which is significantly less than Friday’s evaluation.

There’s no doubt that the addition of Iguodala helped big time. The fact that Stephen Curry is one of the NBA’s biggest budding stars doesn’t hurt either, and he could wind up in the conversation for MVP next season. A front court of both David Lee and Bogut makes for a nice combination when both are healthy, and add in the wing play of Barnes and Thompson and you’ve got yourself one heck of a team.

In 2013, Golden State could wind up surprising folks even more than they did last season — actually, don’t call it a surprise. This roster is built to contend for a championship, and at $800 million I would sure hope so.

Ryan Heckman is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.comFollow him on Twitter  @ryanmheckman, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.


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