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NBA teams vs the stock market
Would an owner have done better putting the money into an S&P 500 index fund? Pick a team and a starting year, or see what the owners actually paid.
Pick a team and a year
A share of the team grows with its Forbes value; the same money in the S&P 500 grows with the index, dividends reinvested.
Every team beat the market since its first Forbes value
The orange bar is each team's growth since its first Forbes value and the dark tick the S&P 500's over the same years, with dividends reinvested. From 1998 to 26 October 2026 the index grew 10x; the Hornets are measured from 2005, their first Forbes value.
What the owners actually paid
The current owners' purchase prices against the same money in the S&P 500 from the start of the purchase year. Herb and Mel Simon paid about $11M for the Pacers in 1983; the team is now worth 414x that, against 149x for the index. 17 of 25 purchases are ahead of the market. Click a column heading to sort.
| INDIndiana Pacers | Herb Simon | 1983 | $11M | $4.55B | 414x | 149x | Team, 2.8x more |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHIChicago Bulls | Jerry Reinsdorf | 1985 | $16M | $6.7B | 419x | 115x | Team, 3.7x more |
| ORLOrlando Magic | DeVos family | 1991 | $85M | $4.5B | 53x | 47x | Team, 1.1x more |
| DENDenver Nuggets | Stan Kroenke | 2000 | $175M | $5.15B | 29x | 8.5x | Team, 3.5x more |
| CLECleveland Cavaliers | Dan Gilbert | 2005 | $375M | $5.5B | 15x | 9.6x | Team, 1.5x more |
| OKCOklahoma City Thunder | Clay Bennett | 2006 | $350M | $4.9B | 14x | 9.1x | Team, 1.5x more |
| GSWGolden State Warriors | Joe Lacob | 2010 | $450M | $13.5B | 30x | 9.4x | Team, 3.2x more |
| WASWashington Wizards | Ted Leonsis | 2010 | $551M | $5.2B | 9.4x | 9.4x | About even |
| DETDetroit Pistons | Tom Gores | 2011 | $325M | $4.2B | 13x | 8.1x | Team, 1.6x more |
| PHIPhiladelphia 76ers | Josh Harris | 2011 | $280M | $6.4B | 23x | 8.1x | Team, 2.8x more |
| MEMMemphis Grizzlies | Robert Pera | 2012 | $377M | $4B | 11x | 8.0x | Team, 1.3x more |
| NOPNew Orleans Pelicans | Gayle Benson | 2012 | $338M | $4.1B | 12x | 8.0x | Team, 1.5x more |
| SACSacramento Kings | Vivek Ranadivé | 2013 | $534M | $4.7B | 8.8x | 6.9x | Team, 1.3x more |
| LACLos Angeles Clippers | Steve Ballmer | 2014 | $2B | $7.8B | 3.9x | 5.2x | Stocks, 1.3x more |
| MILMilwaukee Bucks | Wes Edens and Jimmy Haslam | 2014 | $550M | $4.6B | 8.4x | 5.2x | Team, 1.6x more |
| ATLAtlanta Hawks | Tony Ressler | 2015 | $850M | $5.75B | 6.8x | 4.6x | Team, 1.5x more |
| HOUHouston Rockets | Tilman Fertitta | 2017 | $2.2B | $6.6B | 3.0x | 4.0x | Stocks, 1.3x more |
| BKNBrooklyn Nets | Joe Tsai | 2019 | $2.35B | $6.5B | 2.8x | 3.5x | Stocks, 1.2x more |
| UTAUtah Jazz | Ryan Smith | 2020 | $1.66B | $4.75B | 2.9x | 2.6x | Team, 1.1x more |
| MINMinnesota Timberwolves | Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez | 2021 | $1.5B | $4.18B | 2.8x | 2.2x | Team, 1.3x more |
| CHACharlotte Hornets | Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin | 2023 | $3B | $4.4B | 1.5x | 2.1x | Stocks, 1.4x more |
| DALDallas Mavericks | Miriam Adelson and Patrick Dumont | 2023 | $3.5B | $5.8B | 1.7x | 2.1x | Stocks, 1.3x more |
| PHXPhoenix Suns | Mat Ishbia | 2023 | $4B | $6B | 1.5x | 2.1x | Stocks, 1.4x more |
| BOSBoston Celtics | Bill Chisholm | 2025 | $6.1B | $7B | 1.1x | 1.3x | Stocks, 1.2x more |
| LALLos Angeles Lakers | Mark Walter | 2025 | $10B | $12.5B | 1.2x | 1.3x | Stocks, 1.1x more |
Paid is the value the purchase put on the whole team; the Nuggets row uses Forbes' $175M share of a $450M package and the Timberwolves row the $1.5B set in 2021. Teams bought in 2026 and teams without a clear price are left out.
Read this before quoting a number
- Team values are Forbes estimates, not prices. Owners also put money in (losses, arenas) or took it out (profits), and most borrowed; none of that is counted here.
- The S&P 500 figures assume every dividend was reinvested, with no fees or taxes.
- The calculator measures the S&P 500 from the end of the starting year, since Forbes publishes its values each autumn; the latest index figure is for 26 October 2026. Forbes published no NBA values for 2001, 2006 and 2010, so those years cannot be picked.