Buying NBA Team, Ownership Timeline with Prices

With a lockout under way and it’s unusual focus on employers I wondered…
When and For How Much Money Owners acquired Teams in the first place?

So today’s post is simple in premise but I hope it will become very helpful data…
I compiled a History of Ownership for All Teams including Date and Cost of Transactions.

Please note and remember that:

• sources for this one were all over the map and I had to Google a lot for pretty much every case,
• most information came from [in a random order] prosportstransactions.com, Forbes, Rod’s Sports Economics, sportsecyclopedia.com, Wikipedia and local newspapers’ sites,
• All prices are in millions of dollars [first column means “original price listed” and second one was Adjusted for Inflation to Average for 2010 with data taken from inflationdata.com],
• I don’t have any inside information and I can’t guarantee accuracy any of those reports,
• If you know any information behind ??? please let me know in the comments or via e-mail, Thanks!
• List was sorted alphabetically by current team’s name and then descending by year of transaction.
• I’ll update this post as often as needed/possible – LAST EDIT: 09 November 2011, Sixers

Unfortunately not every team has listed previous owners as nicely as Rockets [MediaGuide.pdf, 8MB] and not every team had such clean and easy history as Pistons, quite the opposite, overall it was a mess and time-wise it was by far my least efficient post to date.

Anyway, enough of caveats, here’s the full table of all owners in the NBA history…
[if you are interested in different views of this table I sorted it by expansion fees and all known sales].

Team’s name at the time	Owner, owners or ownership group	Date of	Action and Other Notes	Price (M$)	Adj. for Inflation
Atlanta Hawks	Atlanta Spirit, LLC (9 partners)	2004	purchased team	208	240,1
Atlanta Hawks	AOL Time Warner	1996	became owner via merger	–	–
Atlanta Hawks	Ted Turner	1977	bought 95% of team	???	???
Atlanta Hawks	Tom Cousins and Carl Sanders	1968	bought the St. Louis Hawks and moved to Atlanta	2	12,5
Tri-Cities Blackhawks	Ben Kerner	1946	formed in NBL as Buffalo Bisons and then moved	–	–
Team’s name at the time	Owner, owners or ownership group	Date of	Action and Other Notes	Price (M$)	Adj. for Inflation
Boston Celtics	Wycliffe Grousbeck, Stephen Pagliuca, H. Irving Grousbeck	2002	purchased team	360	436,4
Boston Celtics	Paul Gaston	1993	succeeded his father	–	–
Boston Celtics	Don Gaston	1986	bought out co-owners	120	238,7
Boston Celtics	Don Gaston, Alan N. Cohen, Paul Dupee	1983	purchased team	17	37,2
Boston Celtics	Harry T. Mangurian, Jr.	1979	bought out co-owners	–	–
Boston Celtics	John Y. Brown, Jr. and Harry T. Mangurian, Jr.	1978	swapped their Clippers’ shares with previous owners
Boston Celtics	Irv Levin and Harold Lipton	1975	exercised their option to repurchase half of the Celtics’ stock and month later bought the rest
Boston Celtics	Robert Schmertz	1972	forced transaction, sale to Irv Levin, Harold Lipton not approved by NBA due to conlfict of interest	4	20,9
Boston Celtics	Ballantine Brewery	1968	bought team, Trans-National Communications became temporary owners in 1970	6	37,6
Boston Celtics	Marvin Kratter	1965	purchased team	3	20,8
Boston Celtics	Lou Pieri and Marjorie Brown	1964	founder died, wife took over	–	–
Boston Celtics	Walter A. Brown	1946	formed in BAA	0,003	0,03
Team’s name at the time	Owner, owners or ownership group	Date of	Action and Other Notes	Price (M$)	Adj. for Inflation
Charlotte Bobcats	Michael Jordan	2009	increased his small stake to a majority one, deal included debt	275	279,5
Charlotte Bobcats	Robert Johnson	2003	Expansion fee	300	355,6
Team’s name at the time	Owner, owners or ownership group	Date of	Action and Other Notes	Price (M$)	Adj. for Inflation
Chicago Bulls	Jerry Reinsdorf	1985	purchased 57% of the team and later bought out co-owners	9,2	18,6
Chicago Bulls	ownership group that included Arthur Wirtz	1972	purchased team	5,1	26,6
Chicago Bulls	Dick Klein	1966	awarded an NBA expansion franchise	1,6	10,8
Team’s name at the time	Owner, owners or ownership group	Date of	Action and Other Notes	Price (M$)	Adj. for Inflation
Cleveland Cavaliers	Dan Gilbert	2005	became majority owner	375	418,7
Cleveland Cavaliers	George and Gordon Gund	1983	purchased the franchise	20	43,8
Cleveland Cavaliers	Ted Stepien	1980	bought 37% and soon became the majority shareholder [82%]	2	5,3
Cleveland Cavaliers	Nick Mileti and others	1971	Expansion Fee	3,7	19,9
Team’s name at the time	Owner, owners or ownership group	Date of	Action and Other Notes	Price (M$)	Adj. for Inflation
Dallas Mavericks	Mark Cuban	2000	purchased a majority stake	285	360,9
Dallas Mavericks	Ross Perot, Jr.	1996	purchased a majority stake	125	173,7
Dallas Mavericks	Donald Carter and Norm Sonju	1980	expansion fee	12	31,8
Team’s name at the time	Owner, owners or ownership group	Date of	Action and Other Notes	Price (M$)	Adj. for Inflation
Denver Nuggets	Stan Kroenke	2000	total deal was worth 450M$ but included NHL Avalanche and Pepsi Center	202	255,8
Denver Nuggets	Comsat Video	1992	bought out co-owners, raised share to 100%	70	108,8
Denver Nuggets	Comsat Video Enterprises	1989	purchases 67.5% stake in team	45	79,1
Denver Nuggets	Sidney Schlenker and Allen Becker	1985	purchased team	20	40,5
Denver Nuggets	Red McCombs	1978	bought team	2	6,7
Denver Nuggets	local group including Carl Scheer	1976	Entering price when ABA disbands	1	3,8
Denver Rockets	Frank Goldberg and Bud Fischer	1972	purchased team	???	???
Denver Rockets	Bill Ringsby	1967	bought 2/3 controlling interest	0,17	1,1
Denver Rockets	James Trindle	1967	created a team in ABA	0,035	0,23
Team’s name at the time	Owner, owners or ownership group	Date of	Action and Other Notes	Price (M$)	Adj. for Inflation
Detroit Pistons	Tom Gores	2011	bought the team along with Palace, GTE Theater, the Festival	400	400,0
Detroit Pistons	William Davidson	1974	purchased team	8	35,4
Fort Wayne Pistons	Fred Zollner	1948	created a team in NBL	–	–
Team’s name at the time	Owner, owners or ownership group	Date of	Action and Other Notes	Price (M$)	Adj. for Inflation
Golden State Warriors	Peter Guber and Joe Lacob	2010	purchased team	450	450,0
Golden State Warriors	Christopher Cohan	1995	purchased remaining 75%	95	135,9
Golden State Warriors	Christopher Cohan	1992	purchased 25%	21	32,6
Golden State Warriors	Jim Fitzgerald and Daniel Finnane	1986	bought the team	???	???
San Francisco Warriors	Franklin Mieuli along with 32 other local investors	1962	purchased team and moved it to Bay Area	0,85	6,1
Philadelphia Warriors	Eddie Gottlieb	1951	bought the team	0,025	0,21
Philadelphia Warriors	Peter Tyrrell	1946	created in BAA	–	–
Team’s name at the time	Owner, owners or ownership group	Date of	Action and Other Notes	Price (M$)	Adj. for Inflation
Houston Rockets	Leslie Alexander	1993	purchased team	85	128,3
Houston Rockets	Charlie Thomas	1982	bought team	9,8	22,1
Houston Rockets	George Maloof	1979	purchased team	???	???
Houston Rockets	Kenneth Schnitzer	1976	bought team	???	???
Houston Rockets	James Talcott	1975	purchased team	???	???
Houston Rockets	Irvin Kaplan	1973	bought team	???	???
San Diego Rockets	Billy Goldberg, Wayne Duddlesten, Mickey Herskowitz	1971	purchased team	5,6	30,2
San Diego Rockets	Robert Breitbard	1967	expansion fee	1,75	11,4
Team’s name at the time	Owner, owners or ownership group	Date of	Action and Other Notes	Price (M$)	Adj. for Inflation
Indiana Pacers	Herb Simon	1983	purchased team	11	24,1
Indiana Pacers	Tom Binford and five others	1976	Entering price when ABA disbands	3,2	12,3
Indiana Pacers	Richard Tinkham, John DeVoe, Chuck DeVoe, Chuck Barnes, Bob Collins	1968	purchase a franchise in ABA	–	–
Team’s name at the time	Owner, owners or ownership group	Date of	Action and Other Notes	Price (M$)	Adj. for Inflation
Los Angeles Clippers	Donald Sterling	1981	purchased team	13	31,2
San Diego Clippers	Irv Levin and Harold A. Lipton	1978	swapped their shares with previous owners	–	–
Buffalo Braves	John Y. Brown, Jr. And Harry T. Mangurian, Jr.	1978	swapped their shares with Celtics’ owners	–	–
Buffalo Braves	John Y. Brown, Jr.	1976	bought 50% of the franchise, later remaining half and added minority owner	???	???
Buffalo Braves	Paul Snyder	1971	expansion fee	3,7	19,9
Team’s name at the time	Owner, owners or ownership group	Date of	Action and Other Notes	Price (M$)	Adj. for Inflation
Los Angeles Lakers	Jerry Buss	1979	Total deal was 67,5M$ but incl. LA Kings, The Forum, NV real estate	20	60,1
Los Angeles Lakers	Jack Kent Cooke	1965	purchased team	5,175	35,8
Minneapolis Lakers	Bob Short	1958	become 80% owner of the team by buying out his partners	???	???
Minneapolis Lakers	Bob Short and 117 Minnesota businesses and private citizens	1957	sold team	0,15	1,2
Minneapolis Lakers	Ben Berger and Morris Chalfen	1947	purchased the recently disbanded team from NBL	0,015	0,15
Team’s name at the time	Owner, owners or ownership group	Date of	Action and Other Notes	Price (M$)	Adj. for Inflation
Memphis Grizzlies	Michael Heisley	2000	purchased team	160	202,6
Vancouver Grizzlies	Bill & Nancy Laurie	1999	purchased team	200	261,8
Vancouver Grizzlies	John McCaw	1997	bought out Arthur Griffiths	???	???
Vancouver Grizzlies	Arthur Griffiths	1996	expansion fee	125	173,7
Team’s name at the time	Owner, owners or ownership group	Date of	Action and Other Notes	Price (M$)	Adj. for Inflation
Miami Heat	Micky Arison	1995	bought out co-owners, raised share to 88%	68	97,3
Miami Heat	Billy Cunningham, Lewis Schaffel and Ted Arison	1989	expansion fee	32,5	57,2
Team’s name at the time	Owner, owners or ownership group	Date of	Action and Other Notes	Price (M$)	Adj. for Inflation
Milwaukee Bucks	Herb Kohl	1985	transfer of ownership	19	38,5
Milwaukee Bucks	Jim Fitzgerald	1976	transfer of ownership	???	???
Milwaukee Bucks	Wes Pavalon	1968	expansion fee	2	12,5
Team’s name at the time	Owner, owners or ownership group	Date of	Action and Other Notes	Price (M$)	Adj. for Inflation
Minnesota Timberwolves	Glen Taylor	1995	transfer of ownership	89	127,3
Minnesota Timberwolves	Marv Wolfenson, Harvey Ratner	1989	expansion fee	32,5	57,2
Team’s name at the time	Owner, owners or ownership group	Date of	Action and Other Notes	Price (M$)	Adj. for Inflation
New Jersey Nets	Mikhail Prokhorov	2010	transfer of 80% ownership	200	200,0
New Jersey Nets	group headed by Bruce Ratner	2004	transfer of ownership	300	346,3
New Jersey Nets	Finn Wentworth, Stanley Gale, Raymond Chambers	1998	purchase of team	150	200,7
New Jersey Nets	7 local businessmen (led by Joe Taub and Alan N. Cohen)	1978	purchased team	???	???
New York Nets	Roy Boe	1970	transfer of ownership	1,1	6,2
New Jersey Americans	Arthur Brown	1968	bought a franchise in ABA	–	–
Team’s name at the time	Owner, owners or ownership group	Date of	Action and Other Notes	Price (M$)	Adj. for Inflation
New Orleans Hornets	NBA	2010	purchase of team	300	300,0
New Orleans Hornets	George Shinn and George Chouest	2007	transfer of minority ownership	248	260,8
Charlotte Hornets	George Shinn	1989	expansion fee	32,5	57,2
Team’s name at the time	Owner, owners or ownership group	Date of	Action and Other Notes	Price (M$)	Adj. for Inflation
New York Knicks	Madison Square Garden, Inc	2010	company spun off from Cablevision	–	–
New York Knicks	Cablevision	1997	bought out ITT Corporation’s share	300	407,6
New York Knicks	Cablevision and ITT Corporation	1994	won bid for Madison Square Garden and its properties (Knicks, Rangers and MSG network)	1100	1618,5
New York Knicks	Viacom	1994	bought previous owner	–	–
New York Knicks	Gulf+Western [renamed Paramount in 1989]	1977	purchased team	???	???
New York Knicks	???	???	???	???	???
New York Knicks	Ned Irish	1947	created as a part of BAA	–	–
Team’s name at the time	Owner, owners or ownership group	Date of	Action and Other Notes	Price (M$)	Adj. for Inflation
Oklahoma City	Clay Bennett	2006	purchased team (and WNBA Storm)	350	378,6
Seattle SuperSonics	Howard Schultz	2001	transfer of ownership	200	246,3
Seattle SuperSonics	Barry Ackerley	1983	transfer of ownership	21	46,0
Seattle SuperSonics	Sam Schulman	1967	created franchise in Seattle	1,75	11,4
Team’s name at the time	Owner, owners or ownership group	Date of	Action and Other Notes	Price (M$)	Adj. for Inflation
Orlando Magic	Bob Vander Weide	2007	son-in-law of Richard DeVos officially took over	–	–
Orlando Magic	Richard DeVos	1991	purchased the franchise	85	136,1
Orlando Magic	William duPont III, James and Robert Hewitt, Pat Williams	1989	expansion fee	32,5	57,2
Team’s name at the time	Owner, owners or ownership group	Date of	Action and Other Notes	Price (M$)	Adj. for Inflation
Philadelphia 76ers	Joshua Harris, David Blitzer, Jason Levien, Michael Rubin, Erick Thohir, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith	2011	9-man group headed by Joshua Harris bought 90% share of the team, Comcast-Spectacor & Ed Snider will retain 10%	280	280
Philadelphia 76ers	Comcast	1996	purchased team	130	180,7
Philadelphia 76ers	Harold Katz	1981	purchased team	12	28,8
Philadelphia 76ers	Fitz Dixon	1976	purchased team	8	30,7
Syracuse Nationals	Irving “Irv” S. Kosloff	1963	purchased the Syracuse Nationals and brought them to Philadelphia	???	???
Syracuse Nationals	Danny Biasone	1947	created a team in NBL	–	–
Team’s name at the time	Owner, owners or ownership group	Date of	Action and Other Notes	Price (M$)	Adj. for Inflation
Phoenix Suns	Robert Sarver	2004	purchased team	401	462,9
Phoenix Suns	Jerry Colangelo	1987	purchased team	44,5	85,4
Phoenix Suns	Richard Bloch and Karl Eller, Don Pitt, Don Diamond, Bhavik Darji, Marvin Meyer	1969	expansion fee	2	11,9
Team’s name at the time	Owner, owners or ownership group	Date of	Action and Other Notes	Price (M$)	Adj. for Inflation
Portland Trail Blazers	Paul Allen	1988	transfer of ownership	70	129,0
Portland Trail Blazers	Larry Weinberg	1974	purchased the remainder of stake	–	–
Portland Trail Blazers	Larry Weinberg, Herman Sarkowsky	1973	bought out Schmertz	–	–
Portland Trail Blazers	Larry Weinberg, Herman Sarkowsky, Robert Schmertz	1971	expansion fee	3,7	19,9
Team’s name at the time	Owner, owners or ownership group	Date of	Action and Other Notes	Price (M$)	Adj. for Inflation
Sacramento Kings	Joe Maloof & Gavin Maloof	1998	transfer of ownership [all entities cost 250M$]	156	208,7
Sacramento Kings	Jim Thomas	1992	purchased 53%, incl. ARCO Arena	140	217,6
Kansas City Kings	Joseph Benvenuti, Frank Lukenbill, Gregg Lukenbill, Robert A. Cook, Stephen H. Cippa, Frank McCormack	1983	purchased team in Kansas City	10,5	23,0
Cincinnati Royals	Max and Jeremy Jacobs	1966	transfer of ownership	???	???
Rochester Royals	Les Harrison	1946	Rochester Royals in NBL	–	–
Team’s name at the time	Owner, owners or ownership group	Date of	Action and Other Notes	Price (M$)	Adj. for Inflation
San Antonio Spurs	Peter Holt	1993	transfer of ownership	75	113,2
San Antonio Spurs	B.J. ‘Red’ McCombs	1988	purchased 65% (to 100%) of team	32,5	59,9
San Antonio Spurs	36 San Antonio businessmen, led by Angelo Drossos, John Schaefer and Red McCombs	1976	Entering price when ABA disbands	3,2	12,3
Dallas Chaparrals	36 San Antonio businessmen, led by Angelo Drossos, John Schaefer and Red McCombs	1973	lease deal with an option to buy within 3 years	–	–
Dallas Chaparrals	Dallas ownership group	1968	created Dallas Chaparrals	–	–
Team’s name at the time	Owner, owners or ownership group	Date of	Action and Other Notes	Price (M$)	Adj. for Inflation
Toronto Raptors	Maple Leaf	1998	total deal for 400M$ but included Air Canada Centre	125	167,2
Toronto Raptors	Allan Slaight	1996	purchased 39.5% of team (added to the 39.5% that he already owned)	66	91,7
Toronto Raptors	John Bitove Jr.	1996	sold 39.5% interest	66	91,7
Toronto Raptors	John Bitove Jr.	1996	expansion fee	125	173,7
Team’s name at the time	Owner, owners or ownership group	Date of	Action and Other Notes	Price (M$)	Adj. for Inflation
Utah Jazz	Greg Miller	2008	His dad and previous owner died	–	–
Utah Jazz	Larry Miller	1986	purchased the remaining 50%	14	27,9
Utah Jazz	Larry Miller, Sam Battistone	1985	transfer of 1/2 ownership	8	16,2
New Orleans Jazz	Andrew Martin	1977	sold 20% of ownership to team majority owners	–	–
New Orleans Jazz	Lee Schlesinger, Mark Herman	1977	purchased 30% of team	–	–
New Orleans Jazz	9-man group headed by Fred Rosenfield	1974	Expansion Fee	6,15	27,2
Team’s name at the time	Owner, owners or ownership group	Date of	Action and Other Notes	Price (M$)	Adj. for Inflation
Washington Wizards	Ted Leonsis	2010	purchased the remaining 56 percent including debt	550	550,0
Baltimore Bullets	Abe Pollin	1968	became sole owner	–	–
Baltimore Bullets	Abe Pollin, Arnold Heft, Earl Foreman	1964	purchased team	1,1	7,7
Baltimore Bullets	Bob Trager	1964	sold team	1,1	7,7