Minnesota Timberwolves' Sale Could Be Among Richest In NBA History

Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor is listening to offers for the franchise. If the team gets sold, it could be one of the richest sales in NBA history.

Taylor is seeking at least $1.2 billion for the Timberwolves, according to Sportico, which first reported the owner’s exploratory talks. Only three NBA teams have ever been sold for 10 figures.

“I think I put a really good team together with the Timberwolves,” Taylor told The Athletic Tuesday. “I feel really good about that. There’s a good team there. Both the player bunch and the business bunch. So I think I’ve done my responsibility there to have that so it can go on and become better.”

Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov completed his sale of the Brooklyn Nets last year for a league-record $2.35 billion. The team was purchased by Alibaba co-founder Joseph Tsai, whom The Bloomberg Billionaires Index ranks as the 123rd richest person in the world.

Tilman Fertitta purchased the Houston Rockets for $2.2 billion in 2017. The billionaire owns Landry’s Inc. and the Golden Nugget Casinos.

Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer shattered the previous mark when he bought the Los Angeles Clippers for $2 billion in 2014. The prior record was set in 2010 when the Washington Wizards were sold for $550 million.

In February, Forbes estimated the Timberwolves’ value at $1.375 billion. Only the New Orleans Pelicans and Memphis Grizzlies were given a lower valuation than Minnesota. The New York Knicks were first with a $4.6 billion valuation.

Taylor and a group of investors bought the Timberwolves for $88 million in 1994.

Minnesota has been one of the NBA’s worst franchises since joining the league in 1989, never winning a championship or reaching the NBA Finals. The Timberwolves have won a single playoff game in the last 16 seasons.

Former NBA star Kevin Garnett led Minnesota to eight straight playoff appearances from 1997-2004 and is part of a group that’s interested in buying the franchise.