NBA team owners are the unsung heroes of professional basketball, wielding enormous influence both on and off the court. These individuals or groups of investors are the financial backbone of the league, responsible for acquiring and maintaining franchises that are the heart and soul of American sports.
The NBA owners are successful at what they do but some still make controversial decisions that could hamper their team’s overall popularity. In today’s list
30. James Dolan – New York Knicks
Dolan is widely considered the worst NBA owner today. From threatening the media and banning former players, we could write a separate article citing all his misdeeds and it still won’t be enough to justify his controversial actions throughout his tenure.
29. Glen Taylor – Minnesota Timberwolves
It’s a great thing that Taylor will no longer be the team’s majority owner next year due to his sale of the team to Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez. Taylor reportedly reneged on a deal with former star Kevin Garnett about having minor ownership of the team years ago.
28. Ted Leonsis – Washington Wizards
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The Wizards are often considered one of the worst franchises in the league. Fans have accused him of caring more for his other professional team, the NHL’s Washington Capitals, more than the Wizards.
27. Gayle Benson – New Orleans Pelicans
It’s no secret that Benson spends more time and money for the New Orleans Saints rather than the Pelicans. Despite the Pelicans having a nice young core, the team is often treated like an afterthought compared to the Saints.
26. Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin – Charlotte Hornets
Jordan finally sold the team and made a ton of profit. While the Hornets didn’t have much success under Jordan, there’s hope that the new owners will be much better than MJ was.
25. Tony Ressler – Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks struck gold by drafting Trae Young in 2018, but they still haven’t found much success due to their incompetence in building a solid team around their young star. Ressler never made the Hawks an attractive franchise for free agents to consider during the offseasons.
24. Vivek Ranadive – Sacramento Kings
Ranadive publicly stated that the team will consider deploying the infamous “cherry picking” play style on the court where one member doesn’t play defense and waits for a pass at the other side of the court for an easy basket. It’s safe to say that Ranadive really had a minuscule idea about basketball before he bought the team in 2013.
23. Joe Tsai – Brooklyn Nets
Tsai’s problem is letting his star players dictate the team’s direction. When the big three of Durant, Irving and Harden failed spectacularly, Tsai finally realized his mistake and gave the green light to his top officials to handle the team from a basketball standpoint.
22. Tilman Fertitta – Houston Rockets
Feritta’s glaring weakness is willingly giving his star players all the power to do whatever they want even though it messes up the team’s chemistry. There’s hope that he won’t make the same mistakes again with this current young core.
21. Tom Gores – Detroit Pistons
Since buying the Pistons in 2011, Gores never really made the team respectable. They are years into their rebuilding mode while continuing to stack young talents that may or may not pan out.
20. Dan DeVos – Orlando Magic
Dan inherited the team from his father in 2011. While his father has had some success during his reign, Dan hasn’t made the same success and the team continued to slide towards oblivion in recent years.
19. Herb Simon – Indiana Pacers
Simon has been the team’s owner since 1983 but the Pacers still had minimal success as they still haven’t won a title in the NBA. They are one of the least marketable teams in the league which drastically hurts their overall value as a franchise.
18. Mat Ishiba and Justin Ishiba – Phoenix Suns
These brothers are relatively new to the game, but they are already willing to spend for the team to contend for a title. Plus, they are giving away free TV antennas to anybody from Phoenix who doesn’t have access to Suns games at home.
17. Ryan Smith – Utah Jazz
It’s too early to judge Smith’s tenure as he’s still basically new to the league, but one good thing he’s done was give the keys to the already-proven Danny Ainge to manage the team’s day-to-day operation from the start.
16. Josh Harris and David Blitzer – Philadelphia 76ers
To this day, the team still hasn’t found success after years of tanking that was infamously called “The Process.” Sure, they got league MVP Joel Embiid out of it but they also wasted a ton of draft picks which never found success with the team.
15. Larry Tanenbaum – Toronto Raptors
Winning one of the most memorable championships in 2019 catapulted Tanenbaum into the spotlight as an owner. While he never replicated the success, the Raptors are still a respectable team today.
14. Jody Allen – Portland Trail Blazers
For a small market team like Portland, their ownership has done an admirable job in keeping their team competitive for such a long time. However, Lillard’s time with the team may soon come to an end before training camp begins.
13. Robert Pera – Memphis Grizzlies
Pera transformed the Grizzlies into perennial contenders in recent years. For this team to go further, he needs to lend an extra hand to their troubled star, Ja Morant and steer him away from any misfortune.
12. Dan Gilbert – Cleveland Cavaliers
Gilbert isn’t one of the most popular owners in the NBA, but he is man enough to admit his mistakes if he crosses any lines. His legacy is entirely tied up with LeBron but he has slowly taken the right steps away from his shadow in recent years.
11. Clay Bennett – Oklahoma City Thunder
Bennett will forever be remembered for hastily moving the Seattle Supersonics to Oklahoma City in 2008. But we can never deny that even though it was a risky move, the small market Thunder has gathered loyal fans around the globe.
10. Jerry Reinsdorf – Chicago Bulls
Reinsdorf never replicated the success he had with the Bulls back in the 90s. It also doesn’t hurt that his previous employee was the GOAT, Michael Jordan. Chicago has largely remained in mediocrity since then.
9. Ann Walton Kroenke – Denver Nuggets
It isn’t clear how involved Kroenke is with the team’s day-to-day operations but after winning their first title last season, we’ll put her high on this list as she’s clearly doing the right thing behind the scenes.
8. Wyc Grousbeck – Boston Celtics
The Celtics fans are notoriously hard to please, but we rarely hear them aiming their frustrations at Grousbeck. He’s won one championship during his reign and Boston has been a contender for the past few years.
7. Wes Edens – Milwaukee Bucks
With Antetokounmpo’s ascension as one of the best players in the world, the Bucks’ value has also risen astronomically. Edens doesn’t get enough credit for his contributions to Milwaukee.
6. Mark Cuban – Dallas Mavericks
The most hands-on owner in the league, it’s really admirable how Cuban still has time to cheer his team on the sidelines on most nights despite his busy schedule. Players definitely love to play for him.
5. Peter J. Holt – San Antonio Spurs
With Wembanyama’s arrival, San Antonio’s fanbase is roaring again. Holt had largely deferred to Greg Popovich when it came to basketball decisions which resulted in five championships across three separate decades.
4. Jeanie Buss – Los Angeles Lakers
There were highs and lows during Jeanie’s reign since taking over the team in 2014, but kudos to her for bringing the Lakers back to relevance in recent years. The Lakers are currently hunting for another title next season.
3. Micky Arison – Miami Heat
As an owner, Arison won three NBA championships during his reign. Free agents are lining up to play for the Heat and it has been that way since the early 2010s. The “Heat Culture” is quite a phenomenon among the NBA circles.
2. Steve Ballmer – Los Angeles Clippers
Ever since Ballmer bought the Clippers in 2014, he didn’t shy away from spending billions of dollars to make them a contender. He even wanted the team to create their own identity by building a separate arena for the Clippers which they will occupy in 2024.
1. Joe Lacob – Golden State Warriors
Lacob’s Warriors are now valued at a staggering $7 billion dollars – a far cry from the $450 he paid in 2010. He won four titles as an owner and made the Warriors a worldwide sensation for nearly a decade. He also built a new arena in San Francisco after years in Oakland and still filled up the stands.
