Unlike other major sports in North America, NBA owners enjoy quite the anonymity that comes with the job. They prefer to keep a distance in the basketball decisions of their respective teams, often deferring to their trusted team president to make significant moves.
However, in recent years, fans have voiced their displeasure to the owners when their beloved team fails to improve after years of being stuck in mediocrity.
If most of the owners aren’t too active, quite a few stand out above the crowd and let it be known who’s boss when it comes to roster decisions. For the 2024-2025 season, we’ll rank all 30 NBA team owners from worst to first.
Who are the top NBA owners for the 2024-2025 season?
30. Joe Tsai – Brooklyn Nets
For his stint as an NBA owner, the Taiwanese-Canadian Tsai lost the services of Kyrie Irving, James Harden, Mikal Bridges, and Kevin Durant and turned them into Cameron Johnson and Ben Simmons. While the draft capital they have now is something to look forward to, the team will continue to be disastrous for years to come.
29. Ted Leonsis – Washington Wizards
When was the last time the Wizards made the playoffs? We can’t blame you if you can’t remember. After all the draft blunders in recent years, it certainly looks like Ted Leonsis doesn’t care much about how his team will perform on the court. The most aggressive move they made was to sign Jordan Poole to a hefty contract in 2023. Yikes!
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28. Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin – Charlotte Hornets
As the Hornets have continued to sink in recent years, Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin have never made moves to lure some stars from other teams to sign with them via free agency. Instead, they opted to continue with the slow process of rebuilding rather than attempt to make Charlotte a prime destination for free agents.
27. Tom Gores – Detroit Pistons
Gores has been the owner of this Pistons team for fourteen years and has nothing to show for it. The team has been stuck in a rebuilding phase for ages. Did they really need to sign Tobias Harris to a hefty contract to jack up shots for the team this year?
26. Jody Allen – Portland Trail Blazers
A year after Lillard’s departure, the Blazers are stuck in a semi-rebuild. They have good players on the roster, such as Anfernee Simons, Jerami Grant, and Deni Avdija. The problem is their roster construction. The team is full of role players but missing an alpha who can lead them on a daily basis.
25. Jerry Reinsdorf – Chicago Bulls
Reinsdorf has failed to replicate the success he had with the Bulls in the 1990s. The Derrick Rose era was nice, but it never lasted as he hoped. Now, their team is mostly composed of overachieving players who failed to live up to expectations. It’s not only with the Bulls he’s hated; he’s also hated as the owner of the Chicago White Sox. Is it time to sell the team to a younger owner who can deliver success to this once-iconic NBA franchise?
Also Read: Ranking All 30 NBA Team Owners For 2023 From WORST To FIRST
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24. Ryan Smith – Utah Jazz
It’s quite hard to gauge where this Jazz team is going with Ryan Smith at the helm. The team is still pushing the narrative that Lauri Markkanen can lead them to the promised land. As a result, they’ve built a mediocre team at best. He’s busy now with the arrival of the Utah Hockey Team over at the NHL, which has truly divided his attention as one of the owners of an NBA franchise.
23. Gayle Benson – New Orleans Pelicans
Fans of this team have long accused owner Gayle Benson of prioritizing the New Orleans Saints instead of keeping the funds spread out to make the Pels a respectable NBA team. What’s keeping them from signing Brandon Ingram for an extension? It’s not like the team is an attractive option for prime free agents in the first place, anyway.
22. Tony Ressler – Atlanta Hawks
With Dejounte Murray out, the Hawks are back at the drawing board again. In hindsight, many pundits weren’t sold on the pairing of Young and Murray in the first place. Perhaps the reason why Ressler isn’t ranked too low as a team owner is that he might have struck the gold by taking a risk on Zaccharie Risacher as the top overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.
21. Glen Taylor – Minnesota Timberwolves
While the Wolves are finally respectable again on the court, their ownership woes have continued behind the scenes. Long-time NBA owner Glen Taylor seems hesitant to sell the majority stake in the team to Alex Rodriguez and his group of friends. It has become an ugly topic of discussion that has spilled publicly for about a year.
20. Mat Ishiba and Justin Ishiba – Phoenix Suns
The Ishiba brothers quickly realized that spending tons of money in order to build a championship-caliber roster does not work all the time. It’s a hit-or-miss league, even if you have one of the best players in this generation playing for you.
19. Vivek Ranadive – Sacramento Kings
Kudos to owner Vivek Ranadive for finally taking a step back when it comes to basketball-related decisions and deferring to his team executives for present and future roster decisions. Still, the haunting decisions made by his former trusted GM, Vlade Divac, continue to haunt this team to this day.
18. Larry Tanenbaum – Toronto Raptors
The ultra-wealthy Tanenbaum has been the driving force behind Toronto’s respectability in the NBA for more than a couple of decades now. Even though the core of their 2019 championship is all but gone, many free agents still consider the franchise as a good destination to further their careers.
17. Tilman Fertitta – Houston Rockets
Fertitta doesn’t get enough credit for how he rebuilt this team after the James Harden era ended. Drafting Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith Jr., and Reed Sheppard will inevitably pay off in the future. Those guys are the foundation of a solid young core.
16. Robert Pera – Memphis Grizzlies
Even though the Grizzlies went from NBA contenders to a massive disappointment in just a couple of years, owner Pera stuck to his guns and did not press the panic button to make a fire sale. He knows that his team will learn from their mistakes and will inevitably rise again this 2024-2025 season.
15. Dan Gilbert – Cleveland Cavaliers
Gilbert is one of the few NBA owners who’s known for interfering with basketball-related decisions within his team. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, though, as he had his share of ups and downs throughout his career, both on and off the court. He takes accountability for his actions when his decisions fail but defers the credit to his team when they find success.
14. Jeanie Buss – Los Angeles Lakers
Perhaps the most popular NBA team worldwide, Jeanie Buss sure has a lot on her plate as the owner of the Lakers. The team did not trade for a star to pair with LeBron and AD on the court; instead, they added talent through the draft. She gets a ton of flak right now from the media and fans for drafting Bronny James and purposely pairing him with his father, LeBron, on the roster.
13. Ann Walton Kroenke – Denver Nuggets
One of the most elusive owners in the NBA, it’s hard to gauge where Kroenke stands right now with how the team is constructed this season after their surprising exit in the 2024 playoffs. She’s fully trusting the team’s GM, Calvin Booth, to make the Nuggets contenders again with Nikola Jokic still in his prime.
12. Josh Harris and David Blitzer – Philadelphia 76ers
Signing Paul George this offseason was deemed a good move for the Sixers. However, his recent injury setback quickly generated a ton of questions from the media on how the Sixers might struggle in the regular season. In addition to their woes, Joel Embiid has publicly declared that he might never play in back-to-back games for the rest of his career.
11. Dan DeVos – Orlando Magic
DeVos finally tasted a bit of success as an owner when the Magic had a successful season and qualified for the 2024 NBA playoffs. Looking to continue their surprising success, he pried away respected two-time champion Kentavious Caldwell-Pope from the Nuggets and gave him a hefty contract to sign with Orlando.
10. Steve Ballmer – Los Angeles Clippers
While Ballmer gets an A for spending tons of dollars to build the Clippers their own NBA arena, the same grade can’t be given due to the Clippers’ disastrous offseason. They lost Paul George to the Sixers via free agency. With a hobbled Kawhi Leonard and an aging James Harden leading the team for the 2024-2025 season, this was not what Ballmer had in mind when the Clippers finally had the chance to play in their brand-new home.
9. Joe Lacob – Golden State Warriors
While the Warriors remain one of the most popular teams in the NBA today, it certainly looks like their championship window has finally closed in the Stephen Curry era. Klay Thompson signed with Dallas during the offseason, and the Splash Brothers are now a thing of the past. Draymond Green is rapidly declining in front of our eyes, which is sad to see. Does Joe Lacob still have some tricks under his sleeve to make this team contenders again?
8. Herb Simon – Indiana Pacers
For the first time since the 1980s, Simon finally struck gold as the owner of both the Pacers and the Fever. The Pacers had their most successful season since the Reggie Miller era, and with the Fever, they have generational talent Caitlyn Clark as the face of the WNBA. 2024 was an outstanding year for one of the NBA’s longest-tenured owners.
7. Wes Edens – Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks tried to make a home run but instead struck out after trading for Damian Lillard last season. The pairing of Giannis and Dame was not as seamless as they thought it would be. However, the jury is still out there on whether or not both superstars can work out their differences on the court. Edens has done an admirable job of letting this team grow and compete for a title again this season.
6. Micky Arison – Miami Heat
Arison has won three NBA championships as an owner of the Miami Heat. He’s been trying to replicate his success for years now, fully trusting Pat Riley to make all the basketball-related decisions to make this team a contender.
5. Clay Bennett – Oklahoma City Thunder
Bennett has built another contender with OKC through his guidance as an NBA owner. That’s such a huge win for smaller market teams across the league. It goes to show that carefully structured trades and drafting for possible stars are the foundations of building a successful franchise.
4. Peter J. Holt – San Antonio Spurs
With Victor Wembanyama’s ascension as one of the league’s hottest players today, Holt and the Spurs are back on everybody’s radar again. While they won’t be contenders anytime soon, Wemby’s presence alone will hasten their rebuilding process. This team is a must-see on NBA League Pass.
3. Mark Cuban – Dallas Mavericks
Can we still refer to Mark Cuban as the owner of the Mavs even though he sold the majority stake of this NBA team last season? Yes, we can. He still manages the team’s basketball operations on a day-to-day basis as one of its co-owners. For his wits and guts, the Mavs came close to winning a title before being humbled by the Celtics in the Finals. They sure have the tools to make a run again this year.
2. James Dolan – New York Knicks
Who would have thought that James Dolan, the owner of the New York Knicks, was dead last in our rankings last season? The jump from 30th to 2nd was quite a surprise, in a good way, of course. The opening roster he had last year is way different from what he has right now, save for Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart. The Knicks now have Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, and Karl-Anthony Towns in the fold. On paper, this team has what it takes to challenge the Celtics in a bloodbath in a seven-game series.
1. Wyc Grousbeck – Boston Celtics
Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck deserves the top spot in this year’s rankings due to his unrelenting support in making this team an NBA champion again. Even though he sold the majority of his ownership to an investor group called Boston Basketball Partners this offseason, he is still a huge part of the Celtics as he is part of the executive committee of BBP. The Celtics are favorites to win back-to-back titles this season, and Grousbeck is a big part of it.
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