The two teams could not be going in more opposite directions this season. Coming off five consecutive NBA Finals appearances, the Golden State Warriors find themselves with the worst record in the Association at 12-42.
On the other hand, the Lakers are dominating the landscape out west with a 40-12 record.
In no way does this mean the gap will be as wide moving forward. Golden State will be getting three-time champs Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson back from injury soon. It just added Andrew Wiggins to the mix and still boasts Draymond Green.
From a financial aspect, both squads are doing great. In fact, Forbes just recently released its team valuation numbers for 2020. Both Los Angeles and Golden State join the New York Knicks as the only organizations in NBA history to be valued at $4-plus billion.
The Lakers come in at $4.4 billion with the Warriors being valued at $4.3 billion. New York still sits atop the list at a whopping $4.6 billion.
New York and Los Angeles represent North America’s two largest media markets, respectively. As it relates to the Knicks, their brand has been built on Madison Square Garden and the accompanying relationships they enjoy from a media perspective. The team has been a disaster on the court.
The Lakers’ brand has grown leaps and bounds. Some of that has to do with the Staples Center. Though, the presence of LeBron James in Hollywood has added to this.
Golden State is a bit different in that it just relocated from Oakland to the San Francisco waterfront and is playing in a new state of the art arena called the Chase Center. That has obviously added to the organization’s value.
From a sports-wide perspective, the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys boast the highest team value in North America at $5.5 billion. Only the New England Patriots join Dallas at north of $4 billion in the NFL.
MLB’s New York Yankees come in at $4.6 billion and are joined by only three other teams valued at $4-plus billion.
Yeah, this puts the Lakers and Warriors in some elite company.