📰 Basketball

Basketnews

A Las Vegas expansion franchise could fetch $10 billion or more and a Seattle team around $7 billion as the NBA moves toward 32 clubs.

Yahoo Sports

EuroLeague owners expect a formal NBA proposal for a controlling stake and will discuss it at their October 5 meeting.

Puck

Eriq Gardner reports a federal criminal inquiry arising from the Aspiration affair changed Steve Ballmer's calculus about fighting the NBA.

Yahoo Sports

Ballmer accepted a $30 million fine, a one-year suspension and the loss of five first-round picks rather than contest the league's findings.

Front Office Sports

The WNBA players' union called it deeply disappointing that the NBA left the group off a joint letter to state betting regulators.

Women's sport · Regulation · Labour

Front Office Sports

Steve Ballmer accepted a one-year NBA ban, a $30 million fine and five forfeited first-round picks over the Kawhi Leonard cap investigation.

Status

ESPN reported the NBA had no evidence Ballmer funneled money to Leonard without contacting Pablo Torre, and there is still no editor's note.

Sports Business Journal

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced her retirement after seven and a half years, two CBAs and a $75 million capital raise.

Women's sport

Front Office Sports

LeBron James jumped from DraftKings to Polymarket, which sits awkwardly against NBA rules restricting player interests in league-adjacent wagering.

The Athletic

The Athletic says Cathy Engelbert did her job and the WNBA now needs a visionary, as average franchise value rose from $10 million in 2019 to $460 million.

Women's sport

The Athletic

Candidates to succeed Cathy Engelbert as WNBA commissioner include Bethany Donaphin, Swin Cash and Condoleezza Rice.

Women's sport

The Athletic

The NBA's investigation ended with a $30M fine, five first-round picks and a one-year Ballmer suspension, and the Clippers are heading to arbitration.

Front Office Sports

Cathy Engelbert is out as WNBA commissioner at year end.

Women's sport

Front Office Sports

The NBA fined the Clippers $30M, stripped five first-round picks, banned Steve Ballmer for a year and suspended Lawrence Frank and Gillian Zucker.

The 4th Quarter

Further reading from the day's section on the NBA's Clippers punishment and team ownership.

ESPN

Stan Kroenke's $4B Angels purchase makes him the only owner with a franchise in the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, MLS and Premier League.

Front Office Sports

Further reading from the day's section on the NBA's Clippers punishment and team ownership.

The Lineup

Messi retired from international football, and 11 NBA change-of-control sales have totaled $54.1B since 2020.

Global Game HQ

Greg Kahn argues deals like the $12.5B Lakers sale reflect scarcity: a franchise stays finite while its audience scales globally at almost no cost.

Front Office Sports

Further reading from the day's section on the Seahawks sale, LIV Golf's collapse and Good Good Golf.

The Athletic

Further reading from the day's section on sports valuations, LIV's contraction and college eligibility.

Front Office Sports

Further reading from the day's section on sports valuations, LIV's contraction and college eligibility.

Front Office Sports

Further reading from the day's section on sports valuations, LIV's contraction and college eligibility.

Vetted Sports

Marc Stad's Dragoneer is taking control of the Timberwolves and Lynx at $4.5B; the NBA has had 25 majority-ownership sales since 2010.

M&A

The Athletic

The NBA said ESPN's report on the Clippers probe contained numerous and significant inaccuracies, and the Clippers issued their own denial.

Sports Business Journal

Further reading from the day's section on sports money.

Women's sport

Sky Sports

NBA Europe's London franchise has become a three-way fight between Daniel Levy, the Lewis family and Nikesh Arora.

The Athletic

Candace Buckner's WNBA column: it feels like psychological warfare just to engage with the league.

Women's sport

The Athletic

The WNBA players' union denounced hate, abuse and demonization of transgender people after backlash to Fever guard Sophie Cunningham's comments.

Women's sport · Labour

The Athletic

Further reading from the day's section on sports business and the fight over who the WNBA is for.

Defector

Defector's Lauren Theisen notes there is no trans player in the WNBA, so the discourse since Sophie Cunningham's comments is about a concept.

Women's sport

Defector

Further reading from the day's section on sports business and the fight over who the WNBA is for.

Women's sport

Defector

The response to the ESPN profile of Sophie Cunningham that started the WNBA news cycle.

Women's sport

The Athletic

Cathy Engelbert may be unpopular with WNBA players, but she isn't paid to be their friend.

Women's sport

The Athletic

Further reading from the day's section on the trade deadline, the WNBA commissioner and prediction markets.

The Athletic

Further reading from the day's section on the trade deadline, the WNBA commissioner and prediction markets.

Stratechery

Andrew Sharp argues the NBA's second apron is functioning as a hard cap, and that the problem with it is that it's working.

Digiday

TikTok is positioning itself as gatekeeper between creators and rights holders through its NBA and WNBA creator deal.

Women's sport