CourtsideOwners

Minority investors

Who is behind the NBA's minority stakes

Investment funds now own pieces of 11 of the 30 teams. Here is which fund holds which team, the rules they play by, and the people who have held stakes in more than one team.

Teams with a fund inside11Current stakes held by investment or state funds
Most teamsBlue OwlBlue Owl HomeCourt Partners, 5 teams now
Fund cap per team20%One fund; 30% for all funds together
Teams per fundUp to 8Raised from five in December 2025

Which fund holds which team

Each line joins a fund to a team it has bought into. A dashed line is an agreed deal that has not closed; a faint one is a stake since sold. Hover a fund to follow its lines.

Fund by fund

Blue Owl HomeCourt Partners (formerly Dyal HomeCourt)

fund

Fund of Blue Owl Capital set up with the NBA in 2020 and pre-approved to invest in all 30 teams. Cleveland in July 2026 was its sixth NBA team; it sold its Phoenix stake in 2023, so it holds five today.

  • SACSacramento Kings

    about 5% · 2021

    Reported at a $1.5B to $1.8B valuation

  • ATLAtlanta Hawks

    about 6% · 2022

    Bought from nine minority partners at nearly a $2B valuation

  • CHACharlotte Hornets

    Stake not published · 2023

    Joined the Schnall-Plotkin group that bought control from Michael Jordan at about a $3B valuation

  • MINMinnesota Timberwolves

    Stake not published · 2024

    Came in after Carlyle withdrew in March 2024; size and price not disclosed

  • CLECleveland Cavaliers

    5% to 10% · 2026

    Announced July 2026; Sportico's source valued the Cavaliers plus Cleveland's future WNBA team at about $5.5B

  • PHXPhoenix Suns

    under 5% · 2021Sold

    Bought in July 2021 at a $1.55B valuation (Front Office Sports); sold when Mat Ishbia bought the team in 2023, for a reported 158% profit

Arctos Partners (KKR)

fund

Dallas sports investment firm founded in 2019; KKR completed its purchase of Arctos in May 2026. Five NBA stakes are confirmed, one of them still pending; talks for a Memphis Grizzlies stake were reported in December 2025 but no deal is confirmed.

  • GSWGolden State Warriors

    about 13% · 2021

    Bought 5% in early 2021 and raised it to about 13% in December 2021, both at about a $5.5B valuation

  • SACSacramento Kings

    about 17% · 2021

    At a $1.8B valuation

  • PHIPhiladelphia 76ers

    more than 5% of parent HBSE · 2022

    Bought at about a $3B valuation for HBSE; Sportico reported a second purchase in 2023 at a higher valuation

  • UTAUtah Jazz

    Stake not published · 2022

    Bought part of about 10% that the Miller family sold to Arctos and one other partner; price not disclosed

  • WASWashington Wizards

    Stake not published · 2025Pending

    Agreed in December 2025 to buy part of Laurene Powell Jobs's stake in parent Monumental at a $7.2B enterprise value; no closing reported

Sixth Street

fund

Global investment firm with stakes in the Spurs and the Celtics; no other NBA stake was found.

  • SASSan Antonio Spurs

    20% · 2021

    At a reported $1.8B valuation

  • BOSBoston Celtics

    about 12.5% · 2025

    Part of Bill Chisholm's takeover at a $6.1B valuation; also reported as a $1B commitment

Qatar Investment Authority (QIA)

sovereign fund

Qatar's state investment fund and the first sovereign fund in an NBA team, through Monumental Sports & Entertainment (Wizards, Capitals, Mystics and their arena). No other NBA stake or pending NBA deal was found.

  • WASWashington Wizards

    about 5% of parent Monumental · 2023

    Bought in June 2023 at a $4.05B valuation for the whole company, with no board seat; a further increase agreed in December 2025 at a $7.2B enterprise value is still pending

OMERS

fund

Pension fund for Ontario municipal workers. Its only NBA-linked stake ended when Rogers took 100% of MLSE, the Raptors' parent, on 1 October 2026.

  • TORToronto Raptors

    indirect 5% of parent MLSE · 2023Sold

    Paid US$400M for 20% of Larry Tanenbaum's Kilmer Sports, which held 25% of MLSE; Rogers bought Kilmer's MLSE stake in October 2026

The league's rules for outside money

  • One investment fund may own at most 20% of any single NBA team.
  • All investment funds together may own at most 30% of any single team.
  • Since 3 December 2025 one fund may hold stakes in up to eight teams; the limit had been five since the rules began in 2020-21.
  • Fund stakes are purely financial: funds get no control, no governance rights and no say in running the team.
  • Since late 2022, sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and university endowments may buy small passive stakes, each reviewed case by case and approved by the NBA Board of Governors.
  • A sovereign wealth fund may hold a minority stake but may not buy a whole team, Adam Silver confirmed in 2023.
  • The league can approve or reject each fund investor one by one.
  • Blue Owl's HomeCourt fund, set up with the NBA in 2020, is the only institutional investor pre-approved to buy stakes in all 30 teams.
  • The HomeCourt fund shares part of its fees and some of its profits with the league under its original NBA agreement.
  • A person must sell a stake in one NBA team before buying into another; Josh Kushner sold his Grizzlies stake before buying into the Heat.
  • Reported September 2026: a private equity firm and its executives may now invest in the same team, but a firm that does so may not hold a stake in any other NBA team.

In more than one team

NBA rules say a person must sell a stake in one team before buying into another. These people have held stakes in more than one, in turn.

Josh Kushner

Founder of venture firm Thrive Capital; has held stakes in three NBA teams in turn and is buying control of the Lakers with Bob Iger.

  • MEMMemphis Grizzlies

    Sold

    Sold his minority stake to fund the Heat purchase, as NBA rules required, a source told Front Office Sports

  • MIAMiami Heat

    2024 · under 5%

    Bought in late 2024, not from the Arison family; price not disclosed. ESPN reported he must sell it before the Lakers deal is approved

  • LALLos Angeles Lakers

    2026 · about 65% with partnersPending

    Agreed in August 2026 with Bob Iger to buy control at a $12.5B valuation; NBA vote expected in November 2026

Rick Schnall

Co-president of private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice; a Hawks minority owner for eight years, now co-chairman of the Hornets.

  • ATLAtlanta Hawks

    2015 · Sold

    In Tony Ressler's 2015 buying group; sold in 2023 before the Hornets deal

  • CHACharlotte Hornets

    2023 ·

    Co-leads the group that bought control from Michael Jordan at about a $3B valuation; a control stake, not a minority one

Michael Jordan

Hall of Fame player; was a Wizards part-owner in 2000 and the Hornets' controlling owner until 2023, when he kept a minority stake.

  • WASWashington Wizards

    2000 · Sold

    Part-owner and president of basketball operations from January 2000, through Ted Leonsis's Lincoln Holdings; no longer an investor

  • CHACharlotte Hornets

    2023 ·

    Kept a minority stake when he sold control at about a $3B valuation; size not disclosed

Joe Lacob

Warriors governor and chief executive since 2010; before that a Celtics minority owner.

Now controls the Golden State Warriors.

Vivek Ranadive

Kings controlling owner since 2013; before that a Warriors minority owner and vice chairman.

Now controls the Sacramento Kings.

Other notable minority owners

Athletes, executives and families with a named stake, by team. Stake sizes appear only where they have been made public.

TeamInvestorStakeSinceStatus
ATLAtlanta HawksGrant HillHall of Fame player.—2015Holds it
ATLAtlanta HawksSara Blakely and Jesse ItzlerSpanx founder Sara Blakely and her husband, entrepreneur Jesse Itzler.—2015Holds it
BOSBoston CelticsAditya MittalChief executive of steelmaker ArcelorMittal; the Celtics' second-largest holder and an alternate governor.—2025Holds it
BKNBrooklyn NetsJulia Koch and familyJulia Koch and her children; Forbes put the family fortune at $65.7B in 2024.15% of parent BSE Global2024Holds it
CHACharlotte HornetsDaniel SundheimHedge fund founder who bought into the Hornets with Gabe Plotkin in 2019.—2019Holds it
CHACharlotte HornetsEric ChurchCountry singer from North Carolina.—2023Holds it
CHACharlotte HornetsJ. ColeRapper raised in North Carolina.—2023Holds it
CHIChicago BullsLukas and Samantha WaltonWalmart heir Lukas Walton, who runs the investment firm Builders Vision, and his wife Samantha.—2026Pending
CLECleveland CavaliersMyles GarrettCleveland Browns defensive end.—2023Holds it
CLECleveland CavaliersUsher RaymondR&B singer.—2005Holds it
DALDallas MavericksMark CubanControlling owner of the Mavericks from 2000 until he sold control in December 2023.27%2000Holds it
INDIndiana PacersSteven RalesCo-founder and chairman of Danaher.20%2023Holds it
LACLos Angeles ClippersDennis J. WongClippers vice chairman and alternate governor; Steve Ballmer's college roommate.1%—Holds it
LALLos Angeles LakersBuss Family TrustTrust holding Lakers shares for the six children of the late Jerry Buss.17.8%2025Holds it
LALLos Angeles LakersPatrick Soon-ShiongBiotech billionaire.about 4.5%2010Holds it
LALLos Angeles LakersTodd BoehlyCo-founder of Eldridge Industries and Mark Walter's partner in the Dodgers.—2021Holds it
LALLos Angeles LakersMagic JohnsonLakers Hall of Fame player.about 4.5%—Sold
MEMMemphis GrizzliesPenny HardawayFormer NBA player from Memphis.—2012Holds it
MEMMemphis GrizzliesPeyton and Ashley ManningFormer NFL quarterback Peyton Manning and his wife Ashley.—2012Holds it
MILMilwaukee BucksJimmy and Dee HaslamOwners of Haslam Sports Group, which also owns the Cleveland Browns.about 25%2023Holds it
MILMilwaukee BucksJunior Bridgeman (estate)Former Bucks player turned businessman; he has since died and the stake sits with his estate.10%2024Holds it
MINMinnesota TimberwolvesMarc StadFounder of Dragoneer Investment Group; a Timberwolves minority investor since 2021 who agreed in August 2026 to buy control.—2021Holds it
MINMinnesota TimberwolvesMichael BloombergFounder of Bloomberg LP and former mayor of New York.—2024Holds it
OKCOklahoma City ThunderGeorge KaiserOklahoma oil and banking billionaire.19.23%2014Holds it
PHIPhiladelphia 76ersDavid AdelmanPhiladelphia property developer.most of about 10% of parent HBSE2022Holds it
PHIPhiladelphia 76ersMichael RubinChief executive of Fanatics.nearly 10% of parent HBSE—Sold
PORPortland Trail BlazersAndrew CherngCo-founder of Panda Express.—2026Holds it
PORPortland Trail BlazersJennifer GatesDaughter of Bill Gates.—2026Holds it
PORPortland Trail BlazersMarc ZahrCo-president of Blue Owl Capital, whose HomeCourt fund holds five NBA stakes; a member of Tom Dundon's Trail Blazers group.—2026Holds it
SACSacramento KingsBhathal family (RAJ Sports)Family behind RAJ Sports; Raj Bhathal is the Kings' vice chair and alternate governor.—2013Holds it
SACSacramento KingsShaquille O'NealHall of Fame player.—2013Sold
SASSan Antonio SpursMcCombs familyFamily of the late Red McCombs, a former Spurs owner.—2023Holds it
SASSan Antonio SpursMichael DellFounder of Dell Technologies.10%2021Holds it
UTAUtah JazzDwyane WadeHall of Fame player.—2021Holds it
UTAUtah JazzMiller familyFamily of the late Larry H. Miller, owners of the Jazz until 2020.—2020Holds it
WASWashington WizardsJeff SkollFirst president of eBay.under 10% of parent Monumental2022Holds it
WASWashington WizardsLaurene Powell JobsFounder of Emerson Collective; once Monumental's largest holder after Ted Leonsis.about 20% of parent Monumental in 20172017Holds it
WASWashington WizardsMark LernerPrincipal owner of baseball's Washington Nationals.——Holds it
WASWashington WizardsSheila JohnsonCo-founder of the BET television network.——Holds it

Only stakes that have been made public are listed; many teams have dozens of smaller partners who are not public. Parent-company stakes (Monumental for the Wizards, HBSE for the 76ers, BSE Global for the Nets, MLSE for the Raptors) are stakes in the whole company.

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