The Golden State Warriors were one of the biggest surprises in the NBA last season after making the playoffs and defeating the heavily favored Denver Nuggets in the first round and now the team is looking very good for the future, as the franchise has been valued at $800 million.
When the team was first purchased by Joe Lacob and Peter Guber in 2010 for $450 million, many felt that the price was too HIGH since it was the most anyone had paid for a franchise at the time, but now that the team has rebuilt and made the playoffs and has plans for a new arena, the franchise is more valuable than ever. According to ESPN.com, the valuation of the team was from "the price Silicon Valley venture capitalist Mark Stevens agreed to pay" to get his share of the team after partner Vivek Ranadive had to sell it to buy the Sacramento Kings.
The report says that in January the team was valued at $555 million in Forbes magazine, but clearly now that has changed. The team has plans to build a privately funded arena in the San Francisco area and the design shows a sleek and modern looking building made with the latest technology and fan amenities. The Warriors are a success on the court now too and they were mentioned as a possible team for Dwight Howard to sign with after he left the Lakers, although he obviously signed with the Houston Rockets instead.
The core of the team for head coach Mark Jackson is Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and David Lee and the excitement from those players helped the team to sell out 38 straight games last season. The team also added Andre Iguodala in the offseason to be their new primary scorer and offensive threat and the ESPN report says that since the signing period this summer, the team has solid 3,000 season tickets, giving the team a total; of 14,000, the most they have ever had.
The Warriors now are heading into the 2013-14 season with high expectations after making the playoffs last season and with Iguodala in the fold and the new valuation, clearly the franchise is thriving. The team now wants to see if it can get to the Western conference finals after making it into the second round last season.
