The value of the Golden State Warriors franchise is skyrocketing

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Forbes has released their annual list of NBA franchise values, and to no surprise, the New York Knicks ($3.0 billion) and the Los Angeles Lakers ($2.7 billion) are at the top. But the team that has surged the most in recent years is the Golden State Warriors.

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As recently as 2011, the Warriors were valued below the NBA average, and as recently as 2006, the Warriors were listed at 25% below average. Eleven years later, with the help of some of the best players in the NBA, an NBA championship, and a new privately funded arena on the horizon, the Warriors are now the third-most-valuable team in the NBA, at $2.6 billion.

The value of NBA franchises in general surged from 2013 to 2015, thanks to skyrocketing television revenue as well as the sale of the Los Angeles Clippers for a record $2.0 billion. But as the growth in value of the average NBA team slowed a bit the last two years, the Warriors kept going, and now they are worth nearly twice as much as the average team.

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Cork Gaines/Business Insider

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