There is a lot that goes into winning in the NBA. The players are the stars, deservedly so, and the front-facing part of any organization. The head coach is a genius when his team succeeds and a putz when it loses. The lead basketball ops executives, who goes by many names now, puts it all together.
Advertisement
Then there is the team owner, who lifts the trophy when their franchise wins the title and fires the whole lot when they fail. Amidst the regular churn of the roster, the sidelines, and the front office, the spotlight often avoids them, even if they truly are the loudest voice in the organization.
Every year, the media that covers the NBA brings out its list of the league’s best players, its best coaches, or its top executives. They all matter. So does the owner, who makes the final decision on everything of note and is the only constant in even the most ever-changing team. There are perceptions, of course, of who is bad and who is good. Win-loss records are sometimes just a catch-all, though that’s not all that matters into separating the good from the bad in ownership.
But if ownership matters greatly — it does — then we should have some feel about who are considered the league’s best and worst at it. Even trying to define what makes a great owner is difficult.
“The definition of a good owner in sports is somebody who has deep pockets, they write blank checks, and they let the basketball people do their jobs without meddling too much,” one front office member said.
“The thing I value about owners are, one, willing to spend,” said one executive, “and, two, be upfront about what their goals are.”
One well-connected agent laid out the duality of ownership.
“Their ability to not only be a good leader but also to give the resources and get out of the way,” he said of what makes a good one. “Not overplay their hands in terms of their participation. Also, their vision.”
But, he notes, teams are ultimately theirs and they can do as they please.
“They’re entitled,” he said. “It’s their toy. They can do whatever they want to do with it. But it’s a poor decision when they integrate that way.”
Advertisement
Said a front office member: “I think the best owners are generally not super involved. They hire the president they chose and get out of the way. But that’s super hard. Owners these days want to get involved.”
In an attempt to get a sense of who falls into each bucket of competency at the ownership level, The Athletic surveyed 31 people around the NBA — 13 executives, 10 front office personnel, six scouts and two coaches — and asked them to cast their votes for the best and worst team owners. If ownership matters, then we should know who does the job well. Each voter was asked to cast a ballot with three people for each best and worst, and then the numbers were tallied. In some cases, a voter split their ballot with a tie for a spot, in which case each owner got half a vote.
Best NBA Owners
| OWNERSHIP | TEAM | VOTES |
|---|---|---|
Steve Ballmer | Clippers | 20.5 |
Micky Arison | Heat | 14 |
Mark Cuban | Mavericks | 11 |
Joe Lacob and Peter Guber | Warriors | 10.5 |
Wyc Grousbeck and Steve Pagliuca | Celtics | 8 |
Peter J. Holt | Spurs | 8 |
Steve Ballmer, LA Clippers
6 seasons as team owner, 5 playoff appearances, 0 NBA titles, 2 head coaches, .620 winning percentage
Ballmer has been in Los Angeles for just six years but he has built up quite a reputation in that time, even if the Clippers haven’t quite had the success to match. He bought the team from Donald Sterling, a man known for racism and penny-pinching, and has since transformed the franchise into one of the league’s leading organizations. The Clippers pulled off the coup of 2019 offseason, signing Kawhi Leonard and trading for Paul George — a testament to the reputation refurbishment that went on during Ballmer’s tenure.
Since 2014, Ballmer has built up an image as a free-spending, enthusiastic owner who walks the appropriate line between empowering his employees and his own involvement. As the league’s richest owner, no cost seems too big — he spent $400 million this spring to buy The Forum so he could end a legal battle with Madison Square Garden and build the Clippers a new arena nearby — and the Clippers are seen as smart, savvy organization.
“Will spend unapologetically and pays,” another front office member said. “Big staff.”
Advertisement
“He’s given the Clippers every resource they need,” a scout said. “He lets his people do their jobs.”
“I would say Ballmer is No. 1,” said another scout. “His enthusiasm, his willingness to spend money, what he’s done with the Clippers, forging into L.A., creating their own identity, and building their own building now, that’s bad news.”
“Ballmer is the best because it’s: ‘Hey Steve, we need this,'” an agent said. “OK, boom.”
“Everyone knows Ballmer is awesome because he spends so much money,” said another agent who put Ballmer on his ballot. “But is it fair to say someone is best because they’re rich?”
Micky Arison, Miami Heat
25 seasons as team owner, 19 playoff appearances, 6 Finals appearances, 3 NBA titles, 3 coaches, .568 winning percentage
Arison has had control of the Heat for 25 full seasons, taking over as majority shareholder in January 1995 and largely staying out of the limelight. Since then, the Heat have been one of the league’s best and most stable organizations. He lured Pat Riley to Miami and has watched him lead the franchise to three rings. Arison also made his son, Nick, the team’s CEO in 2017.
“Really with Boston and Miami, I think both of those owners do an unbelievable job,” an NBA agent said. “They have two people in Danny Ainge and Pat Riley who are two of the most respected executives ever but they let them do that. They never interfere … I think that speaks to just structure and an ownership group that is willing to listen to the people they hire and they trust. You see it all the time.”
Mark Cuban, Dallas Mavericks
20 seasons as team owner, 16 playoff appearances, 2 Finals appearances, 1 NBA title, 3 coaches, .600 winning percentage
Cuban has been one of the league’s most visible owners during his tenure. Where he used to heckle referees from his courtside seats, he now tweets copiously and is one of the NBA’s leading voices at the ownership level. The Mavericks have also had a lot of success under his reign. They hadn’t made the playoffs for 10 straight years before his first full season in control, and have rarely missed it since, including a 2011 NBA title. He has gained a reputation as a loyal owner, with continuity at the front office and coaching level, and keeping franchise icon Dirk Nowitzki around for the entirety of his career. The Mavericks are well-positioned for the future with emerging star Luka Doncic and Cuban has brought stability for a formerly rudderless franchise.
Advertisement
He hasn’t done it without some controversy. His early years were filled with lots of fines from the NBA and he has emerged as one of the league’s best owners despite committing one of its cardinal sins as a hands-on team owner. Usually, that doesn’t bode well for an organization and was something our panel of voters saw as a negative for the job, but Cuban has cultivated a reputation as a good owner despite that.
The Mavericks have also had significant problems throughout their organization during Cuban’s time in Dallas. A 2018 Sports Illustrated investigation uncovered a toxic workplace that was hostile to the women who worked there, with claims of sexual harassment and domestic violence, later confirmed by the Mavericks’ own investigators.
“What makes a great owner?” one agent said. “You can be a great owner because the guy (is) not involved. Or you can be the other side. Mark Cuban is heavily involved. You gotta deal with that. The guy is a great owner because he’s going to spend money.”
“I think he does a great job of taking the players that they have there,” a player agent said. “They certainly have issues with the culture but on the players strictly side they’re good to deal with.”
Others receiving votes: the Toronto Raptors ownership group, Clay Bennett (Oklahoma City Thunder), Jeanie Buss (Los Angeles Lakers), Joe Tsai (Brooklyn Nets), the Miller family (Utah Jazz), Dan Gilbert (Cleveland Cavaliers), Stan Kroenke (Denver Nuggets), Marc Lasry (Milwaukee Bucks), Ted Leonsis (Washington Wizards), Gayle Benson (New Orleans Pelicans).
Worst NBA Owners
| Owner | Team | Votes |
|---|---|---|
Vivek Ranadivé | Kings | 23.5 |
Robert Sarver | Suns | 23 |
James Dolan | Knicks | 21 |
Josh Harris and David Blitzer | 76ers | 5 |
Dan Gilbert | Cavaliers | 4 |
Glen Taylor | Timberwolves | 4 |
Vivek Ranadivé, Sacramento Kings
7 seasons as team owner, 0 playoff appearances, 0 Finals appearances, 0 NBA titles, 5 coaches, .388 winning percentage
Ranadivé bought the team in May 2013 and the seven years since have been pretty tumultuous. There have been multiple head coaching changes, several lead executives, and the trade of erstwhile star DeMarcus Cousins. This offseason, he made his latest change yet, dismissing general manager Vlade Divac for Monte McNair. Through it all, Ranadivé has been seen as a significant voice in the franchise’s decisions — as is his wont as the team’s owner, but also earns blowback when those choices age poorly. The Kings have been poorly run during his tenure and have no playoff appearances to show for it in that time.
“Talk about a chaotic organization,” one agent said.
“He seems like he’s trying too much to be Jerry Jones,” said one front office exec.
Advertisement
“His intentions are good but in terms of hiring the basketball people and letting them do their work, he both hires bad basketball people and doesn’t let them do their work,” an executive said. “That’s a bad combination.”
Robert Sarver, Phoenix Suns
16 seasons as team owner, 5 playoff appearances, 0 Finals appearances, 0 NBA titles, 9 coaches, .496 winning percentage
Sarver has built quite a fiefdom for himself in Phoenix, with persistent accusations of meddling, heavy-handedness, and, on at least one occasion, a barnyard animal. His time as Suns owner started off well, with the franchise caught up in the famed Seven Seconds or Less era, but there has been nary a playoff appearance since 2010. There have been copious coaching and executive changes, though.
The Suns are finally headed the right way now, with a bedrock of Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton and a big trade for Chris Paul. Our voters were quick to put Sarver on their list, with nearly two decades of poorly run Suns as evidence.
“He’s had such a long run at this thing, and he’s always cutting corners,” one executive said. “He’s not willing to spend. Just the little things that players would appreciate.”
James Dolan, New York Knicks
20 seasons as team owner, 5 playoff appearances, 0 Finals appearances, 0 NBA titles, 14 coaches, .400 winning percentage
No team owner in the NBA has built up a reputation for himself like Dolan. Since he took over Madison Square Garden, the Knicks have followed one of the best decades in their franchise’s history with 20 years of its worst, beset by scandal and dysfunction. Dolan has spent copiously and interceded at critical times. He seems to have gotten out of the way over the last half-decade, but his choices of executives to lead basketball operations have flailed at the job.
“I don’t think you can make one of these lists without putting his name on it,” one front office member said. “He’s willing to spend the money. That’s great. He checks that off the list. The problem he has is he has not shown the ability to hire anyone with any sort of intelligence for a long time. The Isiah Thomas debacle. The Phil Jackson debacle. Being able to hire people underneath you is a skill and he has not shown that skill. If you’re trying to hire people to make specific decisions in an industry. They’ve got to be experts and they’ve got to show reasonable decision making.”
Said an agent: “I’m a big James Dolan fan. Not that he’s a great owner, but I think he gets a bad rap … He’s obviously done some dumb stuff. I don’t know what his obsession with Isiah is … I feel like he spends fucking money. The Knicks have had bad luck. They made some bad picks … I wouldn’t put him in the bottom three, where I think everyone else would.”
Advertisement
“I think there’s different ways you can look at what makes a good owner,” said another agent. “You can never debate he’s not put resources into it, money into it. I think there’s an argument he’s not a bad owner. He spends money … That’s true. It also comes down to running an organization and structure and accountability. What they’ve gone through the last 20 years — not to mention PR nightmare after PR nightmare. I don’t think he hires good people — hopefully with this new regime it changes — you look at the overall work … He’s always listening to different people and I don’t think he’s done a good job that makes the organization move.”
Others receiving votes: Michael Jordan (Charlotte Hornets), Jerry Reinsdorf (Chicago Bulls), Tilman Fertitta (Houston Rockets), Robert Pera (Memphis Grizzlies), the DeVos family (Orlando Magic).
Correction: A previous version of this story stated Steve Ballmer was planning to tear down The Forum. He is not.
(Photo of Paul George and Steve Ballmer: Andrew D. Bernstein / NBAE via Getty Images)
ncG1vNJzZmismJqutbTLnquim16YvK57kWttamlhbnxzfJFpZmpqX2aEcLrBmmSor56av7R50ZqlpJ2UZA%3D%3D