Congrats, on the title, Boston Celtics. You will soon belong to someone else.
At least, that's a possibility, as the Celtics are said to be up for sale two weeks after winning the NBA championship.
Per Tim Bontemps of ESPN, the Celtics "majority ownership group, led by Wyc Grousbeck, is planning to make the franchise available for sale.
"Grousbeck and partner Steve Pagliuca led a group that purchased the team in 2002 for $360 million. Since then, franchise valuations have skyrocketed, with the latest teams to sell controlling shares being the Phoenix Suns, which went for $4 billion to Mat Ishbia in February 2023, the Milwaukee Bucks, with Jimmy and Dee Haslam paying $3.5 billion several weeks later, and the Dallas Mavericks, with the Adelson and Dumont families paying $3.5 billion in December."
The Celtics' current ownership group made the stunning announcement in a statement. That said, the statement did add that the franchise "expects Wyc Grousbeck to remain as the Governor of the team until the second closing in 2028."
Nonetheless, this has never happened before — where both teams in the Finals have either been sold or about to be sold.
"Since the Grousbeck-led group Boston Basketball Partners purchased the team, the Celtics have consistently been among the league's best teams. They've won two championships — including the title last month with a five-game victory over the Mavericks in the NBA Finals — and reached the NBA Finals on two other occasions," Bontemps wrote.
Over that span, Boston is third in regular-season victories, trailing only the San Antonio Spurs and Mavericks — the three teams with over 1,000 regular-season victories during that period — and are second to the Miami Heat in playoff victories.
