The Oklahoma City Thunder won their first NBA championship in 2025, but the team could soon be under new ownership. Tulsa World’s Berry Tramel revealed why the Clay Bennett-led group would be interested in selling the Thunder.
“A source close to Thunder Chairman Clay Bennett told the Tulsa World that the rising value of NBA franchises makes it quite likely that the Thunder’s partners will want to sell soon.
“And now that a championship parade has come to downtown OKC, there is one fewer reason for the ownership group to retain the franchise. Apart from bringing an NBA franchise to their home state, the owners have achieved the ultimate goal, winning the O’Brien Trophy.
“’Soon’ is a variable. The owners could wait until the Thunder’s new $1 billion arena opens in 2028, which will be another landmark event for the franchise, city, and state.”
Bennett’s Professional Basketball Club LLC had purchased the Seattle SuperSonics for $350 million in 2006. He had promised to keep the team in Seattle, but failure to secure public funding for a new arena meant he moved the team to Oklahoma before the 2008-09 season.
The expectation is that the new ownership group would keep the team in Oklahoma City. There would be a heavy penalty for moving, as per the lease with the new arena. Relocation within five years of playing there would incur a $1 billion fine, which would drop to $850 million if the exit comes in years six through 10.
As for how much the Thunder would go for, Forbes valued them at $3.65 billion in 2024. The price might have gone up, though, based on some recent sales.
The Boston Celtics, the 2024 NBA champions, were sold for $6.1 billion earlier this year to a group headed by Bill Chisholm, the managing partner of Symphony Technology Group. The Thunder’s ownership would be following in the Celtics’ lead if they sell the team right after winning it all.
More recently, the Buss family agreed to sell the majority stake of the Los Angeles Lakers at a $10 billion valuation to Mark Walter, the CEO and chairman of diversified holding company TWG Global.
Now, the Thunder are not the Celtics or the Lakers, so it’s unlikely they’ll be sold for more than $5 billion. Still, Bennett and his group would get a great return on their investment.
The James Harden debacle aside, Bennett has proven to be a good owner for the Thunder. The team has a 793-565 record under his leadership and has made the playoffs 12 times in 17 seasons. The Thunder finally won that elusive championship this year, and the future is extremely bright at this point.
