Sell The Team! The Five Worst Owners In The NBA

July 18, 2023

Which NBA owners should sell their teams? Joe Nicely ranks the NBA's five worst owners who consistently alienate fans, and hurt their franchises on and off the field.

Owning an NBA team isn't for everyone. While all owners in the National Basketball Association are uber-wealthy, perhaps not all of them were cut out to run professional basketball franchises. In this article, we'll discuss five owners that aren't up to the task.

The NBA is no stranger to owners who have struggled to achieve success or effectively lead their teams. From a lack of on-court triumphs to questionable choices off the court, these owners have faced scrutiny from fans, as well as the media, and have been widely regarded as some of the league's worst.

Whether it be meddling in personnel decisions or failing to invest in their teams financially, the owners on this list have routinely made missteps that have negatively impacted their franchises on and off the court. Some have simply struggled to build a winning culture, while others have alienated their fanbases with their behavior and comments. In this ranking of the five worst owners in the NBA, we will take a closer look at each of these five owners in more detail, and explore their - largely negative - impact on their teams and the league as a whole.

#5. Glen Taylor, Minnesota Timberwolves

Since purchasing the upstart Minnesota franchise in 1994, the Glen Taylor era has been marked by ineffectiveness on the court and often-disastrous decisions made off it.

Taylor’s T-Wolves have made zero trips to the NBA Finals and have captured just a single Division title (2004) during his time at the helm of the organization. These shortcomings are all the more frustrating when considering that Minnesota had a generational great in Kevin Garnett during the prime years of his career.

From a salary cap scandal involving Joe Smith that resulted in one of the stiffest punishments in league history for Taylor, to horrible draft picks, trades, and free agency decisions, Minnesota has been an NBA joke for years. 

In addition to the lack of on-court results, Taylor’s way of handling business dealings has also been a point of contention for many, as he reportedly went back on his word and a handshake agreement with beloved Minnesota legend Garnett on an agreement to include him in the Timberwolves’ ownership group.

Even now that he’s in the process of selling the team to an ownership group of Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez, Taylor’s contract requirements have been unlike anything we’ve seen before, as he’s forced the group to make a series of payments while he remains in power until the end of 2023.

#4. Gayle Benson, New Orleans Pelicans

As the owner of the NFL's New Orleans Saints and the NBA's Pelicans, Gayle Benson is one of the most powerful women in sports. Unfortunately, after inheriting the Louisiana franchises upon her husband Tom Benson's passing in 2018, it seems as though Mrs. Benson has focused the vast majority of her energy and efforts on her beloved Saints, while the Pelicans have continued to languish as a bottom-to-mid-tier NBA organization.

Losing can be forgiven for a variety of reasons, but it's hard to swallow when the Pelicans have had not one, but two different legitimate superstars on their roster during Benson's tenure. The team traded away Anthony Davis to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2019, just over 12 months after Benson took control of the Pelicans. That same year, New Orleans used the number-one overall pick in the NBA Draft to select phenom Zion Williamson, a player that's looked like a generational talent when he's on the court but has missed 188 of a possible 302 games for the Pelicans, including the entirety of the 2021-22 season.

While Benson can't be held accountable for Zion's neverending injury issues, under her watch the Pelicans have experienced multiple coaching changes and front-office shake-ups, leading to a sense of instability. This lack of continuity has hindered the team's progress and made it challenging to build a winning culture. Though she has made efforts to invest in the franchise and create a positive impact on the community, addressing these concerns and fostering a more stable and successful environment remains a challenge for her as the owner of the Pelicans.

#3. Joe Tsai, Brooklyn Nets

There are disasters, and then there are DISASTERS. Since taking over as owner of the Brooklyn Nets in 2019, Joe Tsai's tenure at the helm of the long-struggling organization has been marked by a series of disasters that are Titanic in scope.

In what was his first order of business as the Nets new owner, Tsai attempted to make a splash by bringing both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to Brooklyn. Tsai and the gang later doubled down by swinging a trade to bring James Harden to the team, a move that ultimately resulted in exactly zero playoff wins for the neo "Big Three".

Tsai's questionable decision-making hasn't just been limited to players, as he parted ways with popular Brooklyn head coach Kenny Atkinson in 2020 and later that year hired former NBA great Steve Nash to be the Nets head coach, despite Nash having zero coaching experience at any level.

After a roller coaster ride that began the minute he took the helm of the long-struggling franchise, Tsai's leadership - or total lack thereof - has resulted in Durant, Irving, Harden, and Nash all being gone from the organization by 2023. It's pretty hard to make the New York Knicks look competent (more on that in a moment), but the Nets owner has surprisingly pulled it off during his time in Brooklyn.

#2. Michael Jordan, Charlotte Hornets

Widely regarded as the greatest basketball player in history, Michael Jordan's tenure as the owner of the Charlotte Hornets has been one plagued by consistent failure. Despite his history of success on the court, Jordan has struggled mightily to replicate those achievements as an owner.

Since Jordan became the Hornets' majority owner in 2010, the team has made the playoffs only three times and have never advanced past the first round. The Charlotte franchise - then known as the Bobcats - also has the dubious distinction of having the worst NBA regular-season record in history, going just 7-59 in 2012. It's a stark contrast to the North Carolina native's championship lineage as a player.

His legendary competitiveness and belief in himself has likely hindered his decision-making as an owner with MJ reportedly being at the root of some of the team's biggest blunders, which include disastrous lottery picks in the NBA draft. Under Jordan's watch - and likely due to his final say - the franchise has selected glorious busts such as Adam Morrison, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Frank Kaminsky, Cody Zeller, and many more.

Recent reports have trickled out that Jordan is considering selling his majority ownership stake in the Hornets. While he remains beloved by basketball fans for his achievements on the court and his standing as a cultural brand icon off it, his sale of the organization would signal an end to what can be considered Air Jordan's biggest professional failure.

#1. James Dolan, New York Knicks

Let's chalk this year's second-round playoff run up to "even a blind squirrel finds a nut occasionally", as any success for the New York Knicks has been the exception and not the rule during James Dolan's tenure as the owner of the storied franchise. It isn't hyperbole to say that Dolan has long been despised by Knicks fans and is often discussed as one of the worst owners in the history of not only the NBA but in all of sports.

Although the Knicks made the NBA Finals in 1999 shortly after Dolan acquired the team in 1997, it marked the end of an era for the franchise, as legendary center Patrick Ewing would play just one more year for the organization. Following their '99 Finals run, the Knicks did not post another winning season until the 2012-13 season.

During that span, Dolan's leadership led to some laughably-bad gaffes, including signing Allan Houston to a highly-criticized $100 million contract when his next-highest offer was reportedly $75 million. Dolan also brought in Isiah Thomas as the team's President and General Manager - and eventually, head coach - a decision that led to more frustration from fans after Dolan's consistent backing of Thomas' horrible results.

There was also a misguided attempt to bring in legendary coach and former Knicks player Phil Jackson to run the organization. Unfortunately, for Dolan and Knicks fans, Jackson's golden touch didn't translate in New York, as he nearly destroyed the team with horrible free-agent signings and terrible trades.

Dolan has drawn the ire of Knicks' fans not only for the team's abysmal on-court results but also in large part to his behavior off it, which has included a sexual harassment lawsuit by a former Knicks female executive involving Thomas in 2007, as well as multiple instances of removing and banning fans from Madison Square Garden due to anti-Dolan clothing or statements, which included the controversial removal of Knicks legend Charles Oakley from MSG during a game in 2017 after he and Dolan engaged in a public yelling match, as well as a run-in with long-time Knicks supporter Spike Lee over the entrance that Lee used to enter the Garden.

Despite all of the losses on the hardwood and Dolan's cringe-inducing behavior off it, Knicks fans have stayed loyal and passionate to their beloved team. While this year's second-round playoff run offers some hope for the future, New York fans will always be forced to throttle back their expectations as long as Dolan owns the team.

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