Wyc Grousbeck Plans To Sell The Boston Celtics; Bought For $360 Million, Could Sell For $5 Billion

The Boston Celtics won the NBA championship after 14 years this season. And the owners want to get out when the going is good, as the Celtics’ majority ownership group, led by Wyc Grousbeck, could be looking to sell the team, according to Adrian Wojnarowski.

Woj added that the team owners’ statement read that they would try and sell a majority interest in the team by late 2024 or early 2025, and close the deal by 2028 with the final payments. Till the sale is completed with the final payments, Grousbeck will stay on as the team’s governor.

Wyc Grousbeck formed the Boston Basketball Partners L.L.C. in 2002 along with several other financial backers to purchase the Celtics in 2002. Since taking over, they were able to rebuild the Celtics within six years and financed the team to their first NBA championship since 1986, winning the title in 2008.

Since then, they have gone through several different phases, and been able to sustain the team’s growth to rebuild and return to being NBA champions this year. Under their ownership, the team has won two NBA championships and appeared in four NBA Finals.

The owners also oversaw the team signing two of the largest contracts in NBA history. Last year, Jaylen Brown signed a five-year, $286 million contract extension. Earlier today, it was announced that Jayson Tatum will sign a five-year, $314 million contract extension, the largest contract in NBA history, surpassing Brown’s contract for that title.

With the announcement being this recent, there is no word on any frontrunners or bidders for the NBA champions. It will be interesting to monitor this sale process, especially considering how complicated the sales of NBA teams can be. The last NBA franchise to engage in a sale was the Timberwolves, and that has been a highly contentious transaction.

The Celtics ownership group will hope to avoid a controversial transaction like the Timberwolves.

Will The Celtics Remain Successful Under New Owners?

Good ownership in the NBA is an oft-forgotten, but important factor in an NBA franchise’s success. Certain franchises have had all the tools to win a title, but poor ownership has held them back, even in recent years.

For example, the Brooklyn Nets ended up blowing up their team because of a disagreement between Kyrie Irving and owner Joe Tsai over Irving’s off-the-court behavior, which caused Kevin Durant to also demand a trade. Tsai’s on-hand ownership forced the team to trade their stars away and enter a rebuild recently.

The Celtics for now will be focused on defending their NBA championship. The players will ignore any aspect of a sale and pay attention to matters on the court, as they look to become the first NBA team to go back-to-back as NBA champions since the 2017-18 Golden State Warriors.

The Celtics have arguably the best roster in the NBA, with five former or current All-Stars on their roster, and an incredible cast of role players who proved their value this year, en route to the Celtics winning their 18th NBA championship and becoming the most successful franchise in NBA history, once again.