An Asian Canadian is the New Owner of the Brooklyn Nets

Views From The Edge

Over the summer, the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets signed superstar Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan, instantly transforming the team to a potential championship contender. But that wasn’t the biggest news about the team. Last week, billionaire Joe Tsai bought the team.

The reported sale price of $2.35 billion is a record for a sports franchise, and according to several reports Tsai’s investment is worth at least $3 billion, including his purchase of ownership of Barclays Center.

In buying the team from its Russian owner Mikahail Prokhorov, Tsai becomes the second Asian owner of an NBA team. The Sacramento Kings is owned by Vivek Ranadivé.

In a statement, Tsai emphasized he is committed “to bring[ing] our exciting brand of basketball to our fans.” 

“We have an incredible group of players who want to win, and because of their talent and hard work, we are now in a great position to compete,” Tsai wrote. “I am thrilled to be partners with winners!”

NBA owners unanimously approved the sale of the Nets to Tsai.

“In addition to being a passionate basketball fan, Joe is one of China’s pre-eminent internet, media and e-commerce pioneers and his expertise will be invaluable in the league’s efforts to grow the game in China and other global markets,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement.

Tsai is best known for being the co-founder of Alibaba– the largest retailer and e-commerce company in the world. Tsai is reportedly worth $9.2 billion according to Forbes. The Taiwanese-Canadian entrepreneur understands how to grow a company, especially with regards to the Chinese market.

While attending Yale, Tsai, who already has homes in New York, California and China, played lacrosse for the Ivy League school.

After landing its three superstars, the Nets gave Caris LeVert a three-year, $52.5 million rookie extension Sunday. It pushed their summer spree past $400 million.

“We already know we have an ownership group that’s ready to fork out the big money when that timing is right,” said general manager Sean Marks said last year, when Prokhorov and Tsai were co-owners.

“We know with our ownership group … you’ve got owners that are committed to building this with a foundation that has some longevity and they’re committed to this, which is great.”

Next month, the Nets will travel to China to play a series of games against the L.A. Lakers, part of the NBA’s strategy to increase its market to Asia. Tsai also noted the NBA has a fanatical base of followers in the Philippines and Malaysia.

Indeed, this past March, the NBA and Alibaba announced a partnership to launch an “NBA Section” across all of their platforms. Tsai taking ownership of the Nets will only further solidify the investment both sides have in seeing the league grow its presence in Asia.

Tsai is a Canadian citizen and is frequently seen at Nets games with his wife, philanthropist Clara Wu, a U.S. citizen who grew up in Kansas.

The global entrepreneur’s interest in sports goes beyond an investment. He already owns an indoor lacrosse team in the newly formed National Lacrosse League, the Seals, in San Diego and three weeks ago, bought the New York Liberty, the WNBA team in New York.

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