More than four years since they agreed to a multi-year process to become owners of the Timberwolves and Lynx, Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez have now been approved to become controlling owners of the franchises.
The NBA’s Board of Governors voted unanimously Tuesday to make Lore and Rodriguez the majority owners as the 31-year term of Glen Taylor comes to an end.
The sale will become finalized when the $1.5 billion deal closes on Wednesday.
Tuesday’s vote represents the league’s signing off on the transaction, which it did two other times in the process in 2021 and 2023, when Lore and Rodriguez bought shares of the franchises that amount to around 20%.
The events of the week represent the end of a drawn-out process to the finish line that began in March 2024, when Taylor tried to cancel the sale of the remaining portion of the franchises, citing Lore and Rodriguez’s failure to meet certain contractual deadlines. Lore and Rodriguez took him to arbitration, where they prevailed in a 2-1 decision in February.
Since the sides entered the agreement in 2021, the value of NBA franchises has shot up, with the Lakers being sold for a valuation of $10 billion last week. Forbes has recently estimated the Wolves value at $3.1 billion with Sportico saying the Lynx are valued at $85 million as the WNBA increases in popularity.
Lore, 53, and Rodriguez, 49, have committed to keeping the team in Minnesota from the day they joined the ownership group, and a statement after the arbitration ruling made reference to their intent to win championships “in Minnesota.”
Among the items they will likely address are plans for the future of Target Center or a new arena and their willingness to pay the NBA’s luxury tax to keep the Wolves competitive.
