Saudi Arabia has used its seemingly bottomless well of funds to invest in some of the top sports leagues and teams around the world. Could the NBA be next?
Theoretically, yes -- but there hasn’t been any indication that the Saudis are interested in the NBA yet, according to the NBA’s Commissioner Adam Silver.
Silver hopped on the “Dan Patrick Show” on Thursday, June 8 and said as far as his knowledge, there has been no discussion from the Saudis about investing in the NBA.
“They certainly haven’t come to the league office,” Silver said.
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That doesn’t rule out the possibility that Saudi has poked around at teams -- but Silver’s denial should indicate that there’s likely no traction yet if there has been interest.
But if the Saudis do decide to go towards one of the world’s most popular league’s, it could invest in NBA teams through its Public Investment Fund due to the rule change the NBA enacted last year.
In late 2022, the NBA allowed sovereign wealth funds, pensions funds, and university endowments to be allowed to buy shares in NBA teams. This rule change came two years after the NBA began allowing private equity investors to purchase stakes in its teams, a move that opened the doors for more investors to get their hands on an NBA team.
To try to ensure status quo in terms of team decision-making, the NBA has ensured that individual owners -- such as Los Angeles Clippers governor Steve Ballmer and Dallas Maverick governor Mark Cuban -- should still have majority control over NBA franchises. Funds can only own a maximum of 30% of any NBA team, and only a maximum of 20% can be owned by an individual fund.
“We allow funds to invest in teams, but not to control teams, not to have influence over teams,” Silver said.
But amid the controversy surrounding the human rights atrocities of the Saudi government which has caused chaos through the PGA Tour and LIV Tour turf war, Silver did not seem to reject of the Saudis potential entry into the NBA, instead pointing the finger at the media for also propping up the Saudi’s “sportswashing” agenda.
“I hear the comments about sportswashing,” Silver said. “On the other hand, you’re talking about it, others are talking about it. … I think people learn about these countries, learn about what’s happening in the world in ways they otherwise wouldn’t. So I think the media does its job.”
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