Business

Knicks upset Lakers as top hoop$ team

The New York Knicks are the most valuable NBA team after unseating the Los Angeles Lakers, according to Forbes’ annual ranking.

The Knicks are worth $1.1 billion after rising 41 percent in value, driven by the ongoing renovation of Madison Square Garden.

The $980 million, three-year facelift led to more suite sales, ads and sponsorships, resulting in the Knicks leading the league in revenue with $243 million.

Besides the new arena, the Knicks sold the most NBA merchandise, showing that fan support is also growing, Forbes Senior Editor Kurt Badenhausen told The Post.

The No. 2 Lakers are valued at $1 billion, up a more modest 11 percent. Last year, the Lakers were ahead of the Knicks because of a lucrative cable rights deals it signed with Time Warner Cable.

The Knicks, controlled by Madison Square Garden boss Jimmy Dolan, are also the most profitable team, with $83.2 million in operating income, vs. $47.8 for the Lakers.

The two teams are the first NBA franchises to join the $1 billion club.

The Chicago Bulls ($800 million), Boston Celtics ($730 million) and Dallas Mavericks ($685 million) rounded out the top five spots.

Teams on average this year gained 30 percent in value. Forbes credited the league’s new collective bargaining agreement and rising multiples of revenue paid for basketball teams.

The Brooklyn Nets also got a boost after moving to the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn from New Jersey. Forbes values the team at $530 million, up a whopping 48 percent.

Forbes estimates Nets revenue at $84 million in 2012, but sources project revenue will nearly double this year. The team, though, may not break even in 2013 because of the $30 million-plus its owners are shelling out annually for costs related to building the arena, Badenhausen said.

In May 2010, Russian-born businessman Mikhail Prokhorov bought 80 percent of the team and 45 percent of the arena for $223 million.

Of that amount, around $140 million was allocated for the purchase of the team.