Don’t worry, Knicks fans.
While the team’s on-court play is stinking up the Big Apple from Tremont to Tottenville, owner Jimmy Dolan — by increasing ticket prices and jacking up the cost of a courtside hot dog — has seen the value of the team jump 27 percent in just one year.
Congratulations!
With the huge run-up in value — to $1.4 billion — the Knickerbockers have retained the title as the most valuable NBA franchise, according to Forbes.
Operating profit for Dolan’s team came in at $96.3 million — or more than $2 million per home game, Forbes magazine found, whether they win, lose or even, yes, not show up to play.
The Lakers, whose value soared 35 percent in the last year to $1.35 billion, are the NBA’s No. 2 most-valuable franchise.
The Chicago Bulls were the third and final NBA team in the billion-dollar club, as owner Jerry Reinsdorf’s profitable toy saw its value soar 25 percent to $1 billion.
The Brooklyn Nets came in fifth, behind the Boston Celtics, and are worth $780 million. While their value — thanks to their escape from New Jersey — increased 47 percent, more than Dolan’s Knicks, the magazine reported the Kings County franchise was nicked by an operating loss of $19 million.
Forbes estimates that since the Nets moved to Brooklyn two years ago, the franchise value has rocketed 108 percent.
In its annual report, the magazine estimated that the average NBA franchise is worth $634 million, up more than 25 percent from the previous year. Profit doubled to an all-time high of $23.7 million per team.
What’s more, smart money might just think that this kind of double-digit growth is a better bet than the Knicks’ next home game. For example, the potentially lucrative national television deals, which are currently being negotiated, won’t kick in until after the 2015-16 season.