Indiana's Heartbreak; Caitlin's Burden; Owners' Harvest

Tyrese Haliburton's injury deflated what in all likelihood would have been a classic Game 7 of the NBA finals last night.

Haliburton has been the breakout star of the playoffs. Earlier this year he was voted the "most overrated player" in the NBA by a small sample of 90 players who participated in a survey.

What nonsense.

He made a game-winning or game-tying shot in the final seconds of four games, one in each playoff round. He led his team to thrilling series wins over the New York Knicks and the No. 1 seeded Cleveland Cavaliers, and despite playing with a strained right calf, had the Pacers in position to possibly win the championship. He's the best player and unquestioned leader of his team, and a class act.

The Thunder are a worthy champion. They won 68 games during the regular season. They have the league MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, All-NBA second team two-way star Jalen Williams, and multi-talented Chet Holmgren.

But their victory seems a little tainted.

Seven minutes into Sunday's game, Haliburton had already drained three three-pointers. He pushed off his leg to drive to the basket and crumpled to the floor, the victim of a serious Achilles injury.

As he pounded the floor in frustration, our hearts broke with his.

His injury deprived millions of fans of a classic Game 7 and may have deprived Indiana of the title.

Caitlin's Burden: Congrats to the Golden State Valkyries for an impressive win over Caitlin Clark and the Indiana fever Thursday night.

The Valks limited Clark to 11 points on 3 of 14 shooting and held her without a 3-pointer for only the second time in her WNBA career.

I've been a huge fan of Clark's since I wrote a blog about her--"The Best Player in College Hoops"--during her junior year. I've been struck not only by her incredible skill set as an elite shooter and passer, but also by her competitiveness, professionalism, classy demeanor and engagement with the fans. 

Clark is now the face of the WNBA, and other than a little too much whining to the officials, is handling everything with great poise and aplomb. Her team will contend for the league title, she will be the top vote-getter in the All-Star game, and she is one of the three leading candidates for league MVP (along with Minnesota's Naplheesa Collier and New York's Sabrina Ionescu).

Imagine the pressure on this 23-year old, who is expected to fill arenas throughout the league, hold press conferences in every city, do several pre/post and in-game interviews, bury a bunch of 3s from the logo, and deliver dazzling passes every night. 

And most nights, she does just that.

What's disturbing, however, are the cheap shots and the animosity toward Clark from some of the players on opposing teams.

This woman has revolutionized the game, brought millions of new fans to women's basketball, and will put lots of money in every WNBA player's pocket when the new CBA is negotiated next season. Yet they constantly try to bully her. 

I realize other players may be jealous of all the attention she receives, but they shouldn't try to kill the goose that laid the golden egg.

Owners' Bounty: We've written often about the stratospheric growth of players', coaches' and administrators' salaries in college and pro sports.

We now live in a universe where NFL quarterbacks and top NBA stars make $50 million per year, where top coaches in both the college and pro ranks make over $10 million, and college quarterbacks can now transfer schools for $4 million or more.

But all that is chump change compared to what team owners are pulling in.

Last week the Los Angeles Lakers, which had been a family-run business since Jerry Buss purchased the team in 1979, was sold to Dodgers' owner Mark Walter and TWG Global.

The valuation of the franchise was established at $10 billion, a record for a pro sports team.

Buss bought the Lakers for $67.5 million in '79 in a deal that also included the LA Kings and the Forum in Inglewood. 

Under Buss and his children's leadership, the Lakers have won 11 NBA championships led by some of the league's iconic figures, including Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbr, Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.

The same year Buss bought the team he drafted Johnson with the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft. The pick worked out pretty well, as Magic led the Lakers to five NBA titles in the "Showtime" era. 

In that '79 rookie season Johnson averaged 18 points, 7.7 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 2.4 steals per game. And in Game 6 of the NBA finals, Magic filled in for Abdul-Jabbar at center. scored 42 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, dished out 7 assists and made 3 steals, securing the championship and MVP honors.

Recent rankings by Forbes, CNBC and Sportico have all listed the Golden State Warriors as the NBA's most valuable franchise, with values ranging from $.8.8 to $9.4 billion. Those rankings all had the Lakers between $7 and $8B.

Joe Lacob and Peter Guber bought the Warriors back in 2010 for $450 million. At the time, the franchise was in terrible shape, both financially and on the court. Five championships and a new arena later, the Warriors have increased in value 20 fold.

Similar largesse has been occurring throughout the league.

In March, the Boston Celtics were purchased for $6.1 billion. Mark Cuban sold his control of the Dallas Mavericks in 2023 for $3.5 billion., Earlier that year the Milwaukee Bucks also were sold for $3.5 billion, and in '22 the Phoenix Suns went for $4 billion.

After the deal is finalized, the Buss family trust will maintain an 18% stake in the franchise and Jerry's daughter, Jeanie, will remain the team's governor.

Walter has done an excellent job with the Dodgers, and I think he'll prove to be a successful owner of the Lakers.

He'll also do very well with his investment. The Lakers, and the city with which they are entwined, are too big to fail. Some time, some where down the line, someone will value them at well above $10 billion.

TV Time: Since Jerry's Buss's death in 2013, the family has had its share of turmoil. Jeanie Buss, who was named Lakers' president when her father died, removed her brother, Jim, as executive VP of basketball operations, then survived a coup attempt when Jim and his brother John tried to get the Board of Directors to oust her.

I don't usually recommend TV series in this blog, but if you're looking for a very entertaining basketball-themed show, check out Netflix's Running Point. The lead character, played by Kate Hudson, is based on Jeanie Buss. She assumes control of the Los Angeles Waves basketball team and deals with many of the same famiiy issues Jeanie Buss has had to handle.

Hell, Hudson even looks like Buss.