NBA Board of Governors unanimously approves sale of Timberwolves and Lynx

Chris Hine, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Jun 24, 2025

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MINNEAPOLIS — 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.”

They are expected to comment on the sale after official approval.

Among the items they will likely address is 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.

The Wolves have advanced to the Western Conference finals in consecutive seasons and were over the NBA’s second apron this season, and that required Taylor to make a luxury tax payment of more than $85 million.

The attention of the new owners, and the team, quickly turns to Wednesday night’s first round of the NBA draft.

The Timberwolves have the 17th pick Wednesday and the 31st overall pick in Thursday’s second round in a draft run by Tim Connelly, the team’s president of basketball operations who was recruited by Rodriguez and Lore from a similar position with the Denver Nuggets in 2022.

In his three previous drafts with the Wolves, Connelly has moved around the draft board; after this season ended with a loss to eventual NBA champion Oklahoma City in the Western Conference finals, Connelly said the emphasis this year would be finding players who might contribute right away.

“If we can add a clear rotation piece using those picks, we’d be all over it,” Connelly said. “We’re also very excited and encouraged about the guys who are going to be there.”

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