Does having the best NBA team make you profitable?  Forbes recently released a summary of the financial standings of NBA teams and we compiled a list of the Top 10 most profitable teams.  As with all businesses the majority of the profitable NBA teams have the best owners, there are several exceptions. The 2011 NBA playoffs appear to be as good as any in the past decade as we prepare to watch some of the best NBA players of all time battle for the championship.

Here are the 10 most profitable NBA franchises:

1.     New York Knicks               Profit: $64 Million            Value: $655 Million

2.     Chicago Bulls                       Profit: $51.3 Million          Value: $511 Million

3.     Houston Rockets              Profit: $35.9 Million        Value: $443 Million

4.     Los Angeles Lakers            Profit: $33.4 Million          Value: $643 Million

5.     Detroit Pistons                  Profit: $31.8 Million        Value: $31.8 Million

6.     Toronto Raptors                Profit: $25.3 Million          Value: $399 Million

7.     Ok City Thunder                Profit: $22.6 Million        Value: $329 Million

8.     Phoenix Suns                      Profit: $20.4 Million          Value: $411 Million

9.     Golden State Warriors   Profit: $14.3 Million        Value: $363 Million

10.  L.A. Clippers                         Profit: $11 Million              Value: $305 Million

The LA Lakers have won the last two NBA championships and only rank fourth on this list.  Which team do think is the least profitable?  Stay tuned.

Tags: NBA, Profit, Team, Most, List, Rank, Knicks, Bulls, Lakers, best, Top 10, basketball