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Boston Celtics majority ownership group putting team up for sale weeks after championship win

Boston Basketball Partners LLC plans to sell the majority of its shares this year or by early 2025, according to a team statement.
Wyc Grousbeck
Posted at 8:01 PM, Jul 01, 2024

The Boston Celtics are going up for sale, just weeks after the team landed its 18th NBA championship.

On Monday, the team's ownership group, Boston Basketball Partners LLC, released a statement announcing its plan to sell all of its shares of the team this year or by early 2025.

Wyc Grousbeck, whose family leads Boston Basketball Partners, is expected to remain the team's NBA governor until the sale is completed, likely in 2028, the statement read.

"The controlling family of the ownership group, after considerable thought and internal discussion, has decided to sell the team for estate and family planning considerations," the statement said.

Related: Celtics win NBA championship with 106-88 Game 5 victory over Mavericks

After owning the team since 1983, in 2002, the Gaston family sold the Boston Celtics for $360 million to Boston Basketball Partners — founded and led by venture capitalist Grousbeck, his father H. Irving, and private equity investor Stephen Pagliuca.

Though the team struggled through much of the early 2000s, the Celtics team won their 17th championship in 2008 against the Lakers. They lost to the same team in the 2010 Finals before returning in 2022, ultimately losing to the Golden State Warriors. Then last month, the team secured their 18th championship after defeating the Dallas Mavericks.

Now regarded as one of the most successful teams in the league's history — with the franchise records for most NBA championships and most recorded wins — the Celtics are the fourth-most valuable team in the NBA at an estimated $4.7 billion, according to Forbes.