The Celtics are up for sale. Why? Everything you need to know

The reigning NBA champs are set to be available for sale, potentially fetching a record price for an NBA team.

The majority owners of the Boston Celtics – fronted by longtime managing partner Wyc Grousbeck – will explore the sale of the franchise, a person with knowledge of their plans told USA TODAY Sports.

The person requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the potential sale.

The team confirmed the decision Monday in a statement.

"Boston Basketball Partners L.L.C., the ownership group of the Boston Celtics, announced today its intention to sell all the shares of the team," the team said in the statement. "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.

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"The managing board of the ownership group expects to sell a majority interest in 2024 or early 2025, with the balance closing in 2028, and expects Wyc Grousbeck to remain as the Governor of the team until the second closing in 2028."

The Celtics just won the 2024 NBA championship – their first since 2008 and 18th overall breaking a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers for most in league history.

Grousbeck’s father, H. Irving Grousbeck, and Steve Pagliuca are also managing partners of the Celtics.

The Celtics are one of the NBA's flagship franchises and a significant part of the league’s history. 

ESPN was the first to report the news Monday afternoon.

According to Forbes, the Celtics are the fourth most valuable NBA team, with an estimated value of $4.7 billion. That represents an increase in value of 1,205.56% from the sale price of $360 million that Grousbeck and his group paid for the franchise in 2002.

If sold, the Celtics may shatter the record for most expensive NBA franchise sale, topping the $4 billion that Matt Ishbia paid for the Phoenix Suns in December 2022, possibly exceeding a $5 billion valuation in a sale.

In November 2023, former Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban sold his majority stake in the franchise for a value of approximately $3.5 billion.

Boston trails only the Los Angeles Lakers ($6.4 billion), New York Knicks ($6.6 billion) and Golden State Warriors ($7.7 billion) on the list of most valuable franchises, per Forbes.

The Celtics are returning most of their core, led by Jayson Tatum and NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Jaylen Brown, for the 2024-25 season, keeping them as one of the top contenders. Their operating costs, however, are climbing; Boston paid more than $110 million in luxury taxes the past two seasons, and with a climbing payroll, it is expected to pay nearly $50 million for the 2024-25 season. Once Tatum, an All-NBA forward, reaches a deal on a new extension, the Celtics will have $600 million in salary tied to him and Brown.

The last team to repeat as NBA champions were the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018.