Two years after agreeing to buy a minority share of the Brooklyn Nets, e-commerce billionaire Joe Tsai was unanimously approved as the owner by the NBA Board of Governors on Wednesday.
Tsai spent $3.5 billion to buy the Nets and Barclays Center – the arena sale did not require league approval – from Mikhail Prokhorov. The Alibaba co-founder called it “an honor,” and praised the job GM Sean Marks and Kenny Atkinson did in building an also-ran into a playoff team.
“They established the culture, developed talent others couldn’t see, and made Brooklyn the place where the best players want to play,” Tsai said in a statement, adding the players’ work has put the Nets “in a great position to compete. I am thrilled to be partners with winners!”
Tsai, 55, named ex-Turner president David Levy to run his sports portfolio. Levy, a White Plains native, will be CEO of the Nets and Barclays, as well as president of J Tsai Sports, a holding company that controls the G League Long Island Nets, the WNBA’s New York Liberty, the National Lacrosse League’s San Diego Seals and a part of MLS’ Los Angeles FC.
“It all starts with putting a competitive product on the floor. That means we have to win games, both in the regular season and the playoffs,” Levy told The Post. “That’ll help us attract more fans.
“We’re going to market our stars, our team, our culture. That’s opportunities for bigger sponsors, and the foundation Sean and Kenny built is going to help me do that.”
The Nets finally have stars to market after landing Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in free agency. Levy said the star duo’s gravity is lifting everything from ticket sales to merchandise to sponsorship.
“From what I understand, all those arrows are pointing up. Way up. And that’s not surprising,” Levy said.
“When a team is hot, the building gets hot. When the building gets hot, there are new opportunities around e-sports or other things you want to bring into the building. And it builds up Brooklyn.”
In addition to e-sports, sports betting could be on the table, according to sources. Levy expects the Nets to cash in on the huge bump in interest, with or without a new TV deal.
“I don’t know if that means I can renegotiate the contract. I have no idea; I haven’t looked at it. But certainly there are other opportunities when we push out in social, when we push out in digital, what are our rights in mobile?” Levy asked rhetorically.
“When you start thinking about the Kevin Durant comeback story and filming that, just opportunities. If I can open the contract, great. If I can’t open the contract, we’ll figure out ways to monetize this team.
“Live content is the future of (TV) rights. … Live content is so valuable, and quality live content like the NBA certainly adds a tremendous value, not only from a TV perspective, but a social perspective, a digital perspective, a streaming perspective, a mobile perspective. So that’s going to be very exciting in how we leverage the idea of the Nets.”
Levy — who also will become a venture partner in Tsai’s family business, presumably Hong Kong-based Blue Pool Capital — said Tsai’s “prestige” in China will make that a valuable market. He said several Nets players will be introduced to marketing executives during next month’s China tour.
“In addition to being a passionate basketball fan, Joe is one of China’s preeminent internet, media and e-commerce pioneers,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “And his expertise will be invaluable in the league’s efforts to grow the game in China and other global markets.”
Oliver Weisberg, who runs Blue Pool, was named along with Levy as the Nets alternate governor.