That two years later the Nets cost more than the Rockets demonstrates how potential owners believe the N.B.A.’s value is on the rise. At the time they were sold, the Rockets were one of the league’s best teams, played in one of the largest markets in the United States, employed perhaps the league’s best player in James Harden, and had won multiple titles.

The Nets play in a modern arena in New York, but they are the city’s less popular N.B.A. team, by far. Both in Brooklyn and at its previous home in New Jersey, the Nets franchise has struggled to attract fans to its games. The Nets have mostly had losing records, though there were periods of success, including in the early 2000s with Jason Kidd. They made a surprising playoff run last season.

The multibillion dollar deal for the team, in spite of that history, illustrates the value of scarcity. Roughly one N.B.A. team is sold each year — N.F.L. franchises come to market even less often — while the pool of potential owners is expanding because of those enriched by the tech boom and the desire to court foreign owners like Mr. Prokhorov and Mr. Tsai.

“I don’t think there is an N.B.A. team that would sell for under a billion,” Mr. Galatioto said. “I would be shocked for that.”

Mr. Prokhorov, a Russian national who made his fortune in nickel mining, spent just $223 million in 2009 — and agreed to assume certain debts — to purchase 80 percent of the Nets and 45 percent of the Barclays Center operating rights, from Bruce C. Ratner. Six years later, Mr. Prokhorov bought Mr. Ratner out of both entities at a much higher valuation.

The league’s first owner from outside of North America, Mr. Prokhorov began his tenure relatively engaged, attending games and overseeing the construction of the Barclays Center. But in recent years he has become distant, appearing infrequently and dispatching his lieutenants to attend Board of Governors meetings on his behalf.