On July 30, 1993 Leslie Alexander purchased the Houston Rockets for a then-whopping $85 million. Today, Forbes says the Rockets are worth $1.25 billion, the eighth-most valuable team in the NBA.

The Rockets generated $175 million in revenue and $38 million of profits.

Last season, the Rockets ranked sixth on Forbes' list at $775 million. A nice $475 million jump in worth compared to last year. The Rockets can thank their jump in valuation in a few key events that have happened over the past year.

Partnering with DirecTV and AT&T to form Root Sports Southwest (along with the Astros) to have a dominant RSN. Steve Ballmer purchasing the Los Angeles Clippers for $2 billion. That right there jumped the worth of all NBA teams across the board. Most NBA owners should be kissing his feet right now for the price he paid for that team. The size of the new NBA television contract.

The top three teams in the league in total valuation (in order) are the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks and Chicago Bulls Each of those teams are valued at over $2 billion plus, respectively.