The  Lakers are the NBA's most valuable team, and 12 franchises lost money in the 2008-09 season, according to Forbes magazine.

In its annual listing of the value of NBA franchises, Forbes finds Lakers to be worth $607M, up 4 percent for the league champions. Second are the Knicks at $586M, but that is a 4 percent drop. The Knicks led the rankings for the four previous seasons, according to the ESPN.com report.