The Summer of 2026 is starting to look like a season of House Hunters. Last week the Los Angeles Lakers sold unexpectedly, a little over a year after their last transfer. Today Shams Charania of ESPN broke the news that the Minnesota Timberwolves and the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx have been sold by current owner Marc Lore to minority-stakes owner Marc Stad in a deal valued at $4.5 billion.
Lore’s purchase of the franchise from former owner Glen Taylor was approved in June of 2025, making his tenure about
14 months long.
Former MLB superstar Alex Rodriguez, a partner in the ownership coalition, will remain as a minority-stakes owner under Stad.
Charania is reporting that Lore opted to step back to concentrate on the IPO for his own company. Stad was in position to step up to the majority-owner position.
Stad, the founder and managing partner of Dragoneer Investment Group, had been a significant minority investor in the Timberwolves and Lynx under the ownership group of Lore and Rodriguez. Sources said the transfer of ownership developed after months of conversations and allowed Stad, Rodriguez and Lore to continue working together and maintain the current leadership structures of the Timberwolves and the Lynx, including Timberwolves president Tim Connelly, general manager Matt Lloyd and coach Chris Finch and Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve, who also serves as the Lynx’s president of basketball operations.
The NBA Board of Governors will need to approve the sale. Their next meeting is September 14th-15th.
