Who Owns the Timberwolves: The Wild Story of How the NBA’s Most Bitter Power Struggle Ended

Who Owns the Timberwolves: The Wild Story of How the NBA’s Most Bitter Power Struggle Ended

If you’ve spent any time following the NBA lately, you know the Minnesota Timberwolves are finally relevant. Anthony Edwards is a superstar. The team is actually winning games. But behind the scenes? It’s been a total mess. For a while there, nobody could give you a straight answer about who owns the Timberwolves because the people involved were basically at war.

It wasn't just a business deal. It was a three-year soap opera involving a billionaire, a baseball legend, and an e-commerce mogul.

Right now, the short answer is that Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez are the guys in charge. They officially became the controlling owners in June 2025 after a massive legal fight with Glen Taylor.

The $1.5 Billion Handshake That Went South

Back in 2021, Glen Taylor, who had owned the team since 1994, agreed to sell the franchise for $1.5 billion. At the time, that felt like a fair price. But then the market exploded. By the time the final payments were due, the team was worth way more—closer to $3 billion or $4 billion.

Suddenly, Taylor didn't seem so keen on selling.

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In March 2024, Taylor dropped a bombshell. He claimed Lore and Rodriguez missed a payment deadline and declared the team was "no longer for sale."

Lore and Rodriguez, predictably, lost their minds. They claimed they had the money sitting in escrow and that Taylor just had "seller’s remorse" because he realized he sold too cheap. It went to arbitration—basically a private court—and things got ugly.

Who Really Owns the Timberwolves Today?

After months of legal bickering, the arbitration panel ruled in favor of Lore and Rodriguez in early 2025. By June 2025, the NBA Board of Governors gave the final green light.

Here is the current ownership breakdown as of 2026:

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  • Marc Lore: He’s the majority partner and the "Governor" of the team. He’s the tech guy who founded Jet.com and sold it to Walmart.
  • Alex Rodriguez: Most people just know him as A-Rod. He’s the face of the group and the "Alternate Governor."
  • The Limited Partners: They aren't doing this alone. To get the deal across the finish line, they brought in some heavy hitters including former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt.
  • Glen Taylor: While he’s no longer the boss, Taylor initially kept a small minority stake as part of the transition, though he's effectively out of the driver's seat.

Honestly, it’s a weird vibe. Taylor saved the team from moving to New Orleans in the 90s, but fans were ready for a change. The new guys represent a "tech-forward" approach, which is just corporate speak for "they want to spend a lot of money on fancy data and a new arena."

Why the Ownership Drama Matters for Fans

You might wonder why a bunch of billionaires fighting over paperwork matters to someone sitting in the upper deck at Target Center.

It matters because of the "luxury tax."

The Timberwolves are expensive. Keeping players like Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert, and Karl-Anthony Towns (before the Julius Randle trade) costs a fortune in penalties. Glen Taylor was always a bit more conservative with his wallet. Lore and Rodriguez have promised to spend whatever it takes to win a championship.

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They’ve also made no secret of the fact that they want a new arena. Target Center is one of the oldest buildings in the league. You can bet your bottom dollar that a new stadium proposal is coming down the pipe soon, and who owns the team determines who pays for that—or who asks the taxpayers to pay for it.

What Happens Next?

Now that the dust has settled, the focus is back on the court. Lore and Rodriguez have been very visible at games, sitting courtside and high-fiving fans. They’ve kept the basketball ops staff, led by Tim Connelly, mostly intact because, well, the team is actually good for once.

If you're looking for actionable takeaways from this saga, here is what to keep an eye on:

  1. The Arena Push: Watch for news regarding a new stadium in downtown Minneapolis. This will be the first major test of the Lore-Rodriguez era.
  2. The Payroll: Check the "luxury tax" numbers. If the new owners start cutting costs and trading good players for nothing, we’ll know they didn’t actually have the deep pockets they claimed.
  3. Community Investment: The new owners have talked a big game about the Twin Cities. Look for their "Wonder" brand or A-Rod Corp projects to start popping up locally.

The era of Glen Taylor is over. Whether the Lore and Rodriguez era ends with a trophy or more legal drama remains to be seen, but for now, they are the ones calling the shots in Minnesota.