Good news for us Lakers fans (marketability-wise). It was announced this past Wednesday that the L.A. Lakers are the National Basketball Association’s most valuable team, according to the Forbes annual report. The Lakers edged the New York Knicks for this honor. The main reason L.A. is in first place is because of an epic TV deal with Time Warner. The Lakers’ value increased 40% from 2011 to $900 million thanks to this deal. The Chicago Bulls, world champion Dallas Mavericks, and the Boston Celtics are in third to fifth place respectively on this list of most valuable teams. This news is good, but even better news would be if L.A. surpassed the Clippers to take first place in the Pacific Division. Kobe Bryant is still the league’s leading scorer, but other players need to step up for there to be a chance at championship success in the postseason. Nonetheless, being the league’s most valuable team is a positive sign for the Lakers franchise overall. Ultimately, it may help with not only success off the court, but on the court as well.