Mat Ishbia, a mortgage lender executive and former NCAA basketball champion, is finalizing the purchase of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury for $4 billion, a source familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.
The deal, which was first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, signals the end of Robert Sarver’s 18-year tenure as the team's governor — a run marked, at its end, by scandal and tumult.
Ishbia is the President and CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage, which was founded by his father, Jeff, in 1986. UWM recently overtook Rocket Mortgage to become the country’s top mortgage originator — an achievement that Ishbia appropriately called a “championship” for his company and employees.
Ishbia was also a member of the 2000 Michigan State University men’s basketball team, which won the NCAA National Championship.
"I had a great call with fellow Spartan Mat Ishbia congratulating him on his purchase of the Phoenix Suns," fellow Michigan State Malum Magic Johnson wrote on Twitter. "He’s going to do great things not only for the Suns organization, but for the entire league. All of the other 29 NBA teams better watch out because Mat’s a winner!"
In the years since, he’s been a well-moneyed booster of MSU’s athletics programs, recently helping to fund a contract extension for head football coach Mel Tucker. UWM is also currently the jersey sponsor for the NBA’s Detroit Pistons — something that isn’t expected to be an issue this season, at least, according to one Pistons beat reporter. At 42 years old, he would be the youngest NBA team owner.
Sarver put the Suns and Mercury up for sale about a year after ESPN published an explosive report investigating the toxic culture in the Suns’ front office. That story charged Sarver with fostering a toxic, sometimes hostile, workplace replete with racially insensitive language and misogynistic conduct. A subsequent investigation by the NBA confirmed some of those allegations — in particular racist statements, inequitable conduct toward female employees and inappropriate comments regarding employees — led to a year’s suspension from league activities and a $10 million fine.
A native of Tucson, Ariz., Sarver purchased the Suns and Mercury franchises in 2004 for $401 million — at that time an NBA record — and sought to immediately turn them around. Free agent point guard Steve Nash joined the team in 2005, setting off a period of fast-paced hoops and deep playoff runs, but no championships. Just before Nash’s departure in 2012, the Suns fell into the NBA’s basement. The franchise missed the NBA playoffs for 10 straight years, amid a revolving door of coaches, executives and players — all the while, rumors swirled about Sarver’s meddling in basketball operations.
It wasn’t until ascendant shooting guard Devin Booker and young center Deandre Ayton were joined by future Hall of Famer Chris Paul in 2020 that the team again tasted success. The Suns became fast favorites, jumping to NBA Finals in 2021 (losing to the Milwaukee Bucks) and qualifying for the playoffs in 2022 (suffering a historic defeat to the Dallas Mavericks in the second round).
The reported $4 billion price tag would be a record by far for an NBA franchise. Joe Tsai paid a then-record $3.3 billion for the Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center in 2019. Most recently, the Minnesota Timberwolves sold for $1.5 billion in July 2021; the Utah Jazz sold for $1.66 million in 2020; the Houston Rockets sold for $2.2 billion in 2017; and the Los Angeles Clippers sold for $2 billion in 2014.
The process is expected to take several weeks to complete, according to the Associated Press.