Forbes valued the Golden State Warriors at $188 million when owner and CEO Joe Lacob purchased the franchise for $450 million in 2010, according to The Athletic's Bill Shea, and the Warriors have since increased their worth in Forbes' eyes to $4.3 billion.

"Forbes is more of a general indicator," Lacob told Shea for the story published Monday. "Its revenue estimates are understated for Golden State. We have much more revenue than the Knicks and Lakers."

Shea added: "Forbes estimated that the Warriors generated $440 million in revenue for the 2018-19 season versus $472 million for the Knicks and $434 million for the Lakers."

The Warriors have gone from the second-lowest valued team in the NBA in 2010 to in the top-three alongside the Knicks ($4.6 billion) and Lakers ($4.4 billion) as of February.

However, Lacob is leery of these numbers.

"These are all estimates," Lacob said. "I have no idea how they come up with these numbers. I've heard they talk to people at the NBA and maybe certain teams. Maybe (they're accurate) on a relative basis in terms of values. On an absolute basis, that's up for debate."

Lacob went on to note that he is "never going to sell" the Warriors.

In terms of on-court value, the Warriors are having a down year.

Golden State own the worst record in the league at 15-49 as two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry was out from Oct. 30 to March 5 with a broken hand and All-Star guard Klay Thompson missing the entirety of 2019-20 with a torn ACL. All-Star forward Draymond Green has also struggled with various injuries.

Additionally, Kevin Durant—a two-time Finals MVP with the Warriors—departed last summer in free agency for the Brooklyn Nets.

With Curry, Durant and Thompson spearheading the team, the Warriors won the 2017 and 2018 NBA Finals. The team won the 2015 NBA Finals with Curry, Thompson and Draymond Green serving as its core.