The Boston Celtics are now for sale

Catch up quick: The Celtics were purchased in 2002 for $360 million by a group of investment professionals, including venture capitalist Wyc Grousbeck and private equity investor Steve Pagliuca.

• Grousbeck, whose father Irv Grousbeck also participated in the buy, eventually became lead owner and team governor.

Behind the scenes: Sources say that Grousbeck has been considering a sale for months, but that a final decision didn't come until after the championship run.

• He's recently been spending time in New York City, and on projects like a tequila brand and television program.

The big picture: This is expected to be the richest team sale in NBA history, even though the Celtics don't own their arena or regional cable sports network.

• The current record sale is the Phoenix Suns, which was valued at $4 billion in a partial sale last year.
• The Washington Wizards last year sold a minority stake to a Qatari sovereign wealth fund at a valuation that was reported to be just over $4 billion.

What to watch: If any of the non-Groiusbeck Celtics owners, including Pagliuca, seek to put together a bid.

• For example, venture capitalist Jim Breyer tells Axios: "I have loved being part of the Celtics ownership team and family for over 20 years, and have not yet made a decision going forward."

The bottom line: In its statement, Celtics ownership says that it expects to sell a majority stake this year or in early 2025, and the remainder in 2028.

• Grousbeck would remain an NBA governor until the full sale is completed in 2028.