Aussie Billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes Buys NBA Team

Us Aussies now have another reason to follow the Utah Jazz religiously.

It appears Joe Ingles has another Australian joining him in the Beehive State after self-made billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes became a minority owner of the Jazz.

Cannon-Brookes is the co-founder and co-CEO of software giants Atlassian - a company valued at US$45million (AUD$60million) with big-name clients such as NASA, Tesla and SpaceX.

The Sydneysider joins his Atlassian co-founder Ryan Smith and Accel investor Ryan Sweeney in purchasing the NBA franchise.

"We're three pretty competitive dudes," Cannon-Brookes told Forbes.

"We're not here to take photos.

"Australian tech gets on really well with the Utah tech industry. Ryan and I both built businesses outside of Silicon Valley. You've got to think differently when you don't have that ecosystem around you."

Forbes themselves value the Jazz franchise at around US$1.5billion (AU$1.9billion).

But while the team does have two conference titles to its name from the late 90s, it still hasn't managed to get its hands on a coveted NBA championship since it was founded in 1974.

Enter, Ryan Smith - the Utah-based tech computing billionaire who will be working alongside both co-owners Cannon-Brookes and Sweeney.

PA

"If there's an individual who can turn the Jazz into a big market team it's Ryan Smith," Sweeney said.

"He doesn't know how to do things half-hearted. He'll figure out a way to stretch the number of hours in a day to 36 instead of 24."

Reports suggest Smith was close to striking a deal to buy the Minnesota Timberwolves before finally getting the nod from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to purchase his beloved Jazz.

"Ryan Smith is a forward-thinking, community-minded entrepreneur and business leader who will be a fantastic addition to our league," Silver said in a statement.

"As a lifelong fan of the Utah Jazz and more recently as one of their key marketing partners, Ryan has demonstrated his deep commitment to the Jazz and the Utah community and there's no doubt he will bring that same level of dedication to the operation of the team."

Topics: Basketball, Aussie, Basketball News, NBA, nba news, tech, Australia

Max Sherry

Max Sherry is a journalist for SPORTbible Australia. After migrating Down Under from London as a teenager, he instantly fell in love with Aussie sport and its culture. From NRL to AFL, cricket to rugby — you name it, Max watches it (with a beer in hand, of course). During his time at Fox Sports, he worked in the football department covering the Premier League, A-League, Socceroos and Matildas. Born a stone's throw away from West Ham's training ground, Max is obviously a die-hard Liverpool fan.

@maxysherry