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The Hoop Collective: Sovereign wealth funds signal new era in NBA ownership?

Brian Windhorst and a team of ESPN Insiders sort out life and the news from in and around the NBA world.

NBA owners quietly made a move last month that has potentially big ramifications.

A few weeks ago, the Board of Governors approved a rule change that allows sovereign wealth funds to buy stakes in teams in addition to other institutional funds, such as endowments and pension funds, a change first reported by Sportico and confirmed by ESPN.

This opens a door for something not seen in American sports: an arm of a foreign government buying into a league.