Two minority owners of the NBA franchise responded to a countersuit filed by Ishbia against them in a Delaware court last week, which became public Monday and obtained by ESPN. The two men, Scott Seldin and Andy Kohlberg, .
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Among other things, Seldin and Kohlberg accused Ishbia of using the Suns as his own “personal piggy bank.”
“Ishbia does not own the Suns to make money for the company, but he does operate them as a personal fiefdom for his personal benefit and for the benefit of his other businesses, including his mortgage company United Wholesale Mortgage,” the latest document said. “The reality is that Ishbia is using the Suns as his personal piggy bank, even through a long list of contentious transactions, of which only some of the minority owners know.”
Seldin and Kohlberg said Ishbia refused access to the team’s internal records and that he provided a loan to the Suns at an interest rate well above market value. Ishbia allegedly sold the naming rights to the team’s arena to his mortgage company without disclosing details of the deal to them, and that he himself rented the team’s practice facility for an undisclosed fee. Ishbia also allegedly created a new entity that owns assets that actually belong to the Suns.
Ishbia purchased the Suns for a valuation of $4 billion in 2023 from former owner Robert Sarver. He then bought out 14 of the 16 minority partners in the team’s previous ownership group, although Kohlberg and Seldin did not sell their stake in the team. The two men said the Suns, along with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, have been operating at a loss since Ishbia bought them.
“Ishbia spent heavily on player and coach contracts, incurred huge NBA tax penalties and built an expensive clubhouse to house the court and dole out favors to his guests, with his co-owners footing their share of the bill,” the document says. “At the same time, Ishbia has mortgaged the Suns’ future by trading away valuable draft picks for years to come and has knowingly given up significant revenue opportunities, supposedly in service of his ‘focus on winning and success’ and the Suns fan experience.”
Ishbia has once again denied the accusations against him.
“This is not a lawsuit; it is blatant extortion disguised as a legal process,” an Ishbia spokesperson told ESPN. “From day one, Mat Ishbia was transparent that he was going to do things differently. Contrary to how the team was previously run, Mat made it very clear that he would invest significantly in the Suns and Mercury. He told all investors that they could join him or sell their stake and step aside. Kohlberg and Seldin stayed and are now trying to take advantage of the value Mat created.
“Kohlberg and Seldin want to push the organization back and openly admit in this document that investing in the team and its fans ‘does not make business sense’. They are advocating abandonment. They are free to sell their shares on the open market and if they do not, they should be prepared to lose this lawsuit and participate in Mat’s continued investments in the teams and the community.”
Ishbia also addressed the lawsuit and said the two should thank him.
“And by the way, since I bought the team for $4 billion, what is $6 billion worth now? It’s gone up,” he said. “I told them, ‘Instead of suing me, why don’t you write me a letter and say thank you?’ Your investment is worth more.”
Seldin and Kohlberg’s lawsuit is the seventh filed against the Suns since November 2024. The team has also been hit by discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination and other allegations in those lawsuits, which the Suns have denied.
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The Suns are currently 11-6 on the season and have won eight of their last nine under first-year head coach Jordan Ott. They will face the Houston Rockets next Monday night.