The NBA’s board of governors have approved the sale of a majority interest in the Los Angeles Lakers to Dodgers owner Mark Walter, with the $10 billion deal expected to close shortly.
The Buss family, which has owned a majority stake in the Lakers since Dr. Jerry Buss bought the team in 1979, will retain an ongoing interest. Jeanie Buss will remain the team’s Governor for a period of at least five years following the closing of the transaction.
“Mark Walter has a long association with our leagues, having served as a minority owner of the Lakers and as the principal owner of the WNBA’s Sparks for more than a decade,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “As Mark assumes his role as majority owner of the Lakers, I have no doubt that he will be a committed steward of the team and a great addition to our league given his many successful ventures in business and sports.”
“I also want to thank and congratulate Jeanie Buss and the Buss family for 46 years of transformational leadership and service,” Silver continued. “While this historic transaction transfers the Buss family’s majority interest in the Lakers, I am thrilled that Jeanie will remain the team’s Governor and an active and engaged member of our league.”
The Lakers sale is the largest for a sports franchise in global history, breaking the previous record set by the teams’ rival, the Boston Celtics, for $6.1 billion. Buss bought the Lakers in 1979 for $67.5 million from Jack Kent Cooke. That included the Forum in Inglewood and the Los Angeles Kings hockey team.
Under Buss’ ownership, the Lakers became the hottest ticket in Los Angeles, with the owner turning the team’s games into full scale spectacles under the mantra “Showtime.” Led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson, the Lakers won five NBA championships in the 1980s, with two of them coming against the rival Boston Celtics.
Buss’ Lakers would then win five more championships from 2000 to 2010 under the leadership of Kobe Bryant, followed by their most recent in 2020 in the COVID-19 pandemic bubble with LeBron James. In total, the Buss-owned Lakers have won 11 NBA titles, the most of any team in the league since 1980.
Dr. Jerry Buss died in 2013, with his daughter, Jeanie, taking over business operations while his son, Jim, took over basketball operations. Jeanie fired Jim in 2017 after the team failed to make the playoffs for four consecutive seasons, leading to an ownership dispute in which Jeanie Buss prevailed, giving her full operational control over the Lakers.
In addition to the Dodgers, Walter, who is the CEO of diversified holding company TWG Global, has interests in multiple sports organizations, including the Los Angeles Sparks, the Billie Jean Cup, Cadillac Formula 1 team and the Professional Women’s Hockey League.
Walter became a stakeholder in the Lakers in 2021. Under his leadership as chairman and controlling owner, the Los Angeles Dodgers have reached four World Series, winning two in 2020 and 2024.
More to come…
