Buss Family Selling Lakers Ownership Stake: Report
Buss Family Selling Lakers Ownership Stake: Report originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
After 46 years, the Buss family is selling off its 66% ownership stake in the Los Angeles Lakers.
Per David Wharton of The Los Angeles Times, Dr. Jerry Buss first purchased the franchise in 1979 from previous owner Jack Kent Cooke for $16 million, while also procuring the then-Forum for $33.5 million and the Los Angeles Kings hockey team for $8 million.
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Under Jerry Buss' stewardship, the Lakers became the team of the '80s, winning five championships in that decade with its one-two punch of Hall of Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson — who were eventually joined by another Hall of Fame superstar, forward James Worthy.
Buss was still the boss throughout all of Kobe Bryant's five titles in the 21st century, won alongside fellow Hall of Famers Shaquille O'Neal (from 2000-02) and Pau Gasol (from 2009-10). When he passed in 2013, controlling ownership of the team fell to his children.
Los Angeles Lakers owner Jeanie Buss at Crypto.com Arena.Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Shams Charania of ESPN reports that the Buss family, led by team governor Jeanie Buss, has agreed to sell its majority equity in the franchise to TWG Global CEO and chairman Mark Walter. This is not Walter's first rodeo as a sports team owner, as he already possesses part of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Sparks.
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Buss is expected to remain as the club's governor even after the sale is official.
Walter is no stranger to Lakers ownership. He and Todd Boehly had already bought a 26% stake in the Lakers circa 2021, a year removed from L.A.'s most recent championship.
This news arrives on the heels of the sale of the NBA's other signature franchise earlier this year.
The Grousbeck family sold their majority ownership stake of the Boston Celtics, who have won a league-record 18 titles to L.A.'s 17, to a new group led by private equity businessman William Chisholm for a record $6.1 billion in March. Now, it appears Jeanie and her siblings Jim, Johnny, Janie, Joey and Jesse are looking to beat that price.
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Per Michael Ozanian of CNBC (in an article written prior to the Celtics sale), the Lakers were seen as being worth $7 billion, behind only the Golden State Warriors' $9.4 billion and the New York Knicks' $7.5 billion. At the time, Boston's valuation was pegged at $5.5 billion, a number the team rocketed past.
Charania reports that Walter is purchasing the Buss stake for $10 billion, a record tally for any pro sports franchise, not just an NBA team.
Walter has been circling a majority share of the Lakers for some time.
Per Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, Walter had negotiated for the "first right of refusal" to purchase the Buss family's 66% share when he first bought into the team in 2021.
The sale of the NBA's two winningest teams ever within months of each other represents a massive turning point for the league, as the private equity monolith begins to consume sports ownership.
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Related: Lakers Eyeing Trade for Star Jazz Big Man: Report
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 18, 2025, where it first appeared.
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