Jeanie Buss to remain Lakers governor for 'foreseeable future' after selling the team for $10 billion
On Wednesday, the Lakers released a statement announcing the sale and confirming Buss will remain as the governor of the Lakers. The Athletic reported that Buss would stay in her seat for "years".
Advertisement
Walter is the CEO and chairman of TWG Global. He is also the primary owner and chairman of the Los Angeles Dodgers. In the statement, Buss said, "I have gotten to know Mark very well over time and been delighted to learn how he shares those same values.
"For the last four years, Mark has been an excellent partner to us, and we are thrilled to keep working with him to continue the Lakers' extraordinary legacy."
Jeanie's father, Jerry Buss, bought the Lakers for $67.5 million in 1979. The Lakers won 11 of their 17 NBA titles under the Buss family's ownership. Jeanie took over as Lakers governor after her father's passing in 2013.
Advertisement
The Buss family will retain a minority stake in the Lakers while Walter adds another major team to his impressive portfolio. Walter has stakes in the Dodgers, Los Angeles Sparks (WNBA), Andretti Global (racing) and soccer clubs Chelsea FC and RC Strasbourg.
'The Lakers have long been one of the most iconic franchises in sports,' Walter said. 'Since Dr. Jerry Buss first purchased the team in 1979, they have truly set the standard for basketball in one era after another, which is why you can find people anywhere in the world wearing Lakers shirts and jerseys.
'I admire what he, Jeanie and the Buss family have built, and I know how much this special organization matters to Southern Californians and to sports fans everywhere. I also have tremendous respect for Jeanie's continued commitment to maintaining the Lakers' long-term vision and elite status, and I'm excited to work with her on the next era.'
Selling the majority of the team to Walter was voted upon by Jeanie and her siblings. According to the Associated Press, the transaction is set to close in the third or fourth quarter of 2025.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
5 hours ago
- USA Today
Patrick Beverley: Marcus Smart will have 'stunning year' for Lakers
Plenty of Los Angeles Lakers fans were happy about the signing of guard Marcus Smart a few weeks ago. Smart is heading into his 12th season in the NBA and has long been one of the league's best defenders. He has made the All-Defensive first team three times and was named the Defensive Player of the Year for the 2021-22 season. Some aren't expecting much from Smart. He is 31 years of age, which isn't old, even in the NBA, but he has had a number of mild and moderate injuries over time. There is also a perception that has game has significantly declined over the last two or three years and that he's a shell of who he was just three years ago. But former Lakers guard Patrick Beverley revealed on a recent episode of his "Pat Bev Podcast" that he's bullish on the acquisition of Smart (h/t Lakers Daily). 'The sleeper of this whole pickup was Marcus Smart,' Beverley said. 'Marcus Smart has something to prove. It's different, right? You talk about Marcus Smart dealing with injury. Yeah, he got Defensive Player of the Year. Is he the same player? Is he gonna defend it like that? 'People don't understand, after the trade deadline, this month and a half, Marcus Smart was playing some really good basketball with the [Washington] Wizards. People don't understand that. And…he has motivation to get a new contract. He has motivation to get back to the Marcus Smart that people know he is. So, I think he's gonna have a stunning year.' Smart has appeared in a total of 54 games over the last two seasons and has been injury-prone at times throughout his career. He played on poor Memphis Grizzlies and Wizards teams recently, which may have sapped his motivation after years of being on Boston Celtics teams that reached the Eastern Conference finals five times. In 15 games with Washington this past season, after Memphis traded him there, he averaged 9.3 points in 18.7 minutes a game while shooting 44% from the field and 39.2% from 3-point range. He is a career 32.4% shooter from beyond the arc. As Beverley alluded to, Smart signed a two-year, $11 million contract with the Lakers that has a player option for the 2026-27 season. If he still has a number of high-level years of basketball left in him, he could earn himself a decent payday next summer. In addition to his defensive ability, Smart is also a capable secondary ball handler and playmaker, and he's an intelligent and resourceful player. He could very well make a major impact on the Lakers that cannot be measured by his basic stats.
NBC Sports
6 hours ago
- NBC Sports
Bulls' Nikola Vucevic handling trade rumors like a vet, 'There are always rumors. Most of them are false.'
He was linked to the Lakers. He was linked to the Warriors. He was linked to pretty much any team in need of a solid center. Then, there were rumors that the Chicago Bulls would buy out the final year of his $21.5 million contract, allowing him to sign elsewhere as a free agent. Nikola Vucevic brushed them all off. The 14-year NBA veteran has been dealing with rumors his entire career, and he has been traded a couple times, he knows what that experience was like. What was happening this summer was nothing like that, he told BasketUSA in an interview as he practices with Montenegro for the EuroBasket championships starting in a week (hat tip to Real GM for the translation). 'The Bulls' GM [Marc Eversley] had contacted me after all the rumors about me, confirmed that nothing was true and that everything we had said to each other after the season was still relevant. I knew it but it's always nice when your GM contacts you to tell you... 'There are always rumors. Most of them are false. It's a bit of nonsense. For example, the buy-out was misinterpreted in Europe: the journalist wrote that if there was no 'trade' during the season, there might be a 'buy-out' option before the 'deadline.' I know how the business works, in the last year of a contract, there is always speculation. Since I can't control anything, I try not to worry about it.' Last season, Vucevic averaged 18.5 points and 10.1 rebounds a game, shooting 40.2% from 3-point range on 4.4 attempts a game. He is a high-quality offensive center who could help a lot of teams and has become a key part of the Bulls' attack, but is not the defensive anchor at the position that a lot of teams are seeking in the modern game. Vucevic added in the interview that he is 'almost certain' he will be with the Bulls when the season opens, which makes sense as he is clearly the starter at the five and one of only two true centers on the 15-man roster (Zach Collins is the other). Whether he is in Chicago when the season ends is another question. He's a 34-year-old center in the final year of his contract — players in that situation are often available in trades, and can be bought out to save money after the trade deadline. That is possible here, depending on what other moves Chicago makes. The Bulls front office has to be thinking about what comes next at the five, although figuring out the Bulls front office's long-term vision is a challenge in and of itself. Whatever that plan is, it includes Vucevic at the five to start the season.
USA Today
7 hours ago
- USA Today
Lakers jersey history No. 4 — Antawn Jamison
Through the 2024-25 season, the Los Angeles Lakers have had a total of 506 players suit up for them, going back to their days in Minneapolis. Some were forgettable, some were serviceable, some were good and a select few were flat-out legendary. As the Lakers approach their 80th season of existence (they were founded back in 1946 as the Detroit Gems in the National Basketball League), LeBron Wire is taking a look at each player who has worn their jersey, whether it has been a purple and gold one or the ones they donned back in the Midwest during their early years. Antawn Jamison, a two-time All-Star forward, spent one season with the Lakers in the twilight of his career. Here is a look at him. Jamison played three years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he teamed up with Hall of Fame guard Vince Carter. He averaged 19.0 points and 9.9 rebounds a game with the Tar Heels and made the All-ACC first team three straight times while being named the ACC Player of the Year in 1998. The Toronto Raptors took him with the No. 4 pick in the 1998 NBA Draft and traded him on draft day to the Golden State Warriors for the draft rights to Carter. Within a couple of years, Jamison established himself as a bona fide scoring threat. He averaged a career-high 24.9 points a game during the 2000-01 season, and early that season, he and Kobe Bryant both scored 51 points in a memorable shootout. Jamison would have stints with the Dallas Mavericks, Washington Wizards and Cleveland Cavaliers in the ensuing years. In the summer of 2012, he signed with the Lakers in order to give himself a shot at the NBA championship that had eluded him. The Lakers traded for Hall of Famers Steve Nash and Dwight Howard that offseason, giving them what looked to be a "superteam." But they suffered through a rash of gnarly injuries and ended up getting swept in the first round of the playoffs. Jamison still largely got the job done, appearing in 76 games and averaging 9.4 points on 46.4% field-goal shooting in 21.5 minutes a game. He would spend the following season with the Los Angeles Clippers before retiring in 2014.
