5 weird facts about the Los Angeles Lakers sale to Mark Walter
5 weird facts about the Los Angeles Lakers sale to Mark Walter
The $10 billion sale of the Los Angeles Lakers completely shook an unsuspecting sports world on Wednesday afternoon.
Mark Walter's surprise purchase of the Buss family's 66 percent controlling stake in the iconic franchise shattered records just a few months after the Boston Celtics sale did the same thing. There is a ton to sort through and unpack in the coming days, but one thing is for certain:
Who is Mark Walter? What to know about the new Lakers owner
This deal is absolutely wild. And weird. And astounding. Truly just jaw dropping stuff.
Don't believe me? Here are five things to consider as you process the massive transaction.
1. How quietly this deal came together
There's actually a good reason for this but that we'll get to in a moment, but take a second to consider the fact a $10 billion deal to purchase one of the most iconic teams in the world without a single leak or announcement until the sale was agreed upon.
That's actually an incredible accomplishment in 2025.
Now, the reason is that Walter, who already owned 26 percent of the team, reportedly had a first right of refusal if the Buss family ever decided to sell. So it's not like the Lakers needed to but a call out for buyers or anything.
2. Jeanie Buss is staying in her role
The Buss family isn't just giving up on the Lakers. Jeanie Buss will remain the franchise governor. Some things, apparently, are just too hard to quit.
3. Walter nearly purchased the Los Angeles Clippers first
Now he'll be their biggest rival.
Walter joined David Geffen's bid for the Clippers that reportedly came in slightly over $1.5 billion. Ultimately, Steve Ballmer won the right to purchase the club for $2 billion.
4. Magic is back!?...Maybe!?
Magic Johnson was last a member of the Lakers organization in 2019, when he stepped down as president of basketball operations. He helped put up the money for Walter's controlling stake in the Los Angeles Dodgers at a value of $2 billion.
While Jeanie Buss isn't leaving the organization, the door is now wide open for Magic Johnson to find his way back into the executive suite in the Lakers' facilities. Really, who could've seen this coming?
5. Mark Walter and LeBron James are English Premier League rivals
There are some layers here, but on paper, the part owner of Liverpool F.C. is now an employee of the owner of Chelsea F.C.
LeBron is an investor in Fenway Sports Group, which aside from owning the Boston Red Sox — another Dodgers rival — also controls the reigning Premier League champion Liverpool F.C. Walter, on the other hand, is part of the BlueCo group that purchased Chelsea F.C. in 2022 for $4.8 billion.
This should be fun.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
6 minutes ago
- New York Times
Justin Cochrane's return to Spurs: He'll plan training, but do more than just put the cones out
The main reason nearly a week passed between Tottenham Hotspur sacking Ange Postecoglou and announcing Thomas Frank as his successor was because negotiations with Brentford over the Dane's backroom staff had dragged on. Everybody had assumed Claus Norgaard would accompany Frank across London. After Brian Riemer left Brentford in December 2022 to become Anderlecht's head coach, Norgaard arrived as Frank's second in command. The pair had known each other since 2007 when Frank taught Norgaard on a coaching course run by Danish football's governing body (DBU). They worked together with Denmark's youth teams before Norgaard supported Frank during his three years in charge of Brondby. Advertisement Frank could not take all of his assistant coaches with him to Tottenham, and he prioritised poaching someone else. Justin Cochrane joined Brentford's first-team set-up in June 2022 after leaving his role as head of player development and coaching in Manchester United's academy. Senior figures at Brentford liked the idea of grooming Cochrane to be Frank's long-term successor. What they did not anticipate was the 43-year-old following Frank to Spurs, along with head of athletic performance Chris Haslam and analyst Joe Newton. The fact Brentford were so disappointed to have lost Cochrane is an indication of exactly how good a coach Spurs have just added to their staff… Brentford were one of only four teams in the Premier League last season to have three players reach double figures for goals. Bryan Mbeumo led the way with 20, Yoane Wissa was close behind on 19, while Kevin Schade scored 11 times. Mbeumo's haul came from an expected goals (xG) total of 12.3, which means he massively overperformed. During the 2021-22 season, Brentford's first in the top flight, the Cameroon international only scored four goals from an xG of 9.3. Cochrane can take some credit for helping him to become more clinical. Cochrane planned training sessions at Brentford. He would design drills around the tactical set-up of their next opponent or based on what skills he felt individuals needed to improve. Along with Frank, he mainly focused on the attacking unit. It was their duty to push Mbeumo, Wissa and Schade to a higher level with regular finishing drills. Frank assigns each of his assistants with around six players to look after. They are responsible for analysing that individual's performances and discussing areas of improvement. They are encouraged to have conversations about their personal lives, too. It was Norgaard's idea to convert Keane Lewis-Potter from a winger into a left-back. Despite playing in an unfamiliar position, Lewis-Potter was one of Brentford's most consistent performers last season. Lewis-Potter was one of the players Cochrane looked after and he helped the 24-year-old to adapt. When you know, you know @justincochrane8 🔮 — Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) May 17, 2024 'Justin has done very well for us here,' Frank said at a press conference in April. 'He came in with responsibility for the offensive part of the game, giving input to myself, the coaching staff and the players around everything from build-up to phase two to phase three and the breakthroughs. He's been a big part of that, planning the training week, and developing individual players. He's developed very well the last couple of years.' Advertisement There are loads of other examples of Cochrane making small adjustments which have a positive impact. When Brentford beat Nottingham Forest 2-1 in April 2023, Josh Dasilva came off the bench to score a stoppage-time winner. Dasilva's trademark finish was a curling left-footed shot towards the far corner but he surprised goalkeeper Keylor Navas by aiming for the near post. Cochrane pushed Dasilva to add variety to his strikes. 'I was just saying to Justin, we worked on that (finish) yesterday (in training),' Dasilva told Brentford's website. 'I always go far post and yesterday the mannequin was set in a way where I couldn't go far post and I had to go near post.' During his time with Manchester United, Cochrane crossed paths with future England international Kobbie Mainoo and Argentina's Alejandro Garnacho. They both started United's 3-1 victory over Nottingham Forest in the 2022 FA Youth Cup final and Garnacho scored twice. Cochrane encouraged Garnacho to avoid constantly chopping inside onto his stronger right foot to shoot. The winger scored United's third goal in stoppage time by cutting onto his right before going back towards the left to trick the defender. Garnacho's left-footed shot took a deflection and ricocheted past Forest's goalkeeper Aaron Bott. One small piece of advice from Cochrane helped him to become less predictable. Brennan Johnson was the only player to reach double digits for Spurs in the top flight last season, with 11. It feels likely that Cochrane will try and help Tottenham's attackers to become more efficient in the opposition box. Cochrane started his coaching career as a teenager in Queens Park Rangers' academy when he set up a grassroots team for local children under the age of 10. Cochrane only made one appearance for QPR before he went on to represent Crewe Alexandra and a variety of non-League sides including Boreham Wood, Aldershot Town and Hayes & Yeading United. He grew up in north London but played internationally for Antigua & Barbuda. Advertisement Before he retired, Cochrane started volunteering in Tottenham's academy at 27. He worked under Chris Ramsey and John McDermott, alongside Matt Wells and two future Premier League managers in Kieran McKenna and Scott Parker. He crossed paths and learned from Mauricio Pochettino too. McDermott spent over a decade with Spurs before he joined the Football Association in March 2020 and he played a role in Cochrane becoming part of Thomas Tuchel's backroom staff with England earlier this year. Cochrane will continue to help Tuchel in the build-up to and at next summer's World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada alongside his duties with Spurs. Cochrane oversaw the development of future England internationals Kyle Walker-Peters and Noni Madueke in his first spell at Spurs, as well as Dane Scarlett, Oliver Skipp and Marcus Edwards. Scarlett made 22 appearances on loan at Oxford United in the first half of last season before he returned to Spurs. The 21-year-old scored in a 3-0 victory over Elfsborg in the Europa League but only played five times in total. Perhaps Cochrane's influence could help him to become more established in the first-team squad. Cochrane has spoken in interviews about the importance of the 'Vibe Scale' which, despite sounding like an R&B song from the 1990s, is actually his way of recognising what the squad needs at the beginning of each day and reacting accordingly to their emotional, physical and mental states. Cochrane has worked in academies, in first-team environments and at international level so he understands how to connect with players who have different levels of experience. Luke Amos, who now plays for Perth Glory in Australia, spent 14 years at Tottenham and worked under Cochrane. The midfielder praised his former coach's vibrant 'energy' and enthusiasm. 'He reminded us that football is about fun, but you need to train properly,' Amos told The Athletic in 2022. 'I've never seen him lose his head, but if training wasn't right or someone was being sloppy, he would definitely tell them. He sets high demands. That's what the best coaches do. 'He is so good to work with and you can always approach him. Everyone connected with him easily. He was my coach at different age groups. He is not going to be the same with me when I was 14 and when I'm 20 — he adapts. When I was going through a few things, Justin would help out — like my mentality and not getting too frustrated — because that is something I definitely struggled with when I was younger.' Cochrane used to watch Barcelona and Real Madrid in the Champions League and design training sessions for Spurs' academy prospects based on what he had seen. Now he needs to prepare for the possibility of facing teams of that magnitude in that competition next season. In 2017, Cochrane graduated from The Open University with a degree in business, leadership and management. After nine years with Spurs, he became the England Under-15s head coach after seeing an advert online. He worked with then England first-team manager Gareth Southgate, his assistant, Steve Holland, and other age-group coaches including Steve Cooper and Kevin Betsy. Cochrane had played for Crewe when Holland was a member of the backroom staff. Advertisement In 2019, he completed his UEFA Pro Licence, was promoted to under-16s head coach and helped England win the UEFA Under-16 Development Tournament. The following year, he was appointed as the under-17s head coach and youth development phase lead. He helped to nurture lots of different players, including Newcastle United full-back Lewis Hall and Manchester City's Rico Lewis. He supported then head coach Aidy Boothroyd at the Under-21 Euros in 2019. England were eliminated at the group stage after losing twice and their squad included Dominic Solanke and James Maddison. Like Frank, Cochrane's track record of developing talent would have appealed to Spurs. The other members of staff Frank is bringing to Spurs are Haslam, Newton and Andreas Georgson. They will join forces with Wells and Rob Burch who, like Cochrane, both have a long association with Spurs. Ironically, Wells was Fulham's assistant manager when they beat Frank's Brentford in the 2020 Championship play-off final. Haslam is one of Frank's most trusted allies. He spent over a decade at Brentford across two different spells and was there for the entirety of Frank's reign. Haslam's role covered physical performance and sports science. He would be in constant communication with Frank on a match day and suggested substitutions. He often acted as a liaison between Frank and the fourth official. He also worked with Denmark at last summer's European Championship. Newton was in Tranmere Rovers' academy before being released and studying for a sports science degree at Wrexham University. During his time at university, he was registered in Wrexham's squad but spent time out on loan with non-League sides Colwyn Bay, Witton Albion and Newtown AFC. He completed a Master's degree in performance analysis at the University of Chester and worked for Welsh top-flight side The New Saints. He joined Brentford as a first-team analyst in September 2019, early in Frank's first full season in charge. He sits in the stands on a matchday and will debrief on how the team performed afterwards. He would sometimes be accompanied in the stands by Cochrane. They would be tasked with spotting anything the opposition team are doing which is different to what they expected. Georgson spent last year as Manchester United's set-piece coach, a role he previously held at Southampton, Arsenal and Brentford. He worked at Brentford during the 2019-20 season when they finished third in the Championship and lost the play-off final, before he was recruited by Arsenal. He also spent a year as technical director of Swedish side Malmo. Advertisement Spurs did not have a specialist set-piece coach last season but Nick Montgomery could often be seen giving players instructions from the touchline at corners and free kicks. Frank refers to his coaching staff as his 'SWAT team'. It is a bonus that he has been able to bring three people with him from Brentford and another former colleague in Georgson. He faces a huge challenge at Spurs but has surrounded himself with a strong group of assistants. Top photo:
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
LeBron James Breaks Down JJ Redick's Rookie Season as Lakers Head Coach
LeBron James Breaks Down JJ Redick's Rookie Season as Lakers Head Coach originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Los Angeles Lakers hired JJ Redick as their new head coach last summer after firing Darvin Ham, who coached the team for two seasons. Advertisement Redick played 15 years in the NBA and had two successful podcasts, "The Old Man and the Three" and "Mind the Game." Redick and Lakers superstar LeBron James were podcast partners on "Mind the Game." After Redick took the Los Angeles job, Hall of Famer Steve Nash replaced him on "Mind the Game." The Lakers won 50 games this season under Redick. They were the third seed in the Western Conference and appeared primed to compete for the championship with James and Luka Doncic leading the way. However, the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs in five games. LeBron James enjoyed playing for JJ Redick this season. Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images James, 40, is expected to pick up his 2025-26 player option with the Lakers. The NBA icon recently told The Hollywood Reporter that Redick is "always super-duper-crazy prepared." Advertisement "So when I had this season one with JJ, the one thing is that he was always super-duper-crazy prepared," James said. "And it makes sense why he is the coach that he is now. My one year that I've had with him so far, you see how incredibly prepared he is. It doesn't matter if it's broadcasting [or] if it's podcasting or coaching. "You could see it all translate to one another where it comes to being prepared — the preparation that he takes into it." The Lakers were 19th in the NBA in points per game, 10th in points per game allowed, 12th in offensive rating, 15th in defensive rating and 14th in net rating under Redick this season. It will be fascinating to see how James, Doncic, Redick and the Lakers fare in 2025-26. Related: LeBron James Shares Strong Opinion on Steve Nash Amid Successful Partnership This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 18, 2025, where it first appeared.
Chicago Tribune
an hour ago
- Chicago Tribune
Why Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is telling Lakers fans to keep ‘hands off' Shohei Ohtani
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has a playful message for Lakers fans about Shohei Ohtani, now that the baseball and NBA teams will have the same majority owner. 'Hands off of Shohei,' he said, smiling. 'They got enough superstars wearing the purple and gold. Leave him alone.' Social media on Wednesday was rife with photos of the Japanese two-way superstar's face and body in a Lakers jersey after news broke that Dodgers controlling owner Mark Walter is buying a majority interest in the Lakers from the Buss family for $10 billion. Fox baseball analyst Ben Verlander posted on X: 'We're really about to have Shohei Ohtani out here dropping 50 on Christmas Day for the Lakers. What a time to be alive.' Another person suggested Ohtani could be a two-way player for the Lakers, while someone wondered if the Lakers would start Ohtani at the 2 or 3 position. Others thanked Ohtani for deferring most of his $700 million, 10-year contract and, as one person posted, 'putting all that money in Mark Walters' pockets so he can buy and save the Lakers franchise.' The Lakers already have a Japanese player in forward Rui Hachimura. 'I think Hachimura is taking care of the Japanese side of things,' Roberts said. 'We'll have Shohei on the baseball side.' Last December, Ohtani and his wife attended a Lakers game and were presented with personalized jerseys. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, played four seasons for the Fujitsu Red Wave of the Women's Japan Basketball League. Roberts appeared to warm to the suggestion that he might be sitting in the celebrity-packed courtside seats at Lakers games this winter. 'I'm sure a lot of people have hit Mark up,' he said, 'but I might add myself to the list.'
