Jeanie Buss and Mark Walter issue statements on sale of Lakers
Last week, it was announced that the Buss family had agreed to sell a majority share of the Los Angeles Lakers to Mark Walter, the CEO of Guggenheim Partners, who has been the primary owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers since 2012. Walter has guided the Dodgers to lots of success, including two World Series championships, in recent years, and fans have been excited about the Lakers earning similar results in the years to come.
The Lakers are reportedly being sold at a valuation of $10 billion, which makes it the most expensive sale of a sports franchise anywhere in the world.
The Buss family has owned the Lakers since 1979, when the late Dr. Jerry Buss purchased them from previous owner Jack Kent Cooke. Dr. Buss' daughter, Jeanie Buss, who has been their governor for many years, issued a statement on the transaction on Wednesday.
Via ESPN:
"From the day our father purchased the Lakers, we have been determined to deliver what the City of Los Angeles deserves and demands: a team that is committed to winning -- relentlessly -- and to doing so with passion and with style," Jeanie 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."
Walter also commented on the sale.
"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," Walter said.
When the elder Buss owned the Lakers from 1979 until his death in 2013, they won 10 NBA championships and missed the playoffs just twice. But since then, they have failed to reach the playoffs seven times, and despite winning it all in 2020, some would say the franchise has lost quite a bit of its former luster.
But now Walter will have the 26-year-old Luka Doncic to build around, so perhaps another world title won't be that far off.
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