2 weeks ago
Jeanie Buss role questioned after record $12.5 billion Lakers sale
The Los Angeles Lakers are a very famous basketball team.
Two rich business people, Josh Kushner and Bob Iger, have agreed to buy the team for $12.5 billion.
That is the most money anyone has ever paid for a sports team in North America.
The team is being sold by Mark Walter, who had only owned it for a little over a year.
The Lakers have a leader called the governor, and that job belongs to Jeanie Buss.
She has had that job since 2013, when her father, who used to own the team, passed away.
Even when the team was sold before, she stayed on as governor.
The new owners say they respect her family and her leadership very much.
Her family still owns part of the team, so she can probably keep her job for now.
The NBA, the league the team plays in, still has to say yes to the sale, and it will decide in September.
Billionaire investor Josh Kushner and former Disney chief Bob Iger have reached a deal to buy the Los Angeles Lakers from Mark Walter for a reported $12.5 billion.
The $12.5 billion price is the highest ever paid for a North American sports franchise, topping the roughly $10 billion Walter paid for a controlling stake about 14 months earlier.
Jeanie Buss has served as Lakers governor since 2013 and kept that role even after the first ownership change in 2025.
NBA rules require a governor to hold at least a 15 percent ownership stake, and the Buss family retained roughly 15 to 17 percent, which is not part of the new transaction.
The sale still requires approval from the NBA Board of Governors, whose next meeting is expected in September.
- Who
- Josh Kushner and Bob Iger (buyers), Mark Walter (seller), and Jeanie Buss (Lakers governor).
- What
- The sale of the Los Angeles Lakers for a reported $12.5 billion, the highest price ever paid for a North American sports franchise.
- Where
- Los Angeles, United States.
- When
- The deal was reached barely 14 months after Walter acquired a controlling stake; NBA Board of Governors review is expected in September.
- Why
- Kushner and Iger say they want to honor the Buss family's legacy, compete at the highest level and serve the team and city; the sale is pending NBA approval.
Key facts
- Sale price
- $12.5 billion (reported)
- Buyers
- Josh Kushner and Bob Iger
- Seller
- Mark Walter
- Previous sale
- Roughly $10 billion about 14 months prior
- Jeanie Buss governor since
- 2013
- NBA governor ownership requirement
- At least 15 percent
- Buss family remaining stake
- Roughly 15-17 percent (not part of the new deal)
- Approval needed
- NBA Board of Governors, next meeting expected in September
Quotes
Josh Kushner and Bob Iger
Owners of the Los Angeles Lakers
“As lifelong NBA fans, we are deeply honored for the opportunity to become stewards of the Los Angeles Lakers, one of the most iconic sports franchises in the world. We have immense respect for the leadership and vision of Jerry and Jeanie Buss. Our long‑term commitment is to build on that foundation, compete at the highest level, and serve this extraordinary team, its fans, and the city of Los Angeles.”
livemint.com
Sources
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