The iconic Los Angeles Lakers basketball franchise is reportedly being sold in a monumental $10 billion deal, which would make it the highest-valued sports team in US history, according to ESPN.
The report indicates that the current owners, the Buss family, plan to sell their controlling interest in the team to billionaire Mark Walter, who already holds a minority stake in the franchise. While Jeanie Buss is expected to remain as the Lakers governor, this sale would bring an end to the Buss family’s remarkable 46-year ownership of the NBA powerhouse.
Walter is the chief executive of TWG Global, a holding company that has built an impressive portfolio of professional sports teams, including baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers and the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks. His diverse sports investments also include a stake in English Premier League side Chelsea, the Billie Jean King Cup tennis tournament, and the Cadillac Formula One team.
Although further details of the deal were not disclosed, Lakers legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson, a business partner of Walter, was among the first to express his excitement about the news.
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Magic Johnson lauded Walter’s acquisition, citing his successful ownership of the Dodgers baseball team as a strong reason for optimism. Under Walter’s ownership group, the Dodgers have won the World Series twice and have recently adopted an aggressive recruitment strategy, signing some of the biggest talents in the sport, including Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani on a groundbreaking 10-year, $700 million deal.
The sale of the Lakers by the Buss family truly marks the end of an era in the NBA. The league’s modern popularity owes a great deal to the franchise’s glorious 1980s heyday. The Lakers were acquired in 1979 by the charismatic tycoon Jerry Buss, who quickly transformed the franchise into both a sporting powerhouse and a globally recognized brand. More recently, the team continued to attract top talent, recruiting superstar LeBron James, who led the Lakers to their 17th championship in 2020. The team also made waves earlier this year by acquiring Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic.
Mark Walter has been a minority owner of the Lakers since 2021, a deal that reportedly included a first refusal option to purchase the club should the Buss family ever decide to sell. This record-shattering sale significantly surpasses the previous highest figure paid for a US sports team, which was the $6.1 billion paid for the Boston Celtics earlier this year. That Celtics sale itself had eclipsed the $6.05 billion that Josh Harris paid for the Washington Commanders in 2023.
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