Control of one of the most high-profile and valuable professional sports teams in the world is changing hands.
The Buss family, which has run the Los Angeles Lakers for 46 years, is selling a majority stake in the iconic NBA franchise for a valuation of $10 billion to Mark Walter, who had previously owned a minority stake in the team, a source told NBCLA.
It would be the second Southern California icon that Walter has a controlling interest in; an ownership group led by Walter has owned the Los Angeles Dodgers since 2012.
Should the sale of the Lakers be approved by the NBA, it would mark the first time since 1979 that the Buss family no longer controls the team that has won 17 NBA championships, second-most all-time, including 11 under the family’s ownership. Since the 2013 death of longtime owner Jerry Buss, his children have run the team, led by daughter Jeanie Buss.
Buss will continue to act as the team’s governor after sale of the team, according to NBCLA, which would allow her to vote on league matters at board meetings between NBA owners.
ESPN was first to report news of the sale.
Last year, Forbes ranked the Lakers as the world’s eighth most-valuable team, at $7.1 billion.
Walter first joined the Lakers ownership group in 2021, when Philip Anschutz sold a 27% stake of the team to Walter and a Dodgers co-owner, Todd Boehly.
“Job well done to my sister Jeanie Buss for striking an incredible deal and picking the right person to carry on the @Lakers legacy and tradition of winning — Mark Walter, my business partner and friend!” Magic Johnson, the former Lakers superstar who is part of groups with Walter that own the Dodgers and WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks, posted on X.
Johnson added that, “Mark Walter is the best choice and will be the best caretaker of the Laker brand,” and added in a later post that “Lakers fans should be ecstatic.”
The sale resets the bar for the value of a pro sports team. The proposed $6.1 billion sale of the NBA’s Boston Celtics, which has yet to be formally completed, previously held the record for NBA franchises.
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