MINNEAPOLIS — The sale of the Lakers from the Buss family to Dodgers controlling owner Mark Walter was made official Thursday morning.
Shortly after the NBA announced that the league’s Board of Governors unanimously approved the sale, the Lakers announced that Walter finalized his acquisition of a majority stake in the Lakers.
“The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most iconic franchises in all of sports, defined by a history of excellence and the relentless pursuit of greatness,” Walter said in a team-issued statement. “Few teams carry the legacy and global influence of the Lakers, and it’s a privilege to work alongside Jeanie Buss as we maintain that excellence and set the standard for success in this new era, both on and off the court.”
The Lakers’ statement said Buss will remain the franchise’s governor and continue to oversee day-to-day team operations for the “foreseeable future,” with the league saying Buss will remain the Lakers’ governor for “at least five years” after the transaction closed Thursday.
The sale of the Lakers from the Buss Family Trust to Walter came at a valuation of approximately $10 billion, making it the largest sale of a North American professional sports team.
The Buss family is keeping a minority stake of the Lakers of just more than 15%, which is required by the league to be a governor of an NBA franchise.
Walter had been a stakeholder of the Lakers since July 2021, when he and business partner Todd Boehly bought a 27% minority interest in the franchise from Philip Anschutz, the founder of Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), which owns and operates Crypto.com Arena, where the Lakers play their home games.
“Mark Walter has a long association with our leagues, having served as a minority owner of the Lakers and as the principal owner of the WNBA’s Sparks for more than a decade,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “As Mark assumes his role as majority owner of the Lakers, I have no doubt that he will be a committed steward of the team and a great addition to our league given his many successful ventures in business and sports.”
In addition to the Dodgers and Lakers, Walter also has ownership stakes in the WNBA’s Sparks, English Premier League soccer club Chelsea FC and the Cadillac Formula 1 team.
“Over the past decade, I have come to know Mark well – first as a businessman, then as a friend and now as a colleague,” Buss said in a statement. “He has demonstrated time and time again his commitment to bringing championships to Los Angeles, and, on behalf of Lakers fans everywhere, I am beyond excited about what our future has in store.”
The sale from the Buss family to Walter is a significant moment in the sports ownership landscape.
The Buss family has owned the Lakers since 1979, when the late Jerry Buss bought the franchise from Jack Kent Cooke for $67.5 million – a transaction that included the NHL’s Kings and the Forum in Inglewood. Buss sold the Kings to Bruce McNall in 1988.
Since 1980, the Lakers have won 11 championships, the most by any NBA team during that span. They have done it with some of the league’s most iconic players – Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal and LeBron James – leading the way. The Lakers reached the NBA Finals 16 times in the 34 seasons when Jerry Buss was leading the organization.
The Buss family’s 46 years of Lakers’ ownership was the longest among current NBA franchises, with Herbert Simon’s ownership of the Indiana Pacers since 1983 being the second-longest.
“I also want to thank and congratulate Jeanie Buss and the Buss family for 46 years of transformational leadership and service,” Silver said. “While this historic transaction transfers the Buss family’s majority interest in the Lakers, I am thrilled that Jeanie will remain the team’s Governor and an active and engaged member of our league.”