UPDATED with latest: It’s a great day to be a Lakers fan. And not just because of Austin Reaves’ epic game winner last night.
Dodgers controlling owner Mark Walter, who has spared no expense on that team since he took over, has finalized a deal to purchase controlling interest in Los Angeles‘ other fabled sports franchise: The L.A. Lakers. The NBA Board of Governors approved the sale this morning.
The Buss family, which has owned the team for 46 years, will still have a stake. “Jeanie Buss will remain Governor of the Los Angeles Lakers and continue to oversee day-to-day team operations for the foreseeable future,” Walter said in a statement. (One slight caveat: A memo from the Board of Governors noted that Buss’ involvement is guaranteed for “at least five years.”)
“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 his 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.”
While Walter is not buying all of the team, his purchase pegs the Lakers’ value at $10B. That’s the highest-ever for an American sports team.
Now the team, one of the great legacy franchises in sports, will have billionaire-style money behind it.
“Over the past decade, I have come to know Mark well—first as a businessman, then as a friend and now as a colleague,” said Jeanie Buss 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.”
PREVIOUSLY on June 18: In a league full of billionaire owners the Lakers are finally joining the club.
ESPN’s NBA insider Shams Charania reported today that “The Buss family is entering an agreement to sell majority ownership of the Los Angeles Lakers to Mark Walter, the CEO and chairman of diversified holding company TWG Global.” Walter, he notes, has been a minority owner in the team for years and also owns stakes in the L.A. Dodgers, the Sparks and many more sports entities. The Athletic confirmed the news.
Walter has been a minority stakeholder in the Lakers since 2021 and has interests in multiple professional sports organizations, including the LA Dodgers, WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks, the Billie Jean Cup, Cadillac Formula 1 team and the Professional Women’s Hockey League. https://t.co/mgZkxcdXnp
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 18, 2025
Prior to this deal, the Buss family trust owned 66% of the team. That interest will now be reduced to 15%. Jeanie Buss will remain the team’s governor.
Charania reports the deal values the franchise at $10 billion. Previously, the largest team sale in North American sports history was the Celtics’ $6.1 billion sale in March. Besting the archrival Celtics doubtless would bring Lakers fans joy.
“Just like I thought, when the Celtics sold for $6B, I knew the Lakers were worth $10B!” wrote Magic Johnson on social media after the announcement.
Just like I thought, when the Celtics sold for $6B, I knew the Lakers were worth $10B!https://t.co/APreKgzNxb
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) June 18, 2025
The Buss Family has owned the franchise since 1979, when patriarch Jerry Buss bought the team — along with the Kings hockey club and the Forum — for $67.5 million.
Walter has been a minority owner in the team since 2021, and his deal reportedly allowed him the right of first refusal if the Buss family ever decided to sell.
The Lakers long have been among the most valuable franchises in American sports, second only to the Dallas Cowboys in many estimates. The Lakers have thrived under the Buss family’s leadership, attracting many of the top players in league history, including Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, LeBron James and, most recently, Luka Doncic. They have 11 NBA championships since 1979 — the franchise has a total of 17 — including a threepeat from 2000-02 under coach Phil Jackson. The team won its most recent title in 2020. Today’s deal comes one day after the 15th anniversary of the game that clinched the 2010 title for the team.
While arguably the premier franchise in the NBA, the Lakers have in the past few years had a comparatively middle-class ownership dependent largely on their TV deal with Spectrum Sports. The Buss family’s biggest investment is the team itself, whereas many other owners, such as Steve Ballmer of the crosstown-rival Clippers, made billions elsewhere that they could then plow into the team. Now, the Lakers can do the same.
Wrote Johnson — a Dodgers and Sparks minority owner himself — in a follow-up post, “Laker fans should be estatic [sic]. A few things I can tell you about Mark – he is driven by winning, excellence, and doing everything the right way. AND he will put in the resources needed to win!”
Laker fans should be estatic. A few things I can tell you about Mark – he is driven by winning, excellence, and doing everything the right way. AND he will put in the resources needed to win! I can understand why Jeanie sold the team to Mark Walter because they are just alike -…
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) June 18, 2025
Recently, the team has worked very hard to live within its means, due in part to the league’s more restrictive salary cap. Now, they have a war chest to match that of their rivals if they want to spend, specifically in terms of team amenities and staff. After all, Ballmer has been spending freely, last year opening the $2 billion Intuit Dome in Inglewood. And last season the Lakers acquired their future superstar in Donic, a 26 year old phenom considered one of the best players in the league.
That’s not just good for the team, it’s also good for the league. The team’s fortunes are so important to the NBA that former Commissioner David Stern has been said to have opined that his idea of the perfect NBA Finals matchup was not Lakers-Celtics, but “Lakers-Lakers.”
There is some opinion that the Lakers may be selling at the peak, given that new national NBA TV deals are expected to drop in monetary value after the current one expires in a few years. Every team in the league gets money from the national TV pact, and a lesser deal there could impact the terms of a team sale.
The team’s Hollywood ties are legion, from Jack Nicholson on the sidelines to Jerry Buss courting celebrities with the Forum Club. They may be the only NBA franchise with an Oscar winner — Bryant — among their former players. Indeed, their current leader is actually in showbiz; James produces movies, TV shows and podcasts. The team itself has also been the subject of many film and TV projects.
There were HBO’s much-lauded Winning Time in 2022 and Netflix’s more recent Running Point, which is based in part on Jeanie Buss’ leadership of the team. She is, in fact, an executive producer on the show.
She was also an exec producer on WOW: Women of Wrestling and Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers, which served in part as the team’s unofficial response to the Emmy-nominated Winning Time.
The post I Love L.A.: Dodgers Owner Mark Walter Finalizes Lakers Acquisition At A $10B Valuation appeared first on Deadline.
