The longest-tenured ownership group in the NBA is set to sell the team.
The Buss Family has agreed to sell majority ownership stake of the Los Angeles Lakers to Mark Walter, CEO and chairman of diversified holding company TWG Global and owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, for a valuation of approximately $10 billion, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Wednesday.
Once completed, it would be the largest sale of a professional sports franchise in the world, per ESPN.
According to Charania, Jeanie Buss will continue to serve in her role as governor of the team after the sale.
Jeanie’s father Jerry Buss originally bought the Lakers in 1979 for $67.5 million. He ultimately passed on the franchise to his children after his passing in 2013. The Lakers, with their 17 NBA Championships (second most in NBA history), are now set to be helmed by a new last name for the first time in nearly 50 years.
Walter has been a minority stakeholder in the Lakers since 2021 and owns stake in multiple pro sports organizations, including the Dodgers, WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks, the Billie Jean Cup, Cadillac’s Formula 1 team and the PWHL.
