Lakers Reportedly Sell for $10B Valuation After Jerry Buss Bought Team for $67.5M

For the first time since 1979, ownership of the Los Angeles Lakers is changing hands.

Per ESPN's Shams Charania, the Buss family is selling majority ownership of the team to Mark Walter, the CEO and chairman of diversified holding company TWG Global.

Charania noted that Jerry Buss, who died in 2013, bought the Lakers for $67.5 million in 1979. The team is now valued at approximately $10 billion, marking the largest sale of a professional sports team in the world.

According to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, Jeanie Buss "will not only remain the Lakers governor, but will continue to run the team for 'at least a number of years.'"

To put the sale of the Lakers into context, the Boston Celtics, arguably the most storied franchise in the NBA, sold for $6.1 billion in March. At the time, that was the largest sale of a sports team in North American history.

Outside of the NBA, the Washington Commanders are the most expensive sale of an NFL team, coming in at $6.05 billion in 2023.

The sale of the Lakers will likely be passed eventually as teams continue to grow in value, but it might be a while. In February, Sportico released its annual list of the most valuable franchises in the world, and the Dallas Cowboys topped the list at $10.32 billion. If Jerry Jones ever decides to sell, he could likely break the record for the largest sale of a sports team.

For now, that title remains in Los Angeles.

The Buss family became one of the most iconic ownership groups in sports over the last few decades. Under their ownership, the Lakers won 11 titles and produced plenty of Hall of Famers.

The Buss family's tenure began in the Showtime era with stars Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar leading the way. After more than a decade of success, the team experienced a dry spell in the mid-90s.

That all changed when the team traded for Kobe Bryant on draft night and signed Shaquille O'Neal in the summer of 1996. After hiring Phil Jackson in 1999, the Lakers won three straight championships from 2000 to 2002.

After O'Neal's departure, Los Angeles won two more titles with Bryant leading the way. In recent years, the Lakers haven't had the same kind of success they're accustomed to but added one more championship behind the pairing of LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Walter, who also owns the Los Angeles Dodgers, will inherit a team still led by James, but with the addition of Luka Dončić. While Walter certainly has big shoes to fill, Los Angeles is always a hot spot for talent, and he should have no trouble keeping the Lakers near the top of the NBA for years to come.