Magic Johnson Says Lakers Fans 'Should Be Ecstatic' by Reported Mark Walter Sale
Few people in NBA history understand what it takes to make the Los Angeles Lakers successful better than Magic Johnson, and the legendary former point guard is "ecstatic" about the reported sale to Mark Walter.
After ESPN's Shams Charania reported the Buss family agreed to sell majority ownership of the franchise to Walter, who is the CEO of TWG Global, at an approximate valuation of $10 billion on Wednesday, Johnson took to social media and expressed his overall excitement about the development:
Johnson is certainly familiar with Walter, as the former Laker is part of the Los Angeles Dodgers' ownership group. Walter is the controlling owner of the Major League Baseball team and has established the club as one of the best in the sport.
What's more, the Dodgers have the second-highest payroll in MLB for the 2025 season, which indicates his willingness to pay the necessary resources to put a contending team on display.
That should be welcome news for Lakers fans, who are surely looking for ownership to bolster the roster around Luka Dončić in the coming years.
Johnson's optimism about the reported sale is also notable because perhaps nobody in Lakers history is more closely associated with the Buss family.
After all, Jerry Buss purchased the organization in 1979, which was the same year Los Angeles selected Johnson with the No. 1 overall pick of the NBA draft. That tied Johnson and Buss together for the foreseeable future, and they turned the franchise into the NBA's golden standard in the ensuing years.
Los Angeles went to nine NBA Finals and won five championship rings with Johnson largely leading the way alongside Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Pat Riley and others from 1980 through 1991. Buss himself became a household name with his organization dominating the league for so long, and he and Johnson remain integral figures in the Lakers' storied history.
Johnson also worked closely with Jeanie Buss and was named the Lakers' president of basketball operations after she fired her brother, Jim Buss, in 2017.
He pointed to the similarities between Jeanie Buss and Walter in his social media post and clearly believes the organization's success will continue in the coming years even after this move.
