Lakers Bid Reportedly Presented to NBA by Mark Walter Amid $10B Sale Agreement

Mark Walter reportedly could be approved as the new owner of the Los Angeles Lakers within the next week.

According to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, Walter will present his bid to the NBA Advisory Finance Committee on Friday, at which point the committee will make a recommendation to the NBA Board of Governors.

The Board of Governors will then vote on whether to accept Walter into the league as the Lakers' controlling owner as soon as the end of next week.

ESPN's Shams Charania reported in June that the Buss family agreed to sell majority ownership of the Lakers to Walter at a valuation of $10 billion.

The $10 billion valuation is the highest in the history of American professional sports franchises, beating out the previous record of $6.1 billion set by the Boston Celtics back in March.

Days after Charania's report, the Buss family confirmed to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN) that it had agreed to sell a majority stake in the franchise to Walter.

However, Jeanie Buss noted in a statement that the Buss family would maintain a minority stake and she would remain governor of the Lakers, as well as "continue to oversee all team operations on a day-to-day basis for the foreseeable future" after the sale.

Walter, 65, is a highly successful businessman, serving as CEO of the global investment and financial services firm Guggenheim Partners.

He is also already heavily involved in sports ownership, as he is controlling owner of Major League Baseball's reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers and the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks.

He also owns the Cadillac Formula One team and the Professional Women's Hockey League, plus he has partial ownership of Chelsea Football Club and the Billie Jean King Cup.

If Walter's ownership application is approved, he will take over one of the most storied and successful franchises in professional sports history.

The Lakers' 17 NBA titles are the second-most all time behind only the Celtics' 18, and their 32 NBA Finals appearances are the most ever.

L.A. last won a championship in 2020, but the franchise has made three consecutive playoff appearances, and hopes were high entering the 2025-26 campaign due to the superstar duo of LeBron James and Luka Dončić.

James is expected to miss at least the first couple of weeks of the season due to sciatica, and without him in the lineup, the Lakers lost 119-109 to the Golden State Warriors in their season-opening game on Tuesday.

The Lakers will be back in action Friday night when they host the Minnesota Timberwolves, who eliminated them in the first round of the playoffs last season.