Buss family sells LA Lakers for $10 billion after acquiring team for $67 million

If this isn’t the American dream, we don’t know what is. History has been made in the NBA with a deal that is almost hard to believe.

The NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers are changing hands — for a sky-high price tag.

The Buss family is entering an agreement to sell its majority stake in the Lakers for approximately $10 billion to businessman Mark Walter, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Wednesday.

It marks the largest sale ever of a US pro sports franchise.

LeBron James’ team has a new owner. (Photo by David Berding/Getty)

Walter, who is also the primary owner of Major League Baseball’s LA Dodgers, is the CEO of TWG Global, a multinational conglomerate holding company.

Walter also has interests in several other professional sports teams and enterprises — including the Los Angeles Sparks, Chelsea FC, the Billie Jean King Cup, the Cadillac Formula 1 team and the Professional Women’s Hockey League.

Jeanie Buss will remain in her position as the franchise’s governor after the sale, Charania noted.

The Buss family has seen the value of the Lakers skyrocket since Jerry Buss acquired the franchise for $67.5 million in 1979, and now gets to reap the benefits of that purchase 46 years later.

Jeanie Buss will remain as the franchise’s governor. (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok, File)

When Jerry died in 2013, his ownership stake in the franchise transferred to his six children, with Jeanie assuming the role as the team’s governor.

The deal comes after two other highly valued NBA franchises recently sold: the Mavericks and Celtics.

Longtime owner Mark Cuban sold his majority stake in the Mavs in late 2023 to the Adelson family for $3.5 billion, though he retained approximately 27 per cent in the team.

In March 2025, Wyc Grousbeck sold his controlling stake in the Celtics to William Chisholm for $6.1 billion.

Walter has been one of the most willing spenders in MLB with the Dodgers, who have the second-highest payroll in baseball at $321.3 million.

Lakers legend and former part-owner Magic Johnson chimed in, posting on X: “Job well done to my sister Jeanie Buss for striking an incredible deal and picking the right person to carry on the @Lakers legacy and tradition of winning.

“Mark Walter, my business partner and friend! Mark Walter is the best choice and will be the best caretaker of the Laker brand. The proof is in the pudding on what he’s been able to accomplish with the LA Dodgers. Mark has been nothing short of a winner notching 2 World Series and 11 NL West divisional titles in the last 12 years!”

This article was originally published by the New York Post and reproduced with permission

Originally published as Buss family sells LA Lakers for $10 billion after acquiring team for $67 million