Buss family selling Lakers’ ownership to Josh Kushner, Bob Iger
The Buss family is selling their remaining ownership stakes in the Lakers to the new majority owners.
The family, which has had ownership stakes in the Lakers since Dr. Jerry Buss purchased the franchise in 1979, is selling its remaining ownership stake in the franchise to businessman Josh Kushner and former The Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger.
“We have decided as a family to sell the remaining Buss Family Trust shares to the Bob Iger group as part of the ongoing transaction,” the family said in a statement to ESPN. “We love the Lakers, Laker fans and will continue to support Los Angeles; but it is time to use this opportunity to move on and exit gracefully while we still can.”
Kushner and Iger have an agreement to buy the majority ownership of the Lakers from Mark Walter at a historic valuation of $12.5 billion.
The Buss family agreed to sell the majority ownership of the Lakers to Walter, who is also the majority owner of the Dodgers, in June 2025 in a deal that became official last October at a valuation of $10 billion, which at the time was the largest sale ever of a U.S. pro sports franchise.
Once the sale is official, Jeanie Buss will no longer be able to be the Lakers Governor.
The NBA requires that all Governors have an ownership stake of at least 15% of the franchise to be in the role.
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The Buss family’s remaining shares in the Lakers was close to 18% of the franchise.
When Walter purchased the majority ownership of the Lakers from the Buss family, the league announced that Buss would remain the team’s Governor for a period of at least five years.
Iger told the California Post last week he and Kushner intended to honor the agreement made between Walter and Buss.
“We have enormous respect and appreciation for Jeanie, her father and what they’ve contributed to this franchise,” Iger told the Post. “And we have every intention to honor the agreement that was made between Mark and Jeanie. If things change, they’ll change, but we’re going into this with enormous respect and appreciation for who she is and what she represents in the organization.”
Kushner and Iger are buying around 65% of the Lakers in their deal with Walter, meaning they’ll own around 83% of the franchise once the sale is official.
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This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
