Report: Buss family sells remaining Lakers stake to new majority owners

The Buss family is selling its remaining 17.8 per cent stake in the Lakers to new majority owners Josh Kushner and Bob Iger, ESPN's Shams Charania reported on Monday.

Iger and Kusher agreed earlier in August to buy the other 82.2 per cent from Mark Walter at a valuation of $12.5 billion.

The Lakers were valued last year at $10 billion — a record for a pro sports team — when Mark Walter purchased a controlling stake from the Buss family, which had owned the team since 1979.

The Buss family trust, which is composed of siblings Jeanie, Jim, Johnny, Janie, Joey and Jesse, required a majority vote to execute the sale to Iger and Kushner.

The Lakers are 17-time NBA champions who won their most recent title in 2020. They've made the playoffs in each of the past four seasons, and their current roster is built around NBA scoring champion Luka Doncic, who is signed through the 2028-29 season. The Slovenian superstar has become passionate about Los Angeles and the Lakers less than two years after his arrival.

When Walter bought his controlling interest in the Lakers, the deal specified that Jeanie Buss would stay on as the team’s governor.

However, NBA rules specify that governors must own at least 15 per cent of a given franchise, per Charania. With Monday's deal, that will no longer be the case for Buss.