Mark Walter had only officially taken ownership of the Los Angeles Lakers less than a year ago, so it was an absolute bombshell announcement on Wednesday morning that he agreed to sell his majority stake in the franchise to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner for a record-breaking $12.5 billion valuation.
One of the many questions that arose following the announcement was what this would mean in terms of the Buss family’s shares as they still owned 17% of the team. But according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, those shares are untouched in this sale as the agreement is only for Walter’s:
This sale agreement is only for Mark Walter’s shares, not the Buss family’s remaining shares. https://t.co/IMvaW0Iolr
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) August 12, 2026
This makes sense as the deal reportedly came together in just a few days. Iger and Kushner were both involved in the potential NBA expansion into Las Vegas, but as the price continued to rise they approached Walter about the Lakers and gave him an offer he couldn’t refuse. But Jeanie Buss and the rest of the Buss family will maintain their minority ownership.
It will also be interesting to see what this means for the future of Jeanie and her role as governor of the franchise. In the sale to Walter, it was put in writing that she would maintain her role for at least five years with Rob Pelinka continuing to run the front office. Iger confirmed that they plan to stick to that, via Khobi Price of the California Post:
“We have enormous respect and appreciation for Jeanie, her father and what they’ve contributed to this franchise,” Iger said. “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.”
The Lakers had just begun making big changes under Walter this offseason, investing in the infrastructure of the organization and even remodeling their practice facility. There was a lot of talk about bringing the Lakers back into perennial championship contention and the front office made a number of moves to build the team around Luka Doncic this summer.
Whether Iger and Kushner will continue with those plans remains to be seen as most owners come in with their own styles and philosophies and want to bring in those who share those same views. For now those, Buss will remain involved with the new owners.
Luka Doncic comments on Lakers’ sale to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner
Doncic commented on the sale of the Lakers as well, saying that regardless of the ownership changes he knows there is limitless potential with this franchise and he is looking forward to getting to know and working with the new owners.
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