Mark Walter has agreed to sale his majority share of the Los Angeles Lakers to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner. The deal was one that was completely unexpected as Walter has been in control of the Lakers for less than a year and now the franchise will be under a completely new vision with Kushner and Iger taking over.
And apparently that vision will be more in line with that of Iger than Kushner as, according to Khobi Price of the California Post, the former will be the more actively involved owner of the two:
But one thing that became apparent in the immediate aftermath of the pending sale: Iger will be the one most actively involved with the Lakers once the sale becomes official, a source told the California Post.
This is interesting as, while both have been interested in owning a team, Kushner is the one who has some experience with NBA ownership. Kushner has been a minority owner of the Miami Heat since 2024, but will have to sell those shares with his purchase of the Lakers. He also was a minority owner of the Memphis Grizzlies prior to that.
Perhaps Kushner is more comfortable playing the background role, but whatever the case, it is Iger who apparently will be at the forefront of this new ownership group. Iger previously served as CEO of The Walt Disney Company where he saw great success, leading their purchases of such properties as Marvel Entertainment, Pixar and Lucasfilm.
It will also be very interesting to see whether Iger continues on with the plans for the Lakers that were just coming into place under Walter. He was investing heavily into the infrastructure of the franchise, building out the staff in both the business and basketball sides of things and even remodeling the practice facility this offseason. The Lakers have begun building the roster around superstar guard Luka Doncic, but new owners usually come in with their own ideas.
The sale of the Lakers can’t be made official until it is approved by the NBA board of governors and the next meeting is currently scheduled in September.
Jeanie Buss maintaining minority ownership stake and will remain Lakers’ governor
Another question following news of this sale is the status of Jeanie Buss, who had an agreement with Walter to continue to serve as Lakers governor for at least five years. And Iger confirmed that he intends to honor that agreement.
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