One of the most glamorous franchises in all of professional sports is set to have a new majority owner. According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Buss family has agreed to sell majority ownership of the Los Angeles Lakers organization to Mark Walter, an American businessman and CEO with a net worth of billions.
BREAKING: The Buss family is entering an agreement to sell majority ownership of the Los Angeles Lakers to Mark Walter, the CEO and chairman of diversified holding company TWG Global, sources tell ESPN. Jeanie Buss will continue to serve in her role as Governor after the sale. pic.twitter.com/1Da6LDD7TJ
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 18, 2025
An important tidbit regarding Walter is that he already has interests in multiple professional sports organizations, including the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Folks ranging from Lakers fans to reporters offered reactions and additional information to the news of the team’s pending ownership change.
WHOAAAA!!!! https://t.co/ze4I0eStr8
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) June 18, 2025
BLOWN AWAY BY THAT NEWS! Never thought the Buss family would go in that direction — WILD!
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) June 18, 2025
Walter earned the first right of refusal if the Buss family ever decided to sell their 66 percent stake when he purchased Phil Anschutz’ 26 percent stake in 2021. In other words, this has been positioned to go this way. There are a lot of ties between the Lakers and Dodgers… https://t.co/GlLkBFVkRs
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) June 18, 2025
BREAKING: MAJORITY OWNERSHIP OF THE LAKERS IS BEING SOLD TO MARK WALTER 😦 (via @ShamsCharania) pic.twitter.com/6LP48EcRhD
— Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) June 18, 2025
Deep pockets for the Luka Doncic era with Mark Walter owning the Lakers. https://t.co/Zqee6AzPQl
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) June 18, 2025
Does Mark Walter care for the luxury tax? Asking for a friend
— Matthew Peralta (@_MatthewPeralta) June 18, 2025
https://t.co/1meJXfMTQs pic.twitter.com/AjXCRE1eZe
— Christian Rivas (@RadRivas) June 18, 2025
Perfectly said. Ownership changes can be scary. Just look at the Mavericks. And we’ll see in time about the Celtics. But the Lakers appear to have nailed their sale considering Walter’s outstanding track record running the Dodgers. https://t.co/5NTFH7esy7
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) June 18, 2025
— Eddie A Johnson (@Jumpshot8) June 18, 2025
Mark Walter and his group run the Dodgers exactly how you would want any team run.
-Hire smart people and trust them to do their jobs
-Treat players and their families right
-Spend moneyThis is a monumental day for the Lakers and NBA as a whole. https://t.co/s6TOV3KXo2
— Daniel Starkand (@DStarkand) June 18, 2025
Mark Walter is entering agreement to purchase majority ownership of the Lakers from the Buss family for a valuation of approximately $10 billion, the largest sale of a professional sports franchise in the world, sources tell ESPN.
$10 billion. https://t.co/mgZkxcdXnp
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 18, 2025
Lakers fans are surely hoping that the storied franchise can now emulate the success that the Dodgers have had in recent years with Walter as their owner. The Dodgers have been maybe the best team in all of baseball over the last decade, as Los Angeles hasn’t missed the playoffs since the 2012 season, and the squad also has won two World Series since the start of 2020.
It will be of interest to Lakers fans that the Dodgers have shown a willingness to spend under Walter, so much so that fans of some other MLB teams have grown tired of it.
The Dodgers most recently won it all last season, and they defeated the New York Yankees in five games in the World Series. Los Angeles looks primed to compete for another World Series later on this year as well, as the team currently sits atop the National League West so far this season with a 45-29 record.
Comparatively, the Lakers have won one title this decade, and that was in 2020. They haven’t made a deep playoff run since the 2023 NBA Playoffs — when they reached the Western Conference Finals — and are on the heels of a first-round exit in the 2025 NBA Playoffs.
Walter has already proven that he knows what it takes to be a highly productive owner of a sports franchise, and perhaps he’ll enjoy just as much winning as the majority owner of the Lakers.
