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Lakers’ Jerry Buss is hospitalized because of blood clots in leg

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Lakers owner Jerry Buss has been hospitalized at an undisclosed location because of blood clots in his leg caused by excessive travel, a team spokesman said Wednesday.

“He’s doing well and expects to be released in the next day or two,” Lakers publicist John Black said.

Buss, who turns 78 next month, has been traveling overseas and domestically in recent weeks.

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He will probably attend the Lakers’ exhibition opener Dec. 19 against the Clippers at Staples Center.

“We would expect so,” Black said.

The Lakers start training camp Friday and open the regular season Dec. 25 against Chicago at Staples Center.

Buss has rarely traveled with the Lakers in recent seasons but can often be seen in his luxury suite at home games. He attends an occasional practice at the team’s training facility in El Segundo, most recently when the Lakers were struggling in last season’s playoffs against eventual NBA champion Dallas.

Buss purchased the Lakers in 1979, along with the Forum, the L.A. Kings and a 13,000-acre ranch in Kern County for $67.5 million from Jack Kent Cooke. The Lakers have won 10 championships while Buss has owned the team.

The Lakers were valued at $643 million by Forbes magazine earlier this year, an incredibly large number for an NBA team that didn’t own the arena in which it played.

mike.bresnahan@latimes.com

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