Bob Iger, Joshua Kushner agree to buy Lakers for $12.5 billion

In 2012, on the day after Mark Walter and his partners bought the Dodgers, I sat next to Walter in a conference room. To the sports fan, Walter was virtually anonymous: a super rich guy who had made his money running investment and insurance companies.

Walter’s purchase valued the Dodgers and its related assets at a then-record $2.15 billion. That value stunned the sports world. Mark Cuban had bowed out of the bidding, believing the Dodgers were not worth even $1 billion.

So instead of the Dodgerfication of the Lakers, we’re getting the Disneyfication of the Lakers.

Hakuna Matata?

The Lakers are being sold … again?

The Lakers are being sold … by the Dodgers owner who was supposed to save them?

Bob Iger’s purchase of the Lakers isn’t the former Disney boss’s first foray into ownership of a professional sports franchise in Southern California: Twenty-five months ago Iger and his wife, Willow Bay, dean of the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, acquired a controlling interest in soccer club Angel City for $50 million.

And while the NWSL is a long way from the NBA — and $50 million is a long way from the $12.5 billion the basketball team sold for Wednesday — the Iger family’s management of the women’s soccer team may hint at what’s in store for the Lakers.

Joshua Kushner’s sudden rise to co-ownership of the most storied team in professional basketball might seem like it came out of the blue — but it’s been a long time coming.

A scion of the wealthy Kushner family whose older brother, Jared, is married to President Trump’s daughter, and whose father, Charles, is the U.S. ambassador to France, has successfully staked out his own lucrative business career. He’s worth an estimated $5.2 billion, according to Forbes.

The Lakers will open NBA Cup play against the same team they open the season with.

The Lakers start the in-season tournament on Oct. 30 on the road against the Golden State Warriors at 7 p.m. PDT on Prime Video, the NBA announced Wednesday during another stage of the schedule release that will wrap up Thursday.

Throughout his storied career as a media executive, Bob Iger has made repeated attempts to own a major sports franchise. On Wednesday, he succeeded with a splash, joining Joshua Kushner to purchase the Lakers for $12.5 billion.

The sale surprised the NBA. Only 14 months ago, the Buss family sold the Lakers to Dodgers owner Mark Walter for a record-setting $10 billion. Meanwhile, Iger and Kushner were making a bid for an NBA expansion team in Las Vegas.

Jeanie Buss, whose family owned the Lakers for more than four decades, will remain the team’s governor for at least five years, extending the Buss family’s influence over the Lakers even as ownership shifts.

When billionaire Dodgers owner Mark Walter bought the Lakers last year, Buss remained as governor and continued to be a fixture at games, with Walter occasionally joining her.

Decades removed from his playing career, but never far from the Lakers, Magic Johnson voiced his support for Bob Iger and Joshua Kushner after the businessmen agreed to buy controlling interest in the Lakers from Mark Walter for $12.5 billion on Wednesday.

“The great thing for Laker fans is Bob Iger loves basketball, loves the Lakers and I think that we couldn’t have a better person,” Johnson said in an interview with The Times. “And Josh Kushner is a very astute businessman and young, so we get this new energy in Lakerland with Josh and Bob.”

Johnson, who owns part of the Dodgers, which are still controlled by Walter, said he’s known Iger for more than 40 years. The Lakers legend often visited the longtime media executive at Disney for lunch. Johnson is confident Iger, who also owns controlling interest in Angel City FC with his wife Willow Bay, can use his longtime sports knowledge and passion to help boost the Lakers.

“I’m just thrilled that it’s these two guys,” Johnson said. “Somebody that don’t know the Lakers, the tradition, that don’t know the city, that don’t know the passion that the fans have for the Lakers here in L.A., then I would have been like, ‘Oh man. They gotta learn all that.’ Well there’s no learning curve for Bob.”

Johnson has remained close with the Lakers in retirement, briefly owning part of the team before selling it to now-L.A. Times Media Group owner Patrick Soon-Shiong, then working as president of basketball operations. He has maintained a decades-long friendship with Jeanie Buss, the daughter of former owner Jerry Buss and still the team’s governor.

The Buss family owned the Lakers for more than four decades, turning the franchise into one of the world’s most iconic sports brands, but Wednesday’s sale is the second ownership change in less than a year after 46 years of being a family-run operation.

Here is what the key players have to say about the Lakers sale:

Lakers buyers Joshua Kushner and Bob Iger:

“As lifelong NBA fans, we are deeply honored for the opportunity to become stewards of the Los Angeles Lakers, one of the most iconic sports franchises in the world,” Kushner and Iger said in a statement to ESPN . “We have immense respect for the leadership and vision of Jerry and Jeanie Buss. Our long-term commitment is to build on that foundation, compete at the highest level, and serve this extraordinary team, its fans, and the city of Los Angeles.”

Current majority owner Mark Walter:

“Owning the Los Angeles Lakers has been one of the great honors of my life — an extraordinary investment, but what I will carry with me is the community, the fans, and a city that treats this team as family,” he told ESPN in a statement . “I am grateful to Jeanie Buss, the Buss family, the players, and the staff for welcoming me into this chapter. The Lakers belong to Los Angeles, and I have every confidence the best is still ahead.”

Lakers star Luka Doncic:

“Being a Laker means everything to me, and I’m excited to get back on the court and bring a championship to LA. I’ve gotten used to big changes over these last few years, but I know that no matter what, there is no limit to the potential of this iconic franchise. I look forward to meeting Josh and Bob so we can get to work building something special in LA together.”

Lakers minority owner Magic Johnson on Iger and Kushner:

“Both of them love basketball. And I think they’ll take us in the right direction. … First I was happy because it was Mark Walter and now I’m even happier that it’s Bob Iger and Josh Kushner so we got the right two people to own the team. Bob lived here, Bob worked here, on and on and on. And he wants to win. Both of them want to win. And you gotta have people who want to win. They’ll bring all the resources and make sure they bring a championship to Laker fans and L.A.”

Lakers minority owner and L.A. Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong:

“Go Lakers! Congrats Bob and Josh.”

It’s unclear why billionaire Dodgers owner Mark Walter decided to sell the Lakers a year after he bought the team.

“Owning the Los Angeles Lakers has been one of the great honors of my life — an extraordinary investment, but what I will carry with me is the community, the fans, and a city that treats this team as family,” Walter said in the statement to ESPN. “I am grateful to Jeanie Buss, the Buss family, the players, and the staff for welcoming me into this chapter. The Lakers belong to Los Angeles, and I have every confidence the best is still ahead.”

But the news comes as Walter is facing some upheavals in his business.

Walter’s business empire is reportedly is being probed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and securities regulators over $16 billion in possibly fraudulent loans.

The loans by two Delaware life insurers that Walter owns were made to companies tied to him or his TWG Global holding company but were not disclosed as “related party” transactions as required, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Related party transactions made by insurers are required to be reported to limit conflicts of interest and protect policyholders, who have an interest in the financial strength of their insurers.

A TWG spokesperson told the Journal that “Mark Walter and TWG have always acted in good faith,” are cooperating with authorities and are “confident these matters will be resolved favorably.”

L.A.’s iconic NBA franchise is now being sold to Joshua Kushner and Bob Iger for $12.5 billion, sources familiar with the matter but not authorized to speak publicly confirmed to The Times, $2.5 billion more than the reported number when Walter bought the team in October from the Buss family.

Read more on the case from Laurence Darmiento and Bill Shaikin:

Dodgers, Lakers owner’s financial empire reportedly a target of federal loan fraud investigation

The obscure financial maneuver at issue in Dodgers owner probe explained

Dodgers’ new owners see winning business model; others see trouble

Sources: Mark Walter has no plans to sell Dodgers after unloading Lakers

Joshua Kushner also owns a minority stake in the Miami Heat, which he bought in 2024 and must now sell to finalize the Lakers purchase. He was previously a minority owner in the Memphis Grizzlies.

This year, his venture capital firm Thrive Capital launched Thrive Eternal, which is focused on long-term ownership of a small number of iconic franchises and cultural institutions, and acquired a stake in the San Francisco Giants as its first foray into sports.

Thrive Eternal was at the center of a plan to buy tournament rights to the FIFA World Cup, but the controversial deal collapsed amid outrage, including a boycott from UEFA, the governing body for European soccer.

Lakers star Luka Doncic, on vacation in Europe during the offseason, is set to make the best of the team’s latest ownership change, he said in a tweet Wednesday.

In part, the six-time All-NBA player acknowledged that “being a Laker means everything to me” after news broke that former Disney CEO Bob Iger and venture capitalist Joshua Kushner, brother of President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kusher, had agreed to buy controlling interest in the iconic NBA franchise from Mark Walter for a record $12.5 billion.

Doncic added that “there is no limit to the potential of this iconic franchise.”

He concluded the tweet with, “I look forward to meeting Josh and Bob so we can get to work building something special in LA together.”

For decades, the Lakers were controlled by the Buss family.

But over the last year, the storied team will — if this latest deal goes through — experienced two ownership changes.

Last year, the NBA approved Mark Walter’s bid to buy a majority stake in the Lakers.

The Lakers had been a family-run team since Dr. Jerry Buss bought the franchise in 1979. When he died in 2013, control went into a family trust with daughter Jeanie Buss acting as the team’s governor. The Buss family built the team into one of the most recognizable brands in sports, eventually attracting a record-breaking $10-billion valuation. While the sale was finalized, Jeanie Buss will be the team’s governor for at least five years after the transaction officially closes, the league announcement stated.

Now, it is set to be sold to Joshua Kushner and Bob Iger for $12.5 billion, sources familiar with the matter but not authorized to speak publicly confirmed to The Times, $2.5 billion more than the reported number when Walter bought the team in October from the Buss family.

The Angel City Football Club is getting stronger financial wings, thanks to one of Los Angeles’ most prominent couples: Willow Bay, dean of USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, and her husband, Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Bob Iger.

The women’s soccer club on Wednesday announced an agreement with Bay and Iger, allowing them to join the club as controlling owners. As part of the arrangement, which is subject to the National Women’s Soccer League’s approval, the couple also agreed to provide $50 million in cash to expand Angel City FC’s budget and ease its losses.