Sep 23, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Disney chief executive officer Bob Iger looks on before the game at BMO Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Less than a year after buying the Lakers, Dodgers owner Mark Walter is officially out after selling his stake for a historic $12.5 billion. It’s an unprecedented move for a franchise of this prestige, as it marks the second ownership change in roughly 10 months. This time, the reins of leadership will fall to incoming co-owners Bob Iger and Josh Kushner.
With the news breaking everywhere, reactions have been flooding in from across the NBA, including from Lakers star Luka Doncic. But the most important statement came from Bob Iger himself. In a recent chat with the California Post, he explained the sale and the series of events that made it all possible.
“We were involved in pursuing the new franchise in Vegas,” Iger told the California Post. “And while that happened, it was suggested to us that maybe Mark Walter would be interested in selling his stake in the Lakers. And we immediately decided that, given the value of the franchise and the iconic nature of the team, we would be really smart to pursue it. The deal came together in three days.”
It was a relatively quick and easy process to seize control of the Lakers, but it will take some time to complete the full transition. Fortunately, Iger revealed that team governor Jeanie Buss (former Lakers owner) will retain her role, although he didn’t make any promises about the extent of her influence moving forward.
“We have enormous respect and appreciation for Jeanie, her father, and what they’ve contributed to this franchise,” Iger added. “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.”
It’s hard to ignore the strange set of circumstances that led to this latest change in ownership. It started as a bid for a new Las Vegas expansion team until Igor and his business partner, Josh Kushner, got wind of an opportunity to buy the Lakers. They responded with a $12.5 billion offer, one that Walter couldn’t refuse. The deal, however, only came after Walter was exposed for his involvement in a federal investigation that could jeopardize his entire business empire.
Regardless of the drama, Iger (a self-proclaimed ex-Clippers fan) is only focused on achieving prosperity for the Lakers and increasing their value as a franchise. He respects the franchise’s prestigious legacy and feels genuine excitement over the opportunity to live out his dream. As for how he plans to run the organization, he’s still in the process of figuring that out.
“Grateful, appreciative, excited to own something that’s as iconic as the LA Lakers,” Iger said. “Josh and I are avid NBA fans. And [to] have an opportunity to own not just any NBA team, but the LA Lakers is…it’s extraordinary from a life experience perspective and business perspective. It’s still sinking in. We’re very excited. We’re fans. We respect the value that’s been created, both on the court and off. Our intention is to build this great franchise from a position of strength in many respects as an organization. We’re smart enough to know what we know and what we don’t know. It’s just premature to speculate at all about what we plan to do, because frankly, we haven’t made any plans yet. Again, we go into this with an appreciation of who the Lakers are. And we just want to build value from today on.”
We’ve seen before how much ownership can impact team performance, and it’s especially true for the Lakers. That’s what makes their latest sale so important, and it’s why the fans have been hard at work trying to understand the new men in charge. While it’s impossible to draw any conclusions this early in the process, some interesting connections have been discovered.
For one, Josh Kushner is the brother of Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Josh Kushner, drawing a direct link between team ownership and the U.S. President. Their father, Charles, is the U.S. Ambassador to France and Monaco. Additionally, it’s been noted that Iger (former Disney CEO) and NBA commissioner Adam Silver have known each other for decades, with Silver even making the shortlist of Iger’s replacements.
At a glance, Iger’s leap to NBA ownership seems more like an inevitability than an accident. If it wasn’t the Lakers, it would have been Las Vegas or another potential expansion team. But with Mark Walter searching for cash, Iger saw an opportunity to step in and carry out his vision for the Purple and Gold.