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For the first time in nearly 50 years, the Los Angeles Lakers will soon be owned by someone outside of the Buss family, who agreed to sell the team yesterday. And that could be a bad thing for the rest of the NBA, according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst.
The Lakers, under the Buss family's leadership, have flourished, winning 11 NBA championships since patriarch Jerry Buss bought the team in 1979. But Windhorst argues that the post-Buss Lakers could be even harder to compete with.
“I would only suspect that the modernization of the Lakers is about to come. And if I were another team, I would not think this is a great development. I think the Lakers are only gonna get more dangerous as an organization with the more resources that are theoretically here, about to be poured into it.”
"If I were another team, I would not think this is a great development. I think the Lakers are only gonna get more dangerous as an organization with the more resources that are theoretically here about to be poured into it."
— Brian Windhorst 👀pic.twitter.com/tlBfgyK1vM
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) June 19, 2025
Although the Lakers have been the most successful organization in the NBA over the past 45 years, it has been noted more recently that the Buss family was among the poorest owners in the NBA, with most of their wealth being tied up in the team itself. As a result, team governor Jeanie Buss was often criticized for a perceived lack of spending, although the Lakers have spent more than a decade in total above the luxury tax threshold.
Still, Buss's net worth is estimated to be about one-sixth that of new owner Mark Walter, who spent $10 billion to buy the team, shattering the record for the most expensive pro sports team purchase. Walter is the CEO of Guggenheim Partners, which owns the Los Angeles Dodgers, and he is part or primary owner of the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks, motorsports organization Andretti Global, Premier League club Chelsea, and the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL).
If Walter operates the Lakers as he does the Dodgers, in particular, Laker Nation would almost certainly be ecstatic. Since buying the team, Walter has overseen two World Series title wins, including in 2024, and the Dodgers have established themselves as splashy spenders in free agency with the signings of Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Blake Snell, whose combined contract totals exceed $1.2 billion.
The Lakers' first order of business, before or after Walter is officially approved as owner, will be to sign Luka Doncic to a long-term extension. The centerpiece of one of the most shocking trades in NBA history, Doncic will become eligible for a max extension in August.
