In June, the Buss family sold the Los Angeles Lakers for $10 billion to Los Angeles Dodgers owner Mark Warner. It marked the end of an era, as the Buss family had run the Lakers organization for 46 years, beginning with the patriarch, Dr. Jerry Buss, in 1979.
On Wednesday, the Buss brothers, Joey and Jesse, are officially launching their own sports investment firm, according to Dave McMenamin and Shams Charania of ESPN. The goal of Buss Sports Capital is to establish partnerships and make strategic acquisitions across various sports. Currently, Joey, 41, is the alternate governor and VP of research and development for the Lakers. Meanwhile, Jesse, 37, is the assistant general manager.
Their older sister is Jeanie Buss, the current team governor. All of whom will remain with the Lakers until the sale becomes finalized. Before the sale, Jeanie wasn't originally on board with the idea.
“Our vision is to really go after strategic investments and good partners — specifically sports-related investments,” Joey Buss told ESPN. “Buss Sports Capital is not going to compete with our interests in the Lakers or the NBA. This is our first step towards where the future of sports is headed. It is exciting to see what growth opportunities exist — particularly opportunities that we can add value to, given our skill sets.”
The Buss brothers grew up with the Lakers.
Both Joey and Jesse came of age with the Lakers. Given their ages, they were in a position where they came of age at a time when the Lakers were at the pinnacle of their success. They were able to witness the resurgence of the Lakers in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
A time in which Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal led them to three consecutive NBA championships from 2000 to 2002. Then, they saw Kobe win back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010. Additionally, they mourned with the rest of the world following Kobe's untimely passing in January 2020.
Then, they bore witness to LeBron James coming into town and winning in 2020, and at least they will see the era of Luka Doncic.
