Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
The Los Angeles Lakers have been sold for $12.5 billion to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger, roughly nine months after Mark Walter bought the franchise at a $10 billion valuation. It is the largest sale of a professional sports team in history.
Here is what most coverage is missing. Kushner and Iger were not shopping for the Lakers. They were bidding on an NBA expansion franchise in Las Vegas, and as that bidding climbed they approached Walter directly on Sunday with an offer for the Lakers instead. The deal was announced three days later. The most valuable team in sports was bought as the alternative to a team that does not exist yet.
Mark Walter is currently the subject of a federal investigation. Prosecutors in Manhattan and the SEC are examining whether companies he controls properly disclosed related-party loans. No criminal charges have been filed and the companies say they are cooperating and deny wrongdoing. That investigation has not been given as a reason for the sale, and Walter is keeping the Dodgers, Chelsea, the Los Angeles Sparks and his Formula 1 team.
The sale still requires approval from the NBA Board of Governors, which next meets in Septemner in New York. Josh Kushner also holds a minority stake in the Miami Heat. Jerry Buss bought the Lakers in 1979 for $67.5 million.
Subscribe for daily NBA offseason breakdowns, ownership and business coverage, and trade reaction.
#Lakers #NBA #LakersSold #NBAnews #nbashorts #basketball #basketballshorts #basketballnews #shorts #LakersNation #losangeleslakers #fbi #Trump #Kushner
The Los Angeles Lakers have been sold for $12.5 billion to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger, roughly nine months after Mark Walter bought the franchise at a $10 billion valuation. It is the largest sale of a professional sports team in history.
Here is what most coverage is missing. Kushner and Iger were not shopping for the Lakers. They were bidding on an NBA expansion franchise in Las Vegas, and as that bidding climbed they approached Walter directly on Sunday with an offer for the Lakers instead. The deal was announced three days later. The most valuable team in sports was bought as the alternative to a team that does not exist yet.
Mark Walter is currently the subject of a federal investigation. Prosecutors in Manhattan and the SEC are examining whether companies he controls properly disclosed related-party loans. No criminal charges have been filed and the companies say they are cooperating and deny wrongdoing. That investigation has not been given as a reason for the sale, and Walter is keeping the Dodgers, Chelsea, the Los Angeles Sparks and his Formula 1 team.
The sale still requires approval from the NBA Board of Governors, which next meets in Septemner in New York. Josh Kushner also holds a minority stake in the Miami Heat. Jerry Buss bought the Lakers in 1979 for $67.5 million.
Subscribe for daily NBA offseason breakdowns, ownership and business coverage, and trade reaction.
#Lakers #NBA #LakersSold #NBAnews #nbashorts #basketball #basketballshorts #basketballnews #shorts #LakersNation #losangeleslakers #fbi #Trump #Kushner
