Major Lakers News Emerges on Wednesday

Originally posted on Athlon Sports
By Rowan Fisher-Shotton | Last updated Jun 18, 2025 6:13 PM ET

The Los Angeles Lakers closed out the 2024-25 season with a 50-32 record, topping the Pacific Division for the first time since 2020 under first‑year head coach JJ Redick.

Despite a powerful offense led by LeBron James and midseason acquisition Luka Dončić, the Lakers were ousted in a 1-4 upset by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs.

While the Lakers hope to build off this success on the court, ownership dynamics have now shifted off the court.

On Wednesday, ESPN’s Shams Charania broke the news that the Buss family had agreed to sell majority ownership of the Lakers to Mark Walter, CEO and chairman of TWG Global Holdings.

Jeanie Buss, who has served as the team’s governor since 2013, will remain at the helm of basketball operations after the transaction has concluded.

BREAKING: The Buss family is entering an agreement to sell majority ownership of the Los Angeles Lakers to Mark Walter, the CEO and chairman of diversified holding company TWG Global, sources tell ESPN. Jeanie Buss will continue to serve in her role as Governor after the sale. pic.twitter.com/1Da6LDD7TJ
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 18, 2025

The Buss family’s stewardship of the Lakers began in 1979, when patriarch Jerry Buss purchased the franchise (alongside the Los Angeles Kings and the Los Angeles Forum) from Jack Kent Cooke for $67.5 million.

Under Buss’s leadership, the Lakers won 10 NBA championships between 1980 and 2010, becoming one of the league’s marquee franchises.

Upon Jerry Buss’s death in 2013, ownership passed into various family trusts, with each of his six children and Jeanie as the controlling owners, holding stakes.

Before this week’s agreement, the Buss family trusts collectively owned approximately 66% of the team.

Minority shareholders included Walter (20%), Todd Boehly (7%), Patrick Soon-Shiong (4%) and Ed Roski Jr. (3%).

Walter, 65, has quietly assembled a sports portfolio that spans Major League Baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers, the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks, the Cadillac Formula One team and Chelsea F.C.

As CEO of TWG Global, Walter has channeled capital into high‑profile sports investments for over a decade.

After nearly five decades under Buss family leadership, control now passes to a seasoned sports investor whose deep pockets and broad portfolio can help usher in a new era for the Lakers brand.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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