NBA News NBA News, Match Reports and Updates 
Mark Walter said he loved owning the Lakers but decided recently it was time to sell.
Bob Iger and Joshua Kushner wanted to own an NBA franchise and had the money for a big purchase.
The framework for a deal was consummated in a matter of days, Iger said, although the sale needs to be approved by the NBA Board of Governors.
Advertisement
Iger and Kushner paid $12.5 billion for the Lakers. Walter’s flipping of the franchise netted him a $2.5-billion profit after only 14 months of ownership. It is the highest-ever price paid for a sports team and comes as Walter’s business is facing a federal probe.
Kushner, whose older brother Jared is President Trump’s son-in-law, founded the Thrive Capital firm in 2009 and has amassed a net worth estimated by Forbes at more than $5 billion.
One of Thrive’s subsidiaries, Thrive Eternal, focuses on sports acquisitions, purchasing and selling a stake in the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies before acquiring stakes in the Miami Heat and the MLB’s San Francisco Giants , among others.
Read more: Buying the Lakers cements Bob Iger’s longtime dream of owning major sports franchises
Advertisement
Kushner and Iger were also championing a potential NBA expansion team in Las Vegas through Thrive Eternal until the opportunity to simply pay cash for the league’s most iconic franchise presented itself.
Mark Walter (Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
Iger befriended the Lakers’ current head coach JJ Redick when Redick played for the L.A. Clippers from 2013 to 2017. Iger has long been a Clippers fan, telling Redick on a podcast in 2021 that he grew up a New York Knicks fan and their rivalry with the Lakers made rooting for the purple and gold when he moved to L.A. in 2000 “not in my DNA.”
Why would he, without hesitation, become keen on the Lakers?
Advertisement
The Lakers are the “epitome of an eternal asset,” Iger told Bloomberg this week.
A spokesperson for Iger and Kushner said neither were available to speak to The Times until the sale of the Lakers is completed.
In April, Kushner wrote on social media that Iger “leads with boldness and conviction because he knows what he is building and why.” Their mutual…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/inside-lakers-mega-deal-mark-001230486.html
Author :
Publish date : 2026-08-15 00:12:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
