Source: AFP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nWith Walter facing a federal investigation and a Securities and Exchange Commission probe over potential tax fraud in his insurance business, the speedy nature of the deal has raised eyebrows.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t say I\u2019m a conspiracy theorist, but it does seem weird that a guy who owns multiple sports teams and was in the middle of rebuilding the Lakers entire business operation would sell the team for a 20% gain in 2 years at the same time he is being investigated for fraud,\u201d sports business analyst Joe Pompliano wrote on X.<\/p>\n
President Trump, meanwhile, has denied any wrongdoing, with a White House spokesperson telling Front Office Sports: \u201cThis has nothing to do with President Trump or his administration\u201d.<\/p>\n
Prominent American sports personality Skip Bayless, meanwhile, described the deal as a \u201cshocker\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs lifelong NBA fans, we are deeply honoured for the opportunity to become stewards of the Los Angeles Lakers, one of the most iconic sports franchises in the world,\u201d Kushner and Iger said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have immense respect for the leadership and vision of Jerry and Jeanie Buss. Our long-term commitment is to build on that foundation, compete at the highest level, and serve this extraordinary team, its fans and the city of Los Angeles.\u201d Walter\u2019s purchase, reported in June last year, ended the Buss family\u2019s 46-year reign over the NBA giants.<\/p>\n
The Lakers have won 17 NBA championships, second only to the Boston Celtics. The team has been home to some of the league\u2019s biggest superstars including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O\u2019Neal and the late Kobe Bryant.<\/p>\n
LeBron James, the NBA\u2019s all-time scoring leader, just left the squad for the Philadelphia 76ers after spending eight years and winning one title with the Lakers.<\/p>\n
The team is now moving forward with a line-up spearheaded by 27-year-old Slovenian superstar Luka Doncic, who posted on X that he was eager to meet the Lakers\u2019 new owners.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve gotten used to big changes over these last few years, but I know that no matter what, there is no limit to the potential of this iconic franchise,\u201d Doncic said in his post. <\/p>\n
\u201cI look forward to meeting Josh and Bob so we can get to work building something special in LA together.\u201d <\/p>\n
The sale still requires approval from the NBA\u2019s board of governors. <\/p>\n
Jeanie Buss had continued to serve as the Lakers\u2019 governor after the club was sold to Walter in a deal that further expanded the sports portfolio of his TWG Global holding company.<\/p>\n
Walter also owns Major League Baseball\u2019s Los Angeles Dodgers and a stake in English Premier League club Chelsea.<\/p>\n
His acquisition of the Lakers had marked the end of an era in the NBA, whose modern popularity owes much to the franchise\u2019s 1980s heyday.<\/p>\n
\u201cOwning the Los Angeles Lakers has been one of the great honours of my life \u2013 an extraordinary investment, but what I will carry with me is the community, the fans, and a city that treats this team as family,\u201d Walter said in a statement.<\/p>\n<\/amp-img>Luka Doncic. (Photo by David Jensen\/Getty Images)<\/span>Source: Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nKushner, founder of the Thrive Capital investment firm, previously held a stake in the NBA\u2019s Memphis Grizzlies and will have to divest his current ownership stake in the league\u2019s Miami Heat.<\/p>\n
Iger stepped down as CEO of Disney in March, more than three years after beginning his second stint at the head of the entertainment giant, having been brought back to right the ship after what was viewed as a challenging few years for the company under Bob Chapek.<\/p>\n
The veteran businessman had originally helmed the parks-to-movies conglomerate between 2005 and 2020, overseeing an expansion that brought mega-franchises like \u201cStar Wars\u201d into the Disney stable, making himself one of Hollywood\u2019s most indispensable executives.<\/p>\n
The period saw a huge cash injection into theme parks, which remain a jewel in the company\u2019s crown, helping to push up the share price fivefold.<\/p>\n
He and his wife, Willow Bay, purchased a controlling interest in the National Women\u2019s Soccer League\u2019s Angel City FC in 2024.<\/p>\n
Lakers legend Magic Johnson, a former part-owner of the team and past president of basketball operations, welcomed the deal in an X post.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to congratulate my good friend Bob Iger and Josh Kushner on their purchase of the Los Angeles Lakers!\u201d Johnson wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cLaker fans, you couldn\u2019t have two better owners. I\u2019ve known Bob personally for over 40 years \u2013 he has always loved the Lakers and basketball and he will bring championships back to LA.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"US President Donald Trump has denied allegations he had any involvement in his son-in-law\u2019s brother\u2019s shock co-purchase of the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers, one of the most successful teams in NBA history, are being sold to former Disney CEO Bob Iger and investor Joshua Kushner in a deal valued at a reported $12.5 billion. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":257502,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6807],"tags":[156],"class_list":{"0":"post-257501","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-leagues-cups","8":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=257501"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257501\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/257502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=257501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=257501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=257501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}