Done in a weekend - the $12.5bn LA Lakers sale that shocked the NBA
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- Josh Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger agreed to buy the controlling interest in the Los Angeles Lakers for $12.5bn (£9.3bn), with the deal hammered out over a single weekend after Kushner approached Mark Walter last Friday.
- Mark Walter stands to make a $2.5bn (£1.9bn) profit on the majority stake he purchased only last year, when the Lakers were valued at $10bn — a record at the time; reasons for the sudden sale remain unclear, though Walter faces an ongoing federal investigation into his company Delaware Life (with no suggestion the sale was prompted by it).
- The $12.5bn price would be the most expensive sports team sale ever reported if approved by the NBA's board of governors, surpassing the Boston Celtics ($6.1bn), Phoenix Suns ($4bn), Seattle Seahawks ($9.6bn), and Premier League clubs like Chelsea (£2.5bn).
- Kushner's move was not influenced by the collapse of FIFA's controversial World Cup investment plan; his firm Thrive Eternal had been expected to lead the proposed investor group for the FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal before it was abandoned.
- The Lakers are entering a fresh start — they haven't won an NBA title since 2020, LeBron James has confirmed his exit at the end of June, and Luka Doncic is preparing to work under his fifth different owner across just two NBA teams.
- Magic Johnson, a five-time NBA champion with the Lakers, backed the deal on social media, saying of Iger: "He has always loved the Lakers and basketball and he will bring championships back to LA."
Why it matters: Walter's $2.5bn paper gain on a franchise he never publicly shopped resets the ceiling for sports franchise valuations, beating the Boston Celtics' $6.1bn sale and the Seattle Seahawks' $9.6bn deal. The ownership change lands on a Lakers team in transition — no title since 2020, LeBron's confirmed exit, and Doncic facing his fifth owner in two franchises — meaning the new owners' early front-office calls will shape the team's next era before the board of governors even votes.
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