Los Angeles Lakers Sold to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner in Record-Shattering $12 Billion Deal

One of the most iconic franchises in professional sports is entering a new era as Bob Iger and Josh Kushner acquire the Los Angeles Lakers in a deal valued at more than $12 billion.

The Los Angeles Lakers are entering a historic new chapter.

Bob Iger and Josh Kushner are acquiring the Lakers for more than $12 billion, a blockbuster transaction that places one of basketball’s most recognizable franchises under new ownership and establishes a staggering new benchmark for the value of professional sports teams.

The deal represents a major transition for an organization that has been synonymous with the Buss family for nearly five decades. Jerry Buss purchased the Lakers in 1979 and helped transform the team into not only an NBA powerhouse but a global entertainment brand. Under the family’s stewardship, the Lakers became known for championship basketball, superstar players and a distinctly Hollywood approach to sports.

Iger and Kushner acknowledged that history as they announced the acquisition.

“As lifelong NBA fans, we are deeply honored for the opportunity to become stewards of the Los Angeles Lakers, one of the most iconic sports franchises in the world,” the pair said in a statement. “We 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.”

The involvement of Iger, one of the entertainment industry’s most influential executives, immediately makes the sale particularly intriguing. His decades of experience overseeing major entertainment properties and global brands brings a different dimension to the ownership group of a franchise that has always existed at the intersection of sports, celebrity and popular culture.

Kushner, founder of investment firm Thrive Capital, adds another significant business presence to the partnership as the Lakers enter an era in which NBA franchises are increasingly becoming global media, technology and entertainment assets as much as traditional sports organizations.

At more than $12 billion, the acquisition further demonstrates the extraordinary rise in valuations across professional sports. The Lakers’ combination of championship history, global recognition, Los Angeles market presence and generational fan loyalty has long positioned the organization among the world’s most valuable sports properties.

Few franchises carry a résumé comparable to the purple and gold.

From Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, the Lakers have spent generations building their identity around transcendent stars and championship expectations. The organization has also become inseparable from Los Angeles culture, attracting generations of entertainers, business leaders and celebrities courtside while extending its influence far beyond basketball.

That history will now become the foundation for Iger and Kushner’s stewardship.

The magnitude of the sale ensures that questions about the Lakers’ future will follow quickly, from basketball operations and long-term investment to how the new ownership group plans to expand one of sports’ most powerful brands. But their initial statement makes clear that competing for championships while respecting the legacy established by the Buss family will remain central to the organization’s direction.

For a franchise accustomed to monumental moments, this ranks among the biggest off-court developments in Lakers history.

The Buss era helped make the Lakers an institution.

Now, with a price tag exceeding $12 billion, one of the most famous teams in sports begins its next one.