Some sports moments feel more like plot twists that no one had time to prepare for than like business decisions. That kind of moment occurred when the Los Angeles Lakers were sold for $12.5 billion. Even those who have dedicated their careers to anticipating these moves were caught off guard.
When word leaked out that Mark Walter was selling the Lakers to venture capitalist Josh Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger, of all people, he had owned the team for just 14 months. Conversations could be cut off mid-sentence with just that combination. Instead of the Lakers, the two had initially been circling a Las Vegas expansion team. The public still lacks a clear explanation for why something swiftly changed.
The timing adds even more unease to this. The Wall Street Journal revealed that federal authorities from the SEC were investigating possible fraud related to Walter’s business interests just weeks before the deal became public. No one is willing to publicly state whether the sale and that scrutiny are connected. The deal might be a complete coincidence. However, it’s hard to ignore the optics, and many in the league aren’t.
According to most accounts, the NBA was genuinely shocked by the response. High-ranking league officials were just as caught off guard as the general public, according to The Athletic. Less tactfully, one agent for a starting Lakers player reportedly asked, “What the hell is going on?” People who didn’t even anticipate this would not react in such a crude manner. It was difficult for rival executives to comprehend. Even those closest to the league seemed to be reading about it in the same manner as the rest of us: unexpectedly, in the middle of the morning, on their phones.
The $12.5 billion figure itself merits some thought. It raises a question that Silver’s NBA has been subtly debating for years: what does it take to be an NBA owner now? It also sets a new ceiling for sports franchise sales. Due to racist remarks that were recorded, Sterling was fired. Something seemed to be established by that standard.
However, since then, the league has welcomed owners who are the subject of federal investigations, owners who are accused of mismanaging franchises, and owners whose business histories include claims of predatory lending and technology allegedly used by armed forces in ongoing conflicts. The billions continue to come in. Every year, the standards seem less clear.
Additionally, this has a family component that is equal parts soap opera and actual legal ambiguity. The future of Jeanie and her siblings’ ownership stake in the team has caused public division within the Buss family. According to reports, Jeanie has objected to the sale, but her siblings have indicated that they are prepared to move on. A deal that is already being closely watched for other reasons becomes even more unstable as a result of this divide, which is now manifesting itself in a highly visible manner.
A constant stream of conjecture has also been fueled by Josh Kushner’s ties to the White House—his brother is wed to Ivanka Trump. It’s still unclear if that relationship influenced how this deal came to be or if it’s just background noise in an already noisy situation. In any case, people seem determined to find significance in it.
For what it’s worth, Luka Doncic has apparently accepted the change, which is more important in these circumstances than most people acknowledge. A franchise player who is at ease with new leadership is not insignificant, as players are rarely unaffected by ownership changes. At least one piece of this puzzle appears to be coming together.
The sale still requires approval from the NBA board of governors. There is no guaranty of that approval. The degree to which the league’s internal culture has truly changed, or whether it is as accommodating as its recent past indicates, may be revealed by whether it moves forward without incident or encounters unanticipated opposition. In any case, next season’s courtside seats at Crypto.com Arena will have a slightly different appearance. It might be worthwhile to listen to who is seated in them and what they are whispering to one another.
