Bob Iger, the former chief executive of Disney, and Joshua Kushner, the younger brother of Jared Kushner, are moving to buy the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team for $12 billion.
The NBA franchise was last bought by billionaire businessman Mark Walter for $10 billion last year. He now wishes to relinquish his majority stake in the team.
“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,” Iger and Kushner said in a statement first reported by ESPN. “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.”
In a statement of his own, Walter expressed gratitude for the opportunity to invest in the Lakers.
“Owning the Los Angeles Lakers has been one of the great honors of my life — an extraordinary investment, but what I will carry with me is the community, the fans, and a city that treats this team as family,” he said. “I am grateful to Jeanie Buss, the Buss family, the players, and the staff for welcoming me into this chapter. The Lakers belong to Los Angeles, and I have every confidence the best is still ahead.”
Jeanie Buss, daughter of the late Lakers majority owner Jerry Buss, sold the team to Walter in June 2025. The $10 billion deal was then approved by the NBA Board of Governors last October.
The league’s governing body needs to approve the sale to Iger and Kushner next. The board’s next meeting is scheduled for September in New York City.
Walter is known as the owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team and the Los Angeles Sparks women’s basketball team, among other sports teams.
Iger previously ran Disney from 2005 to 2020 and again from 2022 to 2026. He was succeeded by Josh D’Amaro this year. Iger and his wife own a majority stake in Angel City FC, a professional women’s soccer franchise based in Los Angeles.
Kushner is the founder of venture firm Thrive Capital and a minority owner of the NBA’s Miami Heat. Kushner’s older brother, Jared, is the son-in-law of President Donald Trump.
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The newly reported $12 billion sale is not the only change the Lakers have undergone recently.
Last month, former Lakers star LeBron James signed a two-year, $8 million contract with the Philadelphia 76ers. The Lakers will now be led by Luka Doncic.