{"id":2090230,"date":"2026-08-12T20:52:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T17:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2090230"},"modified":"2026-08-12T20:52:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T17:52:10","slug":"what-we-know-so-far-about-lakers-surprising-sale-to-joshua-kushner-bob-iger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2090230","title":{"rendered":"What we know so far about Lakers\u2019 surprising sale to Joshua Kushner, Bob Iger"},"content":{"rendered":"
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News that Mark Walter had agreed to sell the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> just over a year after buying a majority share from the Buss family was shocking, both because of the price \u2014 a $12.5 billion valuation \u2014 and the timing.<\/p>\n

One of the NBA\u2019s most historic franchises now heads into a period of uncertainty with Joshua Kushner and Bob Iger, relative newcomers to sports ownership. Here\u2019s what we know about how the deal went down, what it means for Walter and the questions facing the Lakers under their new owners.<\/p>\n

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What happened?<\/b><\/b><\/h2>\n

From what we\u2019re told, the sale is for Walter\u2019s shares in the Lakers. It doesn\u2019t affect Walter\u2019s ownership of the Los Angeles Sparks, and more significantly, doesn\u2019t involve his ownership of the back-to-back World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.<\/p>\n

For real? Didn\u2019t this just happen?<\/b><\/b><\/h2>\n

Yeah. Walter bought controlling interest in the Lakers at a $10 billion valuation from the Buss family last summer. The sale was supposed to push the Lakers into a new chapter while aligning Los Angeles\u2019 two greatest sporting powers \u2014 the Lakers and the Dodgers.<\/p>\n

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What You Should Read Next<\/div>\n
\n \"Dodgers\u2019<\/p>\n
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\n Dodgers\u2019 ownership remains intact amid Lakers sale: What it means for Ohtani, dynasty\n <\/div>\n
\n Ohtani’s contract includes a \u201ckey man\u201d clause tying him both to Mark Walter and president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman.\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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How did this deal come together?\u00a0<\/b><\/b><\/h2>\n

According to one source with knowledge of the deal who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the agreement, Kushner reached out to Walter on Friday and the deal quickly came together over the weekend. The sale was a coup for Walter as an investor, with the Lakers\u2019 valuation quickly turning from $10 billion to $12.5 billion in just 14 months. Walter, per the source, wasn\u2019t necessarily looking to sell \u2014 the offer from Kushner and Iger was just too good to pass up.<\/p>\n

On the other hand\u2026<\/p>\n

There\u2019s an elephant in the room when it comes to Walter. His investment portfolio is reportedly under federal investigation, with federal prosecutors looking into whether there are financial improprieties involving two insurance companies Walter leads and at Guggenheim Partners, where Walter owns a stake and is CEO. Federal agents seized his phone last fall, Bloomberg reported. The government is reportedly investigating whether Mubadala Capital had been deceived about the valuations of Walter\u2019s companies before the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund invested $10 billion into Walter\u2019s investment firm that purchased the Lakers a few months later.<\/p>\n

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Everything we know about the Lakers being sold again<\/div>\n
Dan Woike<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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