The Lakers just sold for $12.5 billion. That number holds the record for the largest sale in the history of professional sports.
Mark Walter, the guy who bought the Lakers from Jeanie Buss and the Buss family for $10 billion last summer, flipped the franchise to former Disney CEO Bob Iger and businessman Josh Kushner. Walter held the team for 14 months and pocketed roughly $2.5 billion in profit. That is a better return than most hedge funds see in a decade.
The Number That Broke Every Record
Put $12.5 billion in context. The previous record for a franchise sale was the same Lakers deal from June 2025. Before that, the Celtics went for $6.1 billion. Two years ago, the Commanders sold for around $6 billion. The Lakers just doubled the going rate for a marquee sports property.
The NBA has approved sales at eye-watering numbers all summer, but this one hits different. Walter turned a controlling stake in the most iconic franchise in basketball into a ten-figure profit before his second season as owner even tipped off. That is the kind of return that makes billionaires cry into their private jets.
Why Walter Is Selling So Fast
The timing is not accidental. Federal investigators have been probing Walter and his companies over financial matters, and the sale gets the Lakers out of the crosshairs of whatever headline lands next. Walter keeps the Dodgers, so he still owns arguably the best baseball franchise on the planet. He cashed out of basketball right when everyone was ready to break the bank for a purple and gold logo.
Iger and Kushner are getting the crown jewel of the NBA. They are also inheriting a fanbase that expects rings and a roster still trying to figure out life around Luka Doncic and LeBron James. The pressure comes standard when you own the Lakers.
Jeanie Buss Stays, Kind Of
Here is the weirdest part. Jeanie Buss is expected to remain the Lakers’ operating governor through the transition, per her original agreement with Walter. She was supposed to stay in that role for five years. So the woman who sold the team is going to keep running the team while two billionaires figure out what they just bought. Very Los Angeles.
For fans, nothing changes on the court in the short term. Rob Pelinka still runs the front office and JJ Redick still calls the huddles. The roster leans on Luka and whatever LeBron has left in the tank.
What This Means for the League
Every NBA owner just got richer on paper. Adam Silver is licking his lips over the next round of expansion talks, because if the Lakers command $12.5 billion, a Las Vegas expansion franchise can ask for $8 or $9 billion of its own.
The days of the NBA being run by old-money families are ending. The Bucks are under new investment group ownership, the Celtics answer to a private equity boss, and the Lakers have flipped hands twice in 14 months. The billionaire class has arrived.
The scoreboard says $12.5 billion. The takeaway is simpler. Basketball is the most bankable sport on earth, and the Lakers are its most valuable asset. Everyone should have called it years ago.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
