LA Lakers Sold to Ex-Disney CEO and Jared Kushner's Brother for Record-Breaking Price
One of the NBA’s premiere franchises was sold — again — in a surprising move that has the basketball world buzzing.
According to multiple reports, the Los Angeles Lakers have been sold for the second time in as many years, despite being perhaps the most recognizable brand in basketball.
And the buyers are quite the interesting duo.
Former Disney CEO Bob Iger and Josh Kushner (the younger brother of Jared Kushner) are buying the Lakers for the eye-watering price of $12.5 billion, according to ESPN, making it the most expensive sports team purchase in North American sports history.
Previous Lakers owner Mark Walter, who bought a controlling stake in the team in 2025 for $10 billion (the previous North American sports record), apparently came to this agreement with Iger and Kushner rather suddenly.
This also means that Iger and Kushner — long linked to being owners of the widely expected forthcoming NBA expansion team in Las Vegas — have abandoned Sin City NBA aspirations for the City of Angels.
Interestingly, CBS Sports noted that the sale will only involve the Lakers, despite the fact that Walter’s ownership group also owns the Los Angeles Dodgers and the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks.
Of note, Walter is reportedly under federal investigation for allegedly improperly disclosing billions of dollars worth of loans.
Iger and Kushner put out a joint statement expressing excitement and gratitude to the Buss family, the legendary sports family that had run the Lakers for decades.
“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 statement read. “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.”
Curiously, it didn’t take long for online NBA fans to dig up an old clip of Iger that implied that the former Disney executive was actually a huge fan of the Los Angeles Clippers — the Lakers’ cross-town rivals and “little brother” of sorts.
New Lakers owner Bob Iger talks about his Clippers fandom with JJ Redick
Cheering for the Lakers is not in his DNA 🧬 pic.twitter.com/cnVP2jPbM5
— Clippers Lead (@ClippersLead) August 12, 2026
Some liberal NBA fans also took to social media to lament that Kushner, and therefore President Donald Trump through his brother, would be involved with the Lakers.
Those fans probably don’t have much to worry about.
As Front Office Sports pointed out, Kushner is a registered Democrat who champions a number of liberal causes — not exactly an extension of the Trump family.
Lakers superstar Luka Doncic, meanwhile, took the professional route with a hopeful message on social media.
Being a Laker means everything to me, and I’m excited to get back on the court and bring a championship to LA. I’ve gotten used to big changes over these last few years, but I know that no matter what, there is no limit to the potential of this iconic franchise. I look forward to…
— Luka Dončić (@lukadoncic) August 12, 2026
“Being a Laker means everything to me, and I’m excited to get back on the court and bring a championship to LA,” Doncic posted to X Wednesday. “I’ve gotten used to big changes over these last few years, but I know that no matter what, there is no limit to the potential of this iconic franchise.
“I look forward to meeting Josh and Bob so we can get to work building something special in LA together.”
“Big changes” may be underselling it for Doncic. Despite his stature as one of the NBA’s very best players at only 27 and having played for just two teams in his career (the Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks), he has gone through the surreal situation of working under five different team owners.
In Dallas, Doncic was drafted under the Mark Cuban regime and eventually shipped out of Texas under the Miriam Adelson regime. Under the Lakers, Doncic has had the Buss family, Walter, and now Iger and Kushner as his bosses.
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