Businessman Joshua Kushner and former Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger are set to buy the Los Angeles Lakers for $12.5 billion. However, the Lakers governor Jeanie Buss is contesting the investors’ purchase plan.
According to ESPN, Kushner and Iger were originally in talks with the NBA about potentially expanding into Las Vegas. They later pivoted by making an offer to purchase billionaire investor Mark Walter’s shares of the team. Walter had previously bought a large portion of the Lakers from the Buss family for $10 billion.
AP news reported that the sale to Walter was led by the Buss’ in June 2025. Walter is currently facing federal scrutiny regarding tax fraud allegations with other companies.
“The deal came together in three days. It’s that simple,” Iger told The California Post.
Walter called his sale to Kushner and Iger a gainful business opportunity and is confident of the investment duo’s ability to successfully manage the team.
“The Lakers belong to Los Angeles, and I have every confidence the best is still ahead,” Walter said in a statement to ESPN.
According to CBS, Kushner and Iger extended their plan toward buying the 17.8% stake in the Lakers currently owned by the Buss family. Although plans to sell are currently in full swing, Buss objected to the sale fearing that she would lose the “controlling owner” status. Buss must maintain at least a 15% ownership to preserve her position as the Lakers’ governor. She assumed this role after her father, Jerry Buss, died in 2013.
In a letter written on Buss’ behalf, her lawyer wrote that the sale of shares to Kushner and Iger would be considered void.
“Any attempt by the co-trustees to do otherwise, and any attempt to aid or abet the co-trustees as such, would constitute a breach of trust, breach of fiduciary duty and be in contempt of court,” the letter stated.
In response to this, Buss’ siblings expressed their approval and willingness to conduct the sale of their 17.
However, the change of owners is not the only transition the Lakers have faced this year. Their star player LeBron James announced his departure from the team earlier in the offseason. After his departure and amid all sale controversies, fellow Lakers player Luka Dončić made a statement to endorse Kushner and Iger as the team’s newest buyers.
“I look forward to meeting Josh and Bob so we can get to work building something special in LA together,” Dončić said in a post on X.
