Los Angeles Lakers set for record-breaking $12.5 Billion sale

The Los Angeles Lakers are set for another landmark change in ownership, with former Walt Disney Company chief executive Bob Iger and venture capitalist Joshua Kushner agreeing to purchase the iconic NBA franchise for a reported $12.5 billion.

The deal, confirmed by Iger and Kushner and reported by CBS Sports, would make the Lakers the most valuable professional sports franchise ever sold, surpassing the approximately $10bn paid by Mark Walter for a majority stake only about 14 months ago.

Iger, 75, and Kushner, 41, said they were honoured to become stewards of one of the world's most famous sporting institutions and pledged to build on the foundation established by the Buss family and Walter.

The arrival of the new ownership comes at a significant moment for the Lakers, a franchise whose history is intertwined with some of basketball’s greatest names.

Founded in 1947 as the Minneapolis Lakers, the franchise moved to Los Angeles in 1960.

Its first NBA championship came in Minneapolis in 1949, before further titles followed in 1950, 1952, 1953 and 1954.

The move west eventually produced the Lakers’ first championship in Los Angeles in 1972, when Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West and Gail Goodrich helped deliver one of the greatest seasons in NBA history.

That team also established a then-record 33-game winning streak.

The Lakers have since become one of the NBA’s defining dynasties.

Their championship victories came in 1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1972, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010 and 2020 – giving the franchise 17 NBA titles.

Generations of superstars have worn the famous purple and gold.

George Mikan established the franchise’s early dominance, while Elgin Baylor and Jerry West became central figures of the 1960s and early 1970s.

The 1980s belonged to Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who helped create the celebrated “Showtime” Lakers.

Magic won three regular-season MVP awards and five championships with Los Angeles, while Kareem also collected five titles as a Laker.

The next great era was built around Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, who guided the Lakers to three consecutive championships from 2000 to 2002.

Bryant later led the franchise to further titles in 2009 and 2010.

LeBron James subsequently added another championship in 2020, taking the Lakers to their 17th title.

Now, the franchise enters another chapter.

With LeBron departing for Philadelphia and Luka Doncic emerging as the team’s new superstar, Iger and Kushner inherit enormous expectations.