Lakers News: Jerry Buss Was Offered Astronomic Sum To Sell Team During Kobe Bryant Era
Your Los Angeles Lakers have won 11 of their 17 NBA titles (and 11 of their 12 championships following the franchise's move from Minnesota) under the governorship of the Buss family.
Apparently, there was a brief moment when Dr. Jerry Buss, who purchased the club from Jack Kent Cooke in 1979 for $67.5 million, almost considered moving on from the NBA's premiere franchise.
Dr. Buss's daughter, Jeanie, is currently the team's controlling owner. She co-owns the club with her other siblings, but has been the designated steward of their father's unimpeachable legacy with Los Angeles.
During an interview on the podcast The Athletic NBA Show, Buss revealed that a prospective ownership group approached her father in an effort to procure the team.
“I remember the first time he was offered a billion dollars for the Lakers and that was maybe 2003 or 2004, after the 3-peat that we had," Jeanie Buss said. "He just was so shocked by that and couldn’t even imagine the team being worth that much. But he said ‘You know, Jeanie, the problem with that is that’s so much money. I would get the money and people would say what are you going to do with all that money? The first thing I’d want to do is buy the Lakers.’”
LA fans are no doubt glad Dr. Buss ultimately opted to stand pat, as the franchise has gone on to win titles in 2009 and 2010 (with Hall of Famers Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol leading the way) and most recently in 2020 (with future Hall of Famers LeBron James and Anthony Davis now comprising the club's Big Two).
Buss also would have been selling a bit early. The club is now worth a projected $5.9 billion (behind only the Golden State Warriors and New York Knicks), according to the latest Forbes estimates, and that value should only increase following an impending NBA TV deal.
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