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After a change of ownership, fans of NBA teams are often worried. In the case of Mark Walter, however, positive reactions initially outweigh concerns within the Los Angeles Lakers community. This is because the 65-year-old stands for success – and is willing to spend money to achieve it.
Mark Walter is very sparing with public statements. However, the man from Cedar Rapids in the US state of Iowa seems to throw money around more or less freely.
13 years ago, he and his partners took over the legendary baseball club Los Angeles Dodgers for what was then an unbelievable 2.15 billion dollars. Now, the 65-year-old is buying the iconic basketball franchise Los Angeles Lakers with LeBron James and Luka Doncic – for a staggering ten billion dollars.
Lakers Legend Enthusiastic About Walter
In the North American top leagues, changes of ownership can certainly cause frowns among fans, but in Los Angeles, the opposite is currently the case. Club icon Magic Johnson is completely thrilled.
“I am so happy and excited for all Lakers fans around the world,” Johnson wrote on X. The Hall of Famer, who won five NBA titles in the purple-gold jersey, virtually lifted Walter into the sky.
“A few things I can say about Mark: He is driven by winning, by excellence, and by doing everything the right way. AND he will use the necessary resources to win.”
Buss Retains Control
At the same time, he praised President Jeanie Buss, whose family has controlled the franchise since 1979. Buss has concluded an “impressive deal” and – more importantly – sold to “the right person.”
After completion, the 63-year-old will retain 15 percent of the shares, which is the minimum required to continue in her role as “Team Governor.” ESPN reports that she wants to continue as the main person in charge of the team for several years.
Incidentally, Johnson’s praise for the sale to Walter can hardly be regarded as a neutral analysis of things. The two are partners. Johnson was part of the investor group around Walter that bought into the Dogders 13 years ago.
Walter at Lakers like Boehly at Chelsea?
Back then, by the way, Todd Boehly was also involved. Together with him, Walter had bought initial shares in the Lakers in 2021, and a year later Boehly took over the English soccer giant FC Chelsea. Walter is also involved there.
In the soccer world, Boehly quickly caused a stir. Transfer spending like in a buying frenzy, player contracts with incredible terms. The wallet is loose – just like with Walter, who manages assets of 325 billion dollars as head of the investment firm Guggenheim Partners.
“I’m not trying to save a dollar,” he said after taking over the Dodgers, “I’d rather say we have a great team and maybe spend a little too much.”
Success proves Walter right: The financially well-equipped Dodgers won the title in 2020 and 2024, and their current value is estimated at 6.3 billion dollars. They gave Japanese megastar Shohei Ohtani a ten-year contract in 2023, worth 700 million dollars. Last year, the club paid “taxes” of 103 million dollars because it was above the league’s salary cap of 237 million dollars.
Will Golden Times Return for Lakers?
Now that Walter will probably prefer to spend a few dollars too much for the Lakers, new golden times could dawn for the 17-time champion. James is expected to receive around 52.6 million dollars in the new season, Doncic 46 million, and Würzburg native Maxi Kleber still eleven.
However, more top players are urgently needed. Exceeding the “Salary Cap” of 154.6 million would be unavoidable. It is not a matter of course for every owner of a franchise to pay the associated “luxury taxes” – for Walter, this does not seem to be an obstacle.
What Lakers fans should also be happy about. In one of his rare interviews, Walter said that he prefers to stay in the background and leave the management of the teams to people who know more about it than he does. This already fits in with the fact that Jeanie Buss remains in her role as “Team Governor.”
Nevertheless, the deal does not seem to have been positively received by all the siblings of the Buss family. Allegedly, two of the six siblings did not agree to the sale to Walter, who has already held 26 percent of the shares in the Lakers since 2021.