AILSA CHANG, HOST:
The storied LA Lakers may have new owners. Per the league's approval, Mark Walter will sell his majority stake in the 17th-time NBA championship team. This after Walter just bought the team in 2025. Reporter Steve Futterman joins us now for more details. He is standing outside right in front of Crypto.com Arena...
STEVE FUTTERMAN, BYLINE: Yeah.
CHANG: ...Where the Lakers play. Hi, Steve. We love...
FUTTERMAN: Hi. Good to be with you, Ailsa.
CHANG: Good to be with you. We love to say Crypto.com Arena, don't we? OK, so it seems like this news is catching some people off guard. What do we even know about this potential sale and what led to it?
FUTTERMAN: Well, to say this is a surprise is quite an understatement. The news came at around 7 o'clock this morning here in LA. My phone suddenly exploded with texts. But try to comprehend this. Mark Walter, who also is chairman of the Dodgers, bought a majority stake in the Lakers just last year. The price at that time valued the team at $10 billion. And now the following year, the team sells, according to the Associated Press, for 12.5 billion. Now, NPR has not confirmed the price, but that's a 25% increase. If approved, it's the highest price ever paid for a sports franchise.
Now, it's very unusual for a team like this to be sold twice in less than two years. I have to say my immediate thought was whether this had anything to do with a federal probe that's looking into possible fraud involving Mark Walter. He has said, through a spokesman, that he's always acted in good faith. And as far as I can tell right now, there does not seem to be any connection.
CHANG: OK, interesting. Well, let's look at the potential new owners, Bob Iger, who used to run Disney, and Josh Kushner, who's the brother to President Trump's...
FUTTERMAN: Yep.
CHANG: ...Son-in-law Jared Kushner. What else do we know here?
FUTTERMAN: Well, Josh Kushner's fingerprints have become more evident in the basketball world. He bought a minority stake in the Memphis Grizzlies in 2018, sold it, invested in the Miami Heat in 2024. Now, if this deal goes through, he'll have to sell that stake.
But when it comes to Bob Iger, he stepped down as head of the Walt Disney Company earlier this year after many years at the helm.
CHANG: Right.
FUTTERMAN: Disney owns ABC, ESPN. Both those networks have had long relationships with the NBA, and he's already in the sports ownership world. He and his wife, Willow Bay, are the co-owners of Angel City. That's the LA soccer team for women's professional league.
CHANG: OK. Well, the LA Lakers, I mean, everyone knows this. They're one of the most historic teams in the whole league, with dozens of hall of famers, A-list Hollywood celebrities courtside, so many diehard fans. Like, what are people saying about this potential purchase?
FUTTERMAN: You know, you're right. I mean, the Lakers are one of the crown jewels of the NBA. See if this brings back some memories.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER: The Lakers repeat back-to-back titles. The LA Lakers are 2010 NBA champions.
CHANG: Oh, yeah.
FUTTERMAN: Yeah. That's how it sounded when the Lakers won the title in 2010. That was Kobe's last final title with the Lakers. But you talk about the greatest players in NBA history. Listen to some of the Lakers - Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Lebron James. Don't forget the logo, Jerry West. He's the NBA logo. His silhouette's on that logo. Now here outside...
CHANG: I mean, it's an insane history.
FUTTERMAN: ...The arena - yeah. Here outside the arena today, we spoke to some fans. They're a bit surprised and concerned. Kenny Washington's (ph) from Washington, D.C. He's a big Laker fan - came here to see the statues outside the arena.
KENNY WASHINGTON: You know, I just hope it works out. And, you know, hope the ownership, you know, just bring the Lakers back to like they were.
FUTTERMAN: Of course, for the fans, pretty much, their only concern is whether the team wins. So if the Lakers...
CHANG: Sure.
FUTTERMAN: ...Win under the new ownership, they'll be happy.
CHANG: OK. So real quick, do we know if Iger and Kushner are really, truly interested in investing in this team or if this is just some notch in their belts?
FUTTERMAN: No - well, it's probably a bit of both. This is a bit of billionaire cred when you get to own a team like this. But when you buy a team for $12 billion, I would expect they will definitely invest in this team.
CHANG: That is reporter Steve Futterman. Thank you so much, Steve.
FUTTERMAN: Thank you, Ailsa. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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