Josh Kushner and former Disney chief Bob Iger have agreed to purchase the Los Angeles Lakers in a deal valuing the franchise at $12.5 billion.
The proposed sale would represent another record valuation for a professional sports franchise and is still subject to approval from the NBA's Board of Governors.
It would also mark the Lakers' second ownership change in less than a year. Mark Walter became majority owner in October 2025 after completing his purchase of the Buss family's controlling stake at a $10 billion valuation.
Lean Edge Thoughts...
A $12.5 billion price tag makes this extraordinary as a business story, but for Lakers fans the more interesting question is what another ownership change means for a franchise already undergoing one of the biggest transitions in its recent history.
The Lakers have spent decades being defined by continuity at the very top. The Buss family controlled the franchise from 1979 until Mark Walter's takeover in 2025. Now, less than a year after that deal was completed, another ownership group is preparing to take control.
That creates an unusual backdrop for what is simultaneously becoming a new era on the court.
Luka Dončić is now the centrepiece of the Lakers' future. The Anthony Davis trade fundamentally changed the direction of the roster, while LeBron James' departure for Philadelphia has removed the player around whom the franchise had been built since 2018.
That means the next ownership group would not simply be inheriting the Lakers brand. It would be inheriting the responsibility of building the next version of the team around Dončić.
In some ways, the timing could actually help.
New ownership groups can sometimes inherit awkward rosters built around decisions made by previous regimes. The Lakers' direction is considerably clearer. Dončić is 27 and gives Los Angeles a genuine franchise player around whom long-term roster decisions can be made. There is no mystery about who should sit at the centre of the basketball plan.
What matters now is whether ownership provides stability around him.
The Lakers have never struggled for attention, revenue or attractiveness to players. Their challenge has often been turning those advantages into a roster that is deep enough to survive the Western Conference rather than relying almost entirely on star power.
A $12.5 billion valuation does not automatically make the basketball operation better. Spending power helps, but roster construction still comes down to smart contracts, draft decisions, development and knowing when not to chase the biggest available name.
That is where this ownership change should eventually be judged.
Bob Iger brings decades of experience running one of the world's largest entertainment companies, while Josh Kushner brings a background in technology and investment. Those credentials fit a franchise whose value extends far beyond basketball, but Lakers supporters will care considerably more about whether the organisation becomes more stable and deliberate on the basketball side.
There is also something remarkable about the valuation itself. Walter's takeover valued the Lakers at approximately $10 billion in 2025. A proposed $12.5 billion transaction less than a year later illustrates just how aggressively the value of elite sports franchises continues to rise.
For the NBA, the deal could have implications beyond Los Angeles as well. A record-setting Lakers valuation inevitably becomes another reference point when existing franchises are valued and when the league eventually considers expansion fees.
But none of that will matter much to Lakers fans if the team around Dončić stagnates.
LEAN EDGE VERDICT: The $12.5 billion figure is the headline, but the real story for the Lakers is continuity. Los Angeles already has its next franchise player in Luka Dončić. The new owners do not need to reinvent the team. Their job is to give the basketball operation enough stability, patience and support to build properly around him. If they manage that, this ownership change could eventually matter far more than the record price attached to it.
