A new ownership chapter could be coming for one of the most valuable and recognizable franchises in professional sports.
The Los Angeles Lakers are changing hands again — and this time the price tag is even more staggering.
Josh Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger have agreed to purchase the Lakers in a deal valuing the legendary NBA franchise at approximately $12.5 billion, according to reporting confirmed by The Associated Press. Reuters separately reported the transaction at more than $12 billion. The agreement still requires approval from the NBA Board of Governors. (AP News)
If completed at the reported $12.5 billion valuation, the transaction would establish another enormous benchmark for professional sports franchises.
It is also remarkable because the Lakers were sold less than a year ago.
Wait — Weren’t the Lakers Just Sold?
Yes.
This is effectively the Lakers’ second blockbuster ownership transaction in roughly a year.
In June 2025, the Buss family agreed to sell majority ownership of the franchise to businessman Mark Walter. The deal valued the Lakers at approximately $10 billion.
The NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved Walter’s acquisition on October 30, 2025, and the transaction subsequently closed. The Buss family retained an ongoing minority interest, while Jeanie Buss was expected to remain the Lakers’ governor for at least five years. (NBA)
Walter was hardly an unfamiliar name in Los Angeles sports.
He is also associated with the ownership group behind the Los Angeles Dodgers and had previously held a minority stake in the Lakers.
Now, less than a year after becoming the team’s controlling owner, Walter has reportedly agreed to sell the Lakers to Kushner and Iger.
At the reported numbers, the Lakers’ headline valuation has climbed from approximately $10 billion to $12.5 billion — a 25% increase in less than a year.
That does not necessarily mean Walter personally pockets a $2.5 billion profit. Ownership percentages, financing, liabilities and the exact structure of the transaction matter.
Still, the valuation increase is extraordinary.
Who Is Josh Kushner?
Josh Kushner is the founder of Thrive Capital, an investment firm focused heavily on internet, software and technology-enabled businesses. (Thrive Capital)
Kushner has emerged as one of the most prominent investors in the technology world, making his participation especially interesting at a moment when professional sports franchises increasingly resemble global media, technology and entertainment businesses.
The Lakers are no longer valuable simply because they sell basketball tickets.
Their brand reaches across television, streaming, sponsorships, merchandise, licensing, social media, international markets and potentially entirely new digital businesses that barely existed when Jerry Buss purchased the franchise decades ago.
That creates a fascinating fit for a technology-focused investor.
Bob Iger Brings a Different Kind of Power
Then there is Bob Iger.
Few executives understand global entertainment brands better.
Iger led The Walt Disney Company for nearly two decades across two separate stretches as CEO. Under his leadership, Disney completed transformative acquisitions involving Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm and 21st Century Fox while dramatically expanding its global entertainment footprint.
Iger stepped down as Disney CEO in March 2026 when Josh D’Amaro succeeded him. He remains a Disney senior advisor and member of its board through the remainder of 2026. (Disney Investor Relations)
His involvement in the Lakers deal therefore deserves an important clarification:
Disney is not buying the Los Angeles Lakers.
Iger is participating separately from his former CEO role at Disney.
However, his decades of experience managing some of the world’s most recognizable entertainment properties could become enormously valuable for a franchise that is already one of the most recognizable brands in sports.
The Lakers are basketball.
But the Lakers are also entertainment.
That distinction matters in Hollywood.
A $12.5 Billion Basketball Team
The size of the proposed transaction illustrates just how dramatically professional sports economics have changed.
When Dr. Jerry Buss purchased the Lakers in 1979, his family began a 46-year period of ownership that became inseparable from the identity of the franchise.
The Lakers developed into one of basketball’s defining organizations.
Magic Johnson.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Shaquille O’Neal.
Kobe Bryant.
LeBron James.
Championship banners.
Hollywood celebrities sitting courtside.
The purple and gold became much more than team colors.
They became one of the most powerful brands in American sports.
The Buss family’s control formally ended when the NBA approved Walter’s majority purchase in October 2025. (NBA.com: NBA Communications)
Now the reported Kushner-Iger deal places an even larger financial number beside that legacy.
What Happens to Jeanie Buss?
That may become one of the biggest questions surrounding the transaction.
When Walter acquired majority control, the NBA specifically announced that the Buss family would retain an ongoing interest and that Jeanie Buss would remain Lakers governor for at least five years following the closing of that transaction. (NBA)
A subsequent change in controlling ownership naturally creates questions about how that arrangement carries forward.
As of Wednesday’s initial reports, the new agreement still requires league approval, and complete details regarding the future governance structure have not yet been publicly established.
That makes Jeanie Buss’ long-term role one of the major storylines to watch as the transaction advances.
For Lakers fans, it matters.
The family’s ownership percentage may have changed, but Jeanie Buss has remained an important connection between today’s organization and the franchise built by her father.
Why Would Mark Walter Sell So Quickly?
That is another major unanswered question.
Walter’s Lakers ownership era had barely begun.
The NBA unanimously approved his purchase on October 30, 2025. Now, on August 12, 2026, reports say another ownership group has already reached an agreement to acquire the franchise.
Neither the NBA nor the Lakers had publicly detailed a complete explanation for the rapid turnaround in the initial reporting.
What is clear is the economics.
A franchise valued around $10 billion during Walter’s acquisition is now reportedly commanding approximately $12.5 billion.
Sometimes an asset receives an offer that becomes difficult to ignore.
And there may be very few assets anywhere in sports comparable to the Los Angeles Lakers.
What Could Kushner and Iger Change?
Fans will naturally jump immediately to basketball questions.
Will ownership spend more aggressively?
Will the front office change?
Will the Lakers pursue another superstar?
Will facilities improve?
Could there eventually be an arena conversation?
Those are reasonable questions, but a change in ownership does not automatically produce an immediate basketball overhaul.
NBA roster construction remains governed by the salary cap, luxury-tax system and increasingly restrictive collective bargaining rules.
The more interesting early impact could occur outside the box score.
Kushner’s technology background and Iger’s entertainment experience create the possibility of a Lakers organization that becomes even more aggressive about digital products, international audiences, media, partnerships, fan experiences and global brand development.
That may ultimately be where the enormous purchase price begins to make sense.
The buyer is not simply purchasing an NBA roster.
The buyer is purchasing the Lakers ecosystem.
The Deal Could Also Affect NBA Expansion
There is another intriguing wrinkle.
The NBA officially authorized the league in March 2026 to formally explore potential expansion, with Las Vegas and Seattle among the markets generating significant attention. (NBA.com: NBA Communications)
The Associated Press reports that Kushner and Iger had previously explored involvement with an NBA expansion franchise in Las Vegas before pursuing the Lakers instead. (AP News)
If two major potential investors have chosen Los Angeles over an expansion opportunity, the development adds another layer to the NBA’s evolving ownership landscape.
It does not eliminate Las Vegas as a potential future NBA city.
It does show just how coveted ownership of an established global franchise can be.
The Lakers Have Become a Global Financial Asset
Perhaps the biggest takeaway has very little to do with Wednesday night’s starting lineup.
The Lakers are now being valued like one of the world’s premier entertainment properties.
Approximately $10 billion in 2025.
Approximately $12.5 billion in 2026.
The numbers are almost difficult to comprehend.
Yet they reflect something increasingly obvious across professional sports: elite franchises have become scarce global assets attracting billionaire investors, private capital, technology executives and entertainment leaders.
The Lakers may be the ultimate example.
Los Angeles provides the market.
Hollywood provides the cultural platform.
The NBA provides global distribution.
And decades of championships provide something money cannot manufacture overnight — history.
What Happens Next?
The transaction is not yet final.
The NBA’s Board of Governors must approve the ownership change before Kushner and Iger can officially take control. The Associated Press reports that the league’s governors are scheduled to meet next month in New York. (AP News)
Until then, several important details remain worth watching:
Who will serve as the Lakers’ governor?
How much of the team will Kushner and Iger personally control?
What happens to the remaining Buss family interest?
Will Jeanie Buss continue in her existing leadership role?
And what long-term vision will the new ownership group establish?
Those answers should emerge as the deal moves through the NBA approval process.
One conclusion, however, is already becoming difficult to dispute.
The Los Angeles Lakers are no longer simply one of basketball’s most successful franchises.
At a reported $12.5 billion valuation, they have become one of the most valuable pieces of sports and entertainment real estate on the planet.
And less than one year after the Lakers entered what appeared to be the post-Buss, Mark Walter era, another dramatically different chapter may already be beginning.
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