Goodbye Buss family: this is the new owner of the Los Angeles Lakers 

The Los Angeles Lakers have made their first big move of the offseason. No it’s not on the court or even on the sidelines. It’s the front offices that are going through revamping after the Buss family decided to sell the franchise.

Lakers sold for $10 billion

These big business deals take time, so nothing is signed, sealed or delivered but reports out of LA indicate that the Los Angeles Lakers will be sold to Mark Walter, the CEO of TWG Global. The agreement with the head of the diversified holding company was confirmed on Wednesday.

It bring the end of an era LA. The Buss family have owned the Lakers since 1979 when Jerry Buss bought the iconic LA team for $67.5 million in a deal that incorporated the Los Angeles Kings and the then stadium for both teams, the Los Angeles Forum. The deal from the Buss family to Walter is for a reported $10 billion, which is the most a U.S. sports franchise has ever been bought for.

The previous record was the Boston Celtics who were bought for $6.1 billion back in March of this year. This blows that deal out of the water. The Lakers were bought for almost $4 billion more than the Celtics, which just so happens to be their biggest rival. In the last few months, the two winningest franchises in the NBA have undergone a change of ownership. What that means for the Celtics, Lakers and the rest of the league remains to be seen.

Walter’s sporting past

The Lakers new owner isn’t new to the business. He has been in the sports world for quite a while and has his hands in a few pots, with interests in the LA Dodgers, LA Sparks, the Billie Jean Cup, Cadillac Formula One team and the Professional Women’s Hockey League.

Jeanie Buss will still serve as the governor of the Lakers, a role that she took over the the team was appointed to the role after her father, Jerry, died in 2013. Since the Buss family took over, the Lakers won 11 titles, saw legends like Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal and Kareem Abdul-Jabar come and go while becoming one of the most historic franchises in NBA history.

The Lakers now look to the future with LeBron James coming to the end of his career, and Luka Doncic who was traded in the middle of the season from the Dallas Mavericks. They trail the Boston Celtics’ 18 NBA Championships by one title. Walter will be looking to change as soon as he possibly can.