Remember when Steve Ballmer bought the L.A. Clippers for $2 billion and everyone lost their minds?
Eleven years later, stay in town multiply it by five.
Minority owner Mark Walter has purchased a majority stake in the L.A. Lakers at a valuation of $10 billion. That’s a record for any American sports franchise.
The late Dr. Jerry Buss bought the team in 1979 for $67.5 million.
The Buss family had owned 66 percent of the team. Jeannie Buss reportedly plans to continue to continue to serve as the team’s governor, which will give her the power to vote on league matters at NBA ownership meetings.
Earlier this year, the Boston Celtics sold at a valuation of $6.1 billion. Last month, a minority stake in the 49ers was sold at a valuation of $8.6 billion.
It’s safe to say that controlling interest in any NFL team would generate a valuation of more than $10 billion. Some teams (like the Cowboys) would approach or exceed $15 billion.
The fact that the Lakers were sold at a $10 billion valuation will only make that more likely.
With Dodgers owner Mark Walter becoming the new majority of the Lakers, the team is poised to prioritize wins and championships above everything else. (Emma McIntyre / Getty Images)
For 46 years it’s been a wonderful ride, the sweetest of sagas, the Buss family treating the Lakers like their precocious child, nurturing, embracing, empowering, transforming them into arguably this country’s most celebrated sports franchise.
But it’s time.
It’s time to give their baby to somebody who won’t be burdened by the family ties or deep friendships that have increasingly interfered with the chasing of championships.
It’s time to hand their beloved to somebody with enough money to keep it strong and enough vision to keep it relevant.
It’s time for the Lakers to… become the Dodgers?
Yes! It’s them! They’re here! Welcome, welcome, welcome! Come on in! Make yourself at home! History has been waiting for you!
This is really happening, the majority ownership of the Lakers is really being sold to Dodgers chairman Mark Walter and his TWG Global group at a franchise valuation of $10 billion, making it the richest transaction in sports history.
To Los Angeles sports fans, it’s worth even more.
For the future of professional sports in this city, it’s priceless.
This is the best thing to happen to the Southland’s sports landscape since, well, the last time Walter’s TWG Global group bought something this big.
It was 2012, and they bought the Dodgers, and just look what they’ve done with them.
Dodgers owner and chairman Mark Walter speaks in front of President Trump during the team’s World Series championship visit to the White House in April. (Evan Vucci / Associated Press)
Since 2013, Walter’s team has been in the playoffs every year, won their division 11 of those 12 years, appeared in four World Series and won two of them.
Since 2013, the Lakers have won one title in their only Finals appearance during that period while making the playoffs only half the time.
Mad respect to the Buss family, who oversaw 11 championships while providing the stage for greats from Magic Johnson to Kobe Bryant to LeBron James. But since the death of patriarch Jerry Buss in 2013, the organization has lacked a sustained championship vision and effective championship culture.
Everybody loves Jeanie Buss, who will continue in her role as Lakers governor, but she has grown increasingly out of touch with the demands of the modern game.
Where contending teams are now led by analytics-driven minds, she would rely on old friends like Linda and Kurt Rambis and Rob Pelinka, who became part of the family by being Kobe Bryant’s agent.
Where contending teams increasingly relied on younger players, Buss’ Lakers were always tied to aging superstars, their title hopes crashing around a hobbled Bryant and now buckling under a slowly eroding James.
Lakers owner Jerry Buss with children (clockwise from top left) Jeanie, Johnny, Jim and Janie in 1979. (Gunther / mptvimages.com)
Since Jerry Buss’ death, the vision-less Lakers have wandered through the NBA desert in search of a strong leader who could build for sustained success.
In Walter’s group, they have that leader.
If the Dodgers are any indication, the Lakers are in for the sort of massive facelift that would make even a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon blush.
There will be money poured into the Lakers’ woefully small infrastructure, more money for coaches, more money for scouts, more money for trainers.
Who knows, maybe even more money for a new arena eventually? Don’t scoff, the Dodgers spent more than $500 million just to put a shine on Dodger Stadium, they will dig deep for that fan experience. They will dig deep for everything.
If there’s an insanely expensive but wildly successful general manager candidate out there — former Golden State guru Bob Meyers comes to mind — the new Lakers will buy him.
Jeanie Buss attends a game between the Lakers and the Milwaukee Bucks at Crypto.com Arena on March 20. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
If there’s an experienced but costly head coaching candidate hanging around, the new Lakers will nab him.
Although they will be somewhat constrained by the salary cap, the new Lakers will go deep into any tax to buy the best players as long as they can retain their draft picks.
The Dodgers are about winning every year, not just the next year, so expect the new Lakers to covet the future as much as the present.
This is good news for young Luka Doncic. This is not such good news for James.
The Buss family always vowed to do whatever it takes to keep James happy and allow him to retire here. The new Lakers won’t be so sentimental. James hasn’t signed on for next season yet, and maybe this change of ownership changes what once appeared to be a slam dunk.
The new Lakers won’t have the rich heart of the old Lakers. But they also won’t have the old destructive loyalties.
The new Lakers will be only about winning, something Jerry Buss understood and amplified, something which has been sadly lost since his passing.
Lakers owner Jerry Buss celebrates with the Larry O’Brien Trophy after the team’s 1980 NBA championship victory. (NBAE / Getty Images)
The Buss family was good for Los Angeles, and their stewardship of one of this city’s crown sports jewels should be celebrated.
But it’s time, and it’s perfect that their neighbors down the road have decided to be the ones to spruce up the place.
Before this sale, the only thing the Dodgers and Lakers shared occurred after victories, when both team’s sound systems would blare, “I Love L.A.”
Now they share a championship bank account, a championship vision, and a championship commitment.
NBA ownership had never been glamorous, not until the Buss family showed up in Los Angeles and changed how we look at sports as entertainment, sports as spectacle.
The Laker girls, the Forum Club, Showtime — it starts with Jerry Buss, Jeanie Buss and Magic Johnson as the ultimate conductor. The NBA changed forever when the Buss family took over in 1979, Magic was drafted on one coast and Larry Bird arrived in Boston, starting the decade that has been the catalyst for all the success the league has enjoyed since.
On Wednesday, the Buss family reportedly entered an agreement to sell the Lakers to TWG Global CEO Mark Walter, who also owns the Dodgers, for a record $10 billion — and it feels like the end of an era in some ways.
Jeanie Buss will continue to serve as governor, according to ESPN, but who knows how things change over time. Mark Cuban believed he would serve in the same capacity with the Mavericks after selling the franchise to the Adelson and Dumont families, but he found out he lost his juice well before they pulled the lever on the Luka Dončić trade.
Still, though, there was a mystique around the Buss family that never really existed in basketball and only resonated in a couple other places since sports became big business. Sure, everyone knows who Jerry Jones is, and George Steinbrenner was a towering figure in New York, but at least Jeanie Buss seemed very accessible during games. You’d see ticket-holders come up to her and speak, she’d glad-hand with some of the A-listers sitting courtside. Even if she wasn’t truly accessible to the common fan, she felt very approachable. And usually, nobody cares who the team owner is.
LeBron James and owner Jeanie Buss celebrate the Lakers’ 2020 championship. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
Douglas P. DeFelice via Getty Images
Oftentimes they’re the villains because fans are dissatisfied with the front office’s moves or the coaching decisions or player contracts. It’s usually “cut the check” and get out of the way — and let’s be honest, for some franchises that’s still the case and fans wouldn’t be wrong for feeling that way.
But you knew who Jerry Buss was when he strolled into the building with beautiful women on his arm. It felt very authentic to Los Angeles in the 1980s when the franchise merged Hollywood with itself.
The Lakers were the family business, which is why this also feels somewhat predictable. The teams that have changed hands over the last 10-15 years aren’t the mom-and-pop shops from the David Stern era. It’s venture capitalists, private equity, and even sovereign wealth buying into the Washington Wizards a couple years ago. The franchise valuations and operating costs are through the roof, which means you better have your own capital outside of the NBA.
Nearly half the NBA’s franchises, a whopping 14, have changed hands since the 2011 collective bargaining agreement. That has given way to monumental television rights deals, and it has become more than trendy to own an NBA team.
It’s become very smart business.
The average NBA franchise value is $4.4 billion, according to Forbes in November. The $10 billion number will only increase that, as well as the expansion that’s expected to kick off pretty soon.
When you think of that golden era, only the Reinsdorf family remains with Jerry and son Michael running the team. And it’s very doubtful, if not impossible to see the Reinsdorf family — with all of their investment into Chicago’s west loop over the last 20 years — selling the Bulls.
They’re still a cash cow.
A few ownership sources reached by Yahoo Sports were not at all surprised at Jeanie Buss selling the Lakers, noting the record price and the fact Jeanie was the last member of the Buss family who wanted to keep the team. The other siblings, apparently, wanted to sell some time ago and, finally, Jeanie relented.
So in the last 12 months, the two marquee franchises, the Lakers and Celtics, have found new owners, seemingly with deeper pockets than the incumbents. And to boot, neither the Lakers nor the Celtics own their buildings, operating as tenants in arenas, and yet the values have broken records every time.
Things done changed, and will continue to, as long as the NBA bubble doesn’t burst.
And as time has moved on, the league looks and feels just a little different.
NBA ownership had never been glamorous, not until the Buss family showed up in Los Angeles and changed how we look at sports as entertainment, sports as spectacle.
The Laker girls, the Forum Club, Showtime — it starts with Jerry Buss, Jeanie Buss and Magic Johnson as the ultimate conductor. The NBA changed forever when the Buss family took over in 1979, Magic was drafted on one coast and Larry Bird arrived in Boston, starting the decade that has been the catalyst for all the success the league has enjoyed since.
On Wednesday, the Buss family reportedly entered an agreement to sell the Lakers to TWG Global CEO Mark Walter, who also owns the Dodgers, for a record $10 billion — and it feels like the end of an era in some ways.
Jeanie Buss will continue to serve as governor, according to ESPN, but who knows how things change over time. Mark Cuban believed he would serve in the same capacity with the Mavericks after selling the franchise to the Adelson and Dumont families, but he found out he lost his juice well before they pulled the lever on the Luka Dončić trade.
Still, though, there was a mystique around the Buss family that never really existed in basketball and only resonated in a couple other places since sports became big business. Sure, everyone knows who Jerry Jones is, and George Steinbrenner was a towering figure in New York, but at least Jeanie Buss seemed very accessible during games. You’d see ticket-holders come up to her and speak, she’d glad-hand with some of the A-listers sitting courtside. Even if she wasn’t truly accessible to the common fan, she felt very approachable. And usually, nobody cares who the team owner is.
LeBron James and owner Jeanie Buss celebrate the Lakers’ 2020 championship. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
Douglas P. DeFelice via Getty Images
Oftentimes they’re the villains because fans are dissatisfied with the front office’s moves or the coaching decisions or player contracts. It’s usually “cut the check” and get out of the way — and let’s be honest, for some franchises that’s still the case and fans wouldn’t be wrong for feeling that way.
But you knew who Jerry Buss was when he strolled into the building with beautiful women on his arm. It felt very authentic to Los Angeles in the 1980s when the franchise merged Hollywood with itself.
The Lakers were the family business, which is why this also feels somewhat predictable. The teams that have changed hands over the last 10-15 years aren’t the mom-and-pop shops from the David Stern era. It’s venture capitalists, private equity, and even sovereign wealth buying into the Washington Wizards a couple years ago. The franchise valuations and operating costs are through the roof, which means you better have your own capital outside of the NBA.
Nearly half the NBA’s franchises, a whopping 14, have changed hands since the 2011 collective bargaining agreement. That has given way to monumental television rights deals, and it has become more than trendy to own an NBA team.
It’s become very smart business.
The average NBA franchise value is $4.4 billion, according to Forbes in November. The $10 billion number will only increase that, as well as the expansion that’s expected to kick off pretty soon.
When you think of that golden era, only the Reinsdorf family remains with Jerry and son Michael running the team. And it’s very doubtful, if not impossible to see the Reinsdorf family — with all of their investment into Chicago’s west loop over the last 20 years — selling the Bulls.
They’re still a cash cow.
A few ownership sources reached by Yahoo Sports were not at all surprised at Jeanie Buss selling the Lakers, noting the record price and the fact Jeanie was the last member of the Buss family who wanted to keep the team. The other siblings, apparently, wanted to sell some time ago and, finally, Jeanie relented.
So in the last 12 months, the two marquee franchises, the Lakers and Celtics, have found new owners, seemingly with deeper pockets than the incumbents. And to boot, neither the Lakers nor the Celtics own their buildings, operating as tenants in arenas, and yet the values have broken records every time.
Things done changed, and will continue to, as long as the NBA bubble doesn’t burst.
And as time has moved on, the league looks and feels just a little different.
The MLB trade deadline is quickly approaching, and teams around baseball have needs. So how can they fill those needs? More specifically, which players might offer a solution?
Here are seven players who could help a contender in a deal before the July 31 trade deadline.
Andrew Heaney, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates
Breaking news: The Pirates trading a starting pitcher!
But before you get too excited, the Pirates’ starter most likely to be on the move is left-hander Andrew Heaney. Heaney, who signed a one-year deal with Pittsburgh this past winter, has been one of the more underrated starters in baseball in 2025. Through 14 starts, the 34-year-old right hander has a 3.33 ERA, and he has managed to stay steady throughout the first half, despite a Pirates offense that hasn’t given him much support.
Heaney is an established veteran arm who has pitched in pennant races before, and as a left-hander, he would be a strong addition to slot into the middle-to-end of a rotation looking to add some quality depth.
Potential landing spots: Dodgers, Cubs, Tigers
Emmanuel Clase, RP, Cleveland Guardians
Last season, there wasn’t a better reliever in baseball than Emmanuel Clase. He was so good that he finished third in AL Cy Young voting, a sign of his sheer dominance during the regular season. But Clase struggled in last year’s postseason, and thus far, those struggles have carried into 2025. The three-time All-Star is 4-1 with a 3.82 ERA in 32 appearances this season.
That said, Clase appears to be putting his struggles behind him. Over his past 15 outings, he has a 1.88 ERA with seven saves and has looked more like the two-time AL Reliever of the Year. If Clase’s struggles are indeed in the past, this could be the perfect time for a contender to woo the Guardians into trading their longtime closer.
Potential landing spots: Yankees, Phillies, Cubs
Ryan O’Hearn, DH/1B, Baltimore Orioles
Ever since Ryan O’Hearn arrived in Baltimore, he has continuously improved. And this season, he’s going to be making his first All-Star appearance. But in a year when the Orioles have disappointed and are unlikely to make a run to the postseason, O’Hearn might be their most valuable trade asset right now.
The Baltimore designated hitter has a .306/.385/.493 slash line, with nine doubles and 10 home runs. O’Hearn, 31, will be a free agent at the end of the season, making him the type of rental who could help push an already strong team over the top.
Potential landing spots: Red Sox, Mariners, Mets, Giants
Eugenio Suárez, 3B, Arizona Diamondbacks
Right-handed power is hard to come by in baseball these days, which makes Eugenio Suárez a highly coveted player. The D-backs’ third baseman has been one of the game’s top power threats this season, batting .234 with 21 home runs and 58 RBI. And that’s nothing new: Since the 2019 season, he ranks sixth in MLB in homers, behind only Aaron Judge, Pete Alonso, Kyle Schwarber, Shohei Ohtani and Matt Olson.
Suárez, who will be a free agent at season’s end, is also considered one of the game’s top personalities and has the ability to bring a clubhouse together — an added benefit for any contender.
Potential landing spots: Tigers, Yankees
If the Braves are open to trading him, Chris Sale would easily be the best pitcher available this summer. But that’s a big if. (Dillon Minshall/Yahoo Sports)
Dillon Minshall/Yahoo Sports
Chris Sale, SP, Atlanta Braves
Coming off his first season in Atlanta, which saw him win the 2024 NL Cy Young Award, Sale has followed with another strong performance for the Braves. Now 36, Sale is 4-4 with a 2.79 ERA and tied for fifth in MLB in strikeouts. And while the eight-time All-Star is likely in the twilight of his career, he’s proving every fifth day that he’s still one of the best starters in baseball.
If the Braves were open to trading him, Sale would easily be the best starting pitcher available this summer, and every contender would and should be in on him. But that’s a big if. Atlanta has not looked like a contender this year, and in a division with the Mets and the Phillies, turning toward the future might be the team’s smartest option. But president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos is always aggressive — selling isn’t something he’s known to do.
Since being named the Cardinals’ closer in 2022, Ryan Helsley has been the definition of a shutdown closer. The right-hander’s 93 saves since then are sixth-most among relievers over that span.
But as with Clase, there have been some struggles for the Cardinals’ closer this season. Helsley is 3-0 with a 3.96 ERA over, but he has a 5.14 ERA over his past seven outings. A big reason for that is hitters’ success against his fastball. The pitch is typically unhittable, but batters are hitting .400 against Helsley’s four-seamer this season.
There might be some cause for concern with the Cardinals’ closer, but Helsley isn’t the first reliever to go through struggles. And with his track record being what it is, a contender might well believe that a few tweaks and a change of scenery could be just what Helsley needs.
Josh Naylor has been one of the more underrated first baseman in baseball for a while, but in his first season in the desert, he has been able to shine. Naylor, 27, is hitting .302 in 70 games for the D-backs this season, with 9 homers, 9 stolen bases and 17 doubles. The Arizona first baseman knows how to be a run producer, and he has also proven that he’s a complete hitter, currently tied for 11th in MLB in hits.
The D-backs have not had much luck on the injury front this season, with multiple pitchers going down for the season, including starters Corbin Burnes and Jordan Montgomery and reliever Justin Martinez. If Arizona decides to sell, moving Naylor, who is also a free agent at the end of the season, feels like the right decision.
The MLB trade deadline is quickly approaching, and teams around baseball have needs. So how can they fill those needs? More specifically, which players might offer a solution?
Here are seven players who could help a contender in a deal before the July 31 trade deadline.
Andrew Heaney, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates
Breaking news: The Pirates trading a starting pitcher!
But before you get too excited, the Pirates’ starter most likely to be on the move is left-hander Andrew Heaney. Heaney, who signed a one-year deal with Pittsburgh this past winter, has been one of the more underrated starters in baseball in 2025. Through 14 starts, the 34-year-old right hander has a 3.33 ERA, and he has managed to stay steady throughout the first half, despite a Pirates offense that hasn’t given him much support.
Heaney is an established veteran arm who has pitched in pennant races before, and as a left-hander, he would be a strong addition to slot into the middle-to-end of a rotation looking to add some quality depth.
Potential landing spots: Dodgers, Cubs, Tigers
Emmanuel Clase, RP, Cleveland Guardians
Last season, there wasn’t a better reliever in baseball than Emmanuel Clase. He was so good that he finished third in AL Cy Young voting, a sign of his sheer dominance during the regular season. But Clase struggled in last year’s postseason, and thus far, those struggles have carried into 2025. The three-time All-Star is 4-1 with a 3.82 ERA in 32 appearances this season.
That said, Clase appears to be putting his struggles behind him. Over his past 15 outings, he has a 1.88 ERA with seven saves and has looked more like the two-time AL Reliever of the Year. If Clase’s struggles are indeed in the past, this could be the perfect time for a contender to woo the Guardians into trading their longtime closer.
Potential landing spots: Yankees, Phillies, Cubs
Ryan O’Hearn, DH/1B, Baltimore Orioles
Ever since Ryan O’Hearn arrived in Baltimore, he has continuously improved. And this season, he’s going to be making his first All-Star appearance. But in a year when the Orioles have disappointed and are unlikely to make a run to the postseason, O’Hearn might be their most valuable trade asset right now.
The Baltimore designated hitter has a .306/.385/.493 slash line, with nine doubles and 10 home runs. O’Hearn, 31, will be a free agent at the end of the season, making him the type of rental who could help push an already strong team over the top.
Potential landing spots: Red Sox, Mariners, Mets, Giants
Eugenio Suárez, 3B, Arizona Diamondbacks
Right-handed power is hard to come by in baseball these days, which makes Eugenio Suárez a highly coveted player. The D-backs’ third baseman has been one of the game’s top power threats this season, batting .234 with 21 home runs and 58 RBI. And that’s nothing new: Since the 2019 season, he ranks sixth in MLB in homers, behind only Aaron Judge, Pete Alonso, Kyle Schwarber, Shohei Ohtani and Matt Olson.
Suárez, who will be a free agent at season’s end, is also considered one of the game’s top personalities and has the ability to bring a clubhouse together — an added benefit for any contender.
Potential landing spots: Tigers, Yankees
If the Braves are open to trading him, Chris Sale would easily be the best pitcher available this summer. But that’s a big if. (Dillon Minshall/Yahoo Sports)
Dillon Minshall/Yahoo Sports
Chris Sale, SP, Atlanta Braves
Coming off his first season in Atlanta, which saw him win the 2024 NL Cy Young Award, Sale has followed with another strong performance for the Braves. Now 36, Sale is 4-4 with a 2.79 ERA and tied for fifth in MLB in strikeouts. And while the eight-time All-Star is likely in the twilight of his career, he’s proving every fifth day that he’s still one of the best starters in baseball.
If the Braves were open to trading him, Sale would easily be the best starting pitcher available this summer, and every contender would and should be in on him. But that’s a big if. Atlanta has not looked like a contender this year, and in a division with the Mets and the Phillies, turning toward the future might be the team’s smartest option. But president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos is always aggressive — selling isn’t something he’s known to do.
Since being named the Cardinals’ closer in 2022, Ryan Helsley has been the definition of a shutdown closer. The right-hander’s 93 saves since then are sixth-most among relievers over that span.
But as with Clase, there have been some struggles for the Cardinals’ closer this season. Helsley is 3-0 with a 3.96 ERA over, but he has a 5.14 ERA over his past seven outings. A big reason for that is hitters’ success against his fastball. The pitch is typically unhittable, but batters are hitting .400 against Helsley’s four-seamer this season.
There might be some cause for concern with the Cardinals’ closer, but Helsley isn’t the first reliever to go through struggles. And with his track record being what it is, a contender might well believe that a few tweaks and a change of scenery could be just what Helsley needs.
Josh Naylor has been one of the more underrated first baseman in baseball for a while, but in his first season in the desert, he has been able to shine. Naylor, 27, is hitting .302 in 70 games for the D-backs this season, with 9 homers, 9 stolen bases and 17 doubles. The Arizona first baseman knows how to be a run producer, and he has also proven that he’s a complete hitter, currently tied for 11th in MLB in hits.
The D-backs have not had much luck on the injury front this season, with multiple pitchers going down for the season, including starters Corbin Burnes and Jordan Montgomery and reliever Justin Martinez. If Arizona decides to sell, moving Naylor, who is also a free agent at the end of the season, feels like the right decision.
The Buss family is turning the Los Angeles Lakers over to a new owner in the largest sale of a U.S. professional sports team of all time.
Mark Walter, the CEO and chairman of diversified holding company TWG Global, will be purchasing majority ownership of the NBA franchise in a deal that’s expected to have a valuation of approximately $10 billion, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
While the Lakers’ majority ownership won’t be in the hands of the Buss family for the first time since 1979, Jeanie Buss will remain Lakers governor, a position she’s held since Jerry Buss died in 2013.
Additionally, the Buss family will maintain just over a 15% share of the team for “a period of time,” according to Charania.
Yahoo Sports has the background you need to know about the Lakers’ new owner.
Mark Walter is the Los Angeles Dodgers’ primary owner
Walter, 65, has served as the controlling owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers since 2012. In May of that year, Guggenheim Baseball Management bought the MLB franchise from Frank McCourt for $2.15 billion — at the time an MLB record.
Walter, also CEO of investment and advisory firm Guggenheim Partners, spearheaded the move, but he was accompanied by longtime sports executive Stan Kasten and Lakers legend Magic Johnson, who are both part-owners. The investor group notably included Todd Boehly, who is the CEO of holding company Eldridge Industries and also a frequent business partner of Walter’s.
Kasten is the team’s president, however, Walter is at the forefront of the ownership consortium.
With Walter as the Dodgers’ primary owner, the team has won a pair of World Series titles, one in 2020 and another last season in 2024. The Dodgers haven’t missed the postseason since their three-year drought from 2009-2012.
Mark Walter has been a stakeholder in the Lakers since 2021
Walter became a stakeholder in the Lakers in 2021. It was then that he received a right of first refusal on the majority share of the team, according to Charania’s Wednesday report.
In July of that year, sports and entertainment company AEG announced that Walter and Boehly had acquired 27% minority interest in the Lakers.
Boehly joined the Lakers Board of Directors and represented his interests as well as Walter’s.
Johnson, who won five NBA championships with the Lakers in the ’80s, shared his excitement about his business partner’s newest purchase Wednesday.
“Laker fans should be estatic,” Johnson wrote on social media. “A few things I can tell you about Mark — he is driven by winning, excellence, and doing everything the right way. AND he will put in the resources needed to win!
“I can understand why Jeanie sold the team to Mark Walter because they are just alike — they are competitive people, [they] have big hearts, love to give back, and both prefer to be behind the scenes. This makes all the sense in the world. I am so so SO happy and excited for Lakers fans all over the world.”
“Both are extremely intelligent, visionaries, great leaders, and have positively impacted the greater Los Angeles community!” Johnson wrote.
Mark Walter has interests in other pro sports organizations, too
In addition to owning the Dodgers — and soon the Lakers — Walter is involved in the WNBA and F1. Plus, he’s a part-owner of a Premier League soccer team.
Walter joined Boehly in purchasing Chelsea F.C. from Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich in 2022. While Boehly leads that consortium, BlueCo, Walter holds a minority stake in the club.
In 2014, Walter bought a stake in the Los Angeles Sparks, who then won the league title two years later in 2016.
Walter’s company TWG Global owns the incoming Cadillac F1 team, which will debut on the grid next year.
Through the Mark Walter Group, Walter also owns the Professional Women’s Hockey League, which debuted in 2023-24.
The Buss family is turning the Los Angeles Lakers over to a new owner in the largest sale of a U.S. professional sports team of all time.
Mark Walter, the CEO and chairman of diversified holding company TWG Global, will be purchasing majority ownership of the NBA franchise in a deal that’s expected to have a valuation of approximately $10 billion, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
While the Lakers’ majority ownership won’t be in the hands of the Buss family for the first time since 1979, Jeanie Buss will remain Lakers governor, a position she’s held since Jerry Buss died in 2013.
Additionally, the Buss family will maintain just over a 15% share of the team for “a period of time,” according to Charania.
Yahoo Sports has the background you need to know about the Lakers’ new owner.
Mark Walter is the Los Angeles Dodgers’ primary owner
Walter, 65, has served as the controlling owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers since 2012. In May of that year, Guggenheim Baseball Management bought the MLB franchise from Frank McCourt for $2.15 billion — at the time an MLB record.
Walter, also CEO of investment and advisory firm Guggenheim Partners, spearheaded the move, but he was accompanied by longtime sports executive Stan Kasten and Lakers legend Magic Johnson, who are both part-owners. The investor group notably included Todd Boehly, who is the CEO of holding company Eldridge Industries and also a frequent business partner of Walter’s.
Kasten is the team’s president, however, Walter is at the forefront of the ownership consortium.
With Walter as the Dodgers’ primary owner, the team has won a pair of World Series titles, one in 2020 and another last season in 2024. The Dodgers haven’t missed the postseason since their three-year drought from 2009-2012.
Mark Walter has been a stakeholder in the Lakers since 2021
Walter became a stakeholder in the Lakers in 2021. It was then that he received a right of first refusal on the majority share of the team, according to Charania’s Wednesday report.
In July of that year, sports and entertainment company AEG announced that Walter and Boehly had acquired 27% minority interest in the Lakers.
Boehly joined the Lakers Board of Directors and represented his interests as well as Walter’s.
Johnson, who won five NBA championships with the Lakers in the ’80s, shared his excitement about his business partner’s newest purchase Wednesday.
“Laker fans should be estatic,” Johnson wrote on social media. “A few things I can tell you about Mark — he is driven by winning, excellence, and doing everything the right way. AND he will put in the resources needed to win!
“I can understand why Jeanie sold the team to Mark Walter because they are just alike — they are competitive people, [they] have big hearts, love to give back, and both prefer to be behind the scenes. This makes all the sense in the world. I am so so SO happy and excited for Lakers fans all over the world.”
“Both are extremely intelligent, visionaries, great leaders, and have positively impacted the greater Los Angeles community!” Johnson wrote.
Mark Walter has interests in other pro sports organizations, too
In addition to owning the Dodgers — and soon the Lakers — Walter is involved in the WNBA and F1. Plus, he’s a part-owner of a Premier League soccer team.
Walter joined Boehly in purchasing Chelsea F.C. from Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich in 2022. While Boehly leads that consortium, BlueCo, Walter holds a minority stake in the club.
In 2014, Walter bought a stake in the Los Angeles Sparks, who then won the league title two years later in 2016.
Walter’s company TWG Global owns the incoming Cadillac F1 team, which will debut on the grid next year.
Through the Mark Walter Group, Walter also owns the Professional Women’s Hockey League, which debuted in 2023-24.
Apple didn’t end up building its own car, but it did give us CarPlay. With iOS 26, CarPlay is getting a few neat enhancements, which includes improved design, an option for bigger font sizes, and useful accessibility features too. Here’s everything new coming to CarPlay with Apple’s upcoming update:
Widgets and live activities
Credit: Apple
With iOS 26, Live Activities come to CarPlay. These pop-ups allow you to keep a tab on important updates without fiddling with your phone or the head unit. Live Activities on your iPhone is useful to track deliveries, flight statuses, and much more, and while not all iOS use cases will be relevant here, some of these will also be available in CarPlay. (I think the flight status feature will be especially useful for airport pickups and drop-offs.)
You don’t need to do anything to see Live Activities in CarPlay. As long as it’s visible on your iPhone, it’ll show up on the CarPlay dashboard, or appear as a popover on top of other apps such as your navigation app. Apple says you’ll be able to disable Live Activities if you don’t want to see them, and even control their appearance by setting different Focus modes.
CarPlay is also adding support for widgets, including things like calendar entries, weather, and sunrise/sunset times. You’ll be able to select which widgets you see on the CarPlay dashboard by going to Settings > General > CarPlay on iPhone, selecting your vehicle, and choosing the widgets.
A new compact view for incoming calls
Credit: Apple
The redesigned CarPlay with iOS 26 now includes a compact view. For example, when you receive a phone call, it will show up as a small pop-up on the screen, instead of taking up more space. This means that other important information, such as driving directions, aren’t hidden when you receive a phone call.
A few Messages upgrades
Credit: Apple
With iOS 26, the Messages app in CarPlay will allow you to use Tapbacks—Apple parlance for reacting to text messages with emojis. This will let you quickly tap an emoji to respond to someone via the car’s display. Messages will also let you view your iPhone’s pinned conversations, which makes it easier to text people you’re frequently in touch with.
Brand new icons
Credit: Apple
Yes, Liquid Glass is coming to your car as well. The icons from iOS 26 have made their way to CarPlay. Whether you love them or hate them, you’ll see this new design on your car’s display.
Improved accessibility features
CarPlay with iOS 26 will also support Large Text, which increases font sizes and makes text easier to read on your car’s screen. Apple is also adding Sound Recognition to CarPlay, which will notify drivers and passengers when iOS detects certain sounds. The notifications can warn you when CarPlay detects sirens, a crying baby, horns, or other important sounds.
Ange Postecoglou was sacked as Tottenham manager 16 days after leading them to victory in the Europa League final [Getty Images]
BBC Sport tracks all the manager ins and outs in the Premier League, Scottish Premiership, Women’s Super League, English Football League and National League.
All of the managerial movements for June will appear below.
