The Los Angeles Lakers are being sold to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger for more than $12 billion, a price multiple sources said is a record for a sports franchise. The reported deal would move control of one of the NBA’s most visible teams again, this time from Mark Walter to a buyer group built around Kushner and Iger.
That is why Who Is Josh Kushner is being searched now. Kushner is not a familiar sports owner to most fans, but his name is suddenly attached to a sale that would rank among the biggest ownership transactions in professional sports. The size alone makes the report hard to ignore, and the Lakers name gives it instant reach beyond the NBA.
Mark Walter had already taken a controlling interest in the team from the Buss family last year, and his bid was unanimously approved by the NBA Board of Governors last October. Walter is also the CEO and chairman of TWG Global, which has interests in the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Los Angeles Sparks, Chelsea and the Professional Women's Hockey League, while Through TWG Motorsports he owns several auto racing teams, including Cadillac Formula 1.
The odd part of the path to this bid is the pivot. Kushner and Iger were involved in the expansion process in Las Vegas, but this week they turned that attention into an aggressive offer for the Lakers instead. The move suggests a direct play for a championship brand rather than a longer expansion route, even though the reported structure of the purchase has not been explained.
What happens next is the unresolved piece. The reported price is clear, the names are clear and the scale is unmistakable, but the ownership split and financing terms are still not public. For now, the biggest question around the Lakers is not whether the market is large enough for a $12 billion sale. It is how Kushner and Iger intend to turn a reported offer into control of the NBA’s most closely watched franchise.
