The Buss Family’s Sale of the Lakers to Mark Walter Marks a New NBA Era Unlike Mark Cuban’s Mavericks Move

The Los Angeles Lakers—the crown jewel of NBA franchises, a team synonymous with Hollywood glamor, championship banners, and generational greatness—are no longer owned by the Buss family. After decades of stewardship, Jeanie Buss and her siblings have sold the franchise to billionaire Mark Walter, CEO of Guggenheim Partners and co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers. In a move that shook the league to its core, Walter’s acquisition of the Lakers doesn’t just signify a seismic shift in Los Angeles; it signals the beginning of an entirely new era in the NBA.

And yet, for all the shockwaves this sale has sent through the basketball world, comparisons immediately sprang up to Mark Cuban’s late 2023 sale of a majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks. Both transactions involved powerful billionaires. Both involved storied franchises with large markets and deep roots in the NBA landscape. But beneath the surface, the two deals could not be more different.

First, let’s understand the Lakers’ history under the Buss family. The late Dr. Jerry Buss purchased the Lakers in 1979, bringing Showtime basketball to the Forum, a flair for entertainment, and an unshakable commitment to winning. Under his ownership, the team won 10 championships, cultivating icons like Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kobe Bryant. Upon Dr. Buss’s passing in 2013, control of the team was divided among his six children, with Jeanie eventually consolidating power and becoming the team’s governor.

Throughout her leadership, Jeanie Buss remained deeply connected to the fabric of Lakers culture. She weathered multiple difficult seasons, oversaw the return to championship glory in 2020, and maintained a philosophy that kept the Lakers aligned with their star-driven brand. But she also inherited a franchise under immense financial pressure and scrutiny. The team’s value skyrocketed past $6 billion, making it increasingly difficult for a family-owned structure to keep pace with tech billionaires and private equity firms flooding into sports ownership.

Enter Mark Walter. Already familiar with Los Angeles through his ownership of the Dodgers and a key figure in reviving the franchise’s status in Major League Baseball, Walter is no stranger to high-stakes, high-profile investments. His approach to running the Dodgers—pouring money into analytics, infrastructure, player development, and global branding—has reshaped how MLB teams operate. He now brings that same vision to basketball, and unlike Cuban’s transition, this is not a “silent partner” type of move.

Compare that to Mark Cuban’s sale of the Mavericks to Miriam Adelson and the Adelson family. Cuban retained control over basketball operations in the deal, making it clear he was still calling the shots on the court while giving up the financial and ownership burden. His aim appeared strategic—less about walking away and more about pivoting, possibly aligning with larger casino ventures. Cuban’s move was calculated, and from his perspective, it was a way to offload the business side while retaining his influence on player decisions, coaching hires, and team philosophy.

Mark Walter’s purchase of the Lakers, however, is more absolute. According to league insiders, Jeanie Buss will not retain any controlling interest nor day-to-day influence in operations. Walter, it appears, will appoint a new president of basketball operations and potentially revamp the organizational structure from top to bottom. This signals a true transfer of power. The Lakers are no longer a family-run business; they’re now a corporate entity with all the advantages and potential drawbacks that come with such a shift.

This distinction matters. Under Cuban, the Mavericks will likely maintain their current basketball identity, with Cuban still serving as the charismatic face of the franchise. Under Walter, the Lakers are likely headed for transformation. That could mean changes in coaching philosophy, player evaluation metrics, front-office structure, and even how the team builds around its stars.

Sources close to the transaction reveal that Walter plans to integrate a more data-centric, innovation-driven model similar to the Dodgers. The Lakers have historically relied on elite individual talent and market appeal to drive success, but in a league where teams like the Nuggets, Celtics, and Thunder are maximizing every resource from scouting to sports science, Walter appears poised to bring the Lakers fully into the modern age.

There are already whispers of restructuring the scouting department, reevaluating development protocols, and even revamping the G League system to align with a vision of holistic talent cultivation. This is not the flash-and-dash overhaul typical of short-term investors; this is long-term infrastructure building. In other words, a complete culture reboot.

Another core difference between this sale and Cuban’s lies in public perception and fan reaction. Cuban has long been seen as the ultimate Mavericks fan—a courtside staple, a passionate advocate, and someone who wore his love for the franchise on his sleeve. The Adelson family, while wealthy and powerful, lacks that public bond with the fans. Cuban’s continued role as decision-maker helped cushion the blow and reassure fans that the soul of the franchise remained intact.

With the Lakers, the Buss family is that soul. Jeanie Buss especially is revered by many fans, not only for her tenure but for her personal connections to players past and present. From Kobe’s emotional support of her leadership to her role in navigating the pandemic-era bubble championship, Jeanie was never just an executive. She was family to Lakers Nation.

Walter, while successful and respected, does not yet have that bond. He will need to earn the trust of one of the most passionate, vocal, and expectation-laden fan bases in sports. Unlike Cuban, he has not promised to stay out of basketball operations. On the contrary, this sale feels like the beginning of a new dynasty-building experiment—one where legacy takes a backseat to efficiency, innovation, and scale.

Then there’s the financial aspect. Cuban’s sale was driven by diversification and aligning with Vegas-based expansion plans. He cashed out while maintaining influence. Walter, however, is buying into the Lakers at an astronomical valuation, potentially north of $7 billion. That’s not a play for passive returns—that’s a bet that he can turn the Lakers into the ultimate global sports brand, a move that dwarfs the financial upside of most NBA franchises.

Expect big partnerships. Global branding efforts. Content production arms. There’s even speculation about Walter leveraging streaming and digital rights in innovative ways to make the Lakers a year-round entertainment machine, not just a basketball team. If the Buss era was about legacy and tradition, the Walter era may be about business evolution and dominance.

Of course, the key will be winning. In Los Angeles, nothing matters unless banners are raised. And with LeBron James nearing the end of his legendary career and Luka Dončić reportedly being pursued as the future face of the team, Walter’s regime will be judged not only on vision but execution. Fans will tolerate front-office overhauls and data-driven change only if the results come quickly and decisively.

The Lakers are in a transitional moment. The emotional security of the Buss family is gone, replaced by the cold but calculated hands of a mega-capitalist investor with a strong track record. It’s unfamiliar territory. The stakes are enormous. And the entire NBA is watching.

So while Mark Cuban’s sale felt like a step sideways—an evolution of ownership that still felt familiar—Mark Walter’s purchase of the Lakers is a revolution. It breaks with decades of tradition. It unmoors the team from its family-owned legacy. And it throws the Lakers fully into the 21st-century business of basketball.

For better or worse, the Lakers are no longer a family story. They are now a corporate saga. And as the purple and gold move into this new era, one truth remains: the pressure to win in Los Angeles has never been higher.