A blockbuster $12.5B deal as Josh Kushner and Bob Iger buy the Los Angeles Lakers, AP source says

Audio By Carbonatix

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Lakers are being sold to businessmen Josh Kushner and Bob Iger for a record-breaking price, the second such sale in a year.

This sale agreement is $12.5 billion, according to a person familiar with the terms who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday because neither side revealed specific details.

ESPN first reported that Kushner and Iger are buying the NBA's most valuable franchise, which was valued last year at $10 billion when Mark Walter purchased a controlling stake from the Buss family. The two businessmen had been involved in trying to get an expansion team for Las Vegas.

By buying the Lakers, Iger and Kushner simply don’t have to wait for that decision. Expansion, if it happens, could take place in the 2028-29 season.

The sale still will need approval from the NBA’s board of governors, and that process can take several weeks. The next board meeting is set for next month in New York.

The $12.5 billion price tag is not only record-setting for U.S. pro sports but it continues a trend of NBA franchise values skyrocketing. Only three years ago, Michael Jordan sold his majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets for a $3 billion valuation, and the Boston Celtics were sold last year at a valuation of just over $6 billion, then a record.

Walter’s purchase of a controlling stake in the Lakers in June 2025 blew that away, and now Iger and Kushner have pushed the bar even higher.

Walter’s purchase was approved by NBA owners last October. He originally bought a 27% minority stake in the Lakers in 2021 before the 2025 sale. That was part of a franchise valuation of $10 billion — the highest ever set for a pro sports team.

The Lakers have won 17 championships going back to the franchise’s early years in Minneapolis, the second-most in NBA history behind Boston’s 18. It is a global brand, always at or near the top of the league’s merchandise-sales rankings.

This record sale price comes just weeks after LeBron James, the league’s all-time leading scorer, left the Lakers after eight seasons to become a free agent. James ultimately decided to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers.

___

AP Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds contributed to this report.

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba