The Los Angeles Lakers have been run by the Buss family since 1979 but, as the old saying goes, all good things come to an end, and that is reportedly what has happened in Los Angeles ahead of the 2025 NBA Draft and the opening of free agency.
According to Shams Charania of ESPN, the Buss family has agreed to sell the majority stake in the franchise to Mark Walter, the CEO of TWG Global. Despite the sale, Jeanie Buss will reportedly remain the team's governor.
BREAKING: The Buss family is entering an agreement to sell majority ownership of the Los Angeles Lakers to Mark Walter, the CEO and chairman of diversified holding company TWG Global, sources tell ESPN. Jeanie Buss will continue to serve in her role as Governor after the sale. pic.twitter.com/1Da6LDD7TJ
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 18, 2025
Walter has been a minority owner of the franchise since 2021 and had the right of first refusal if the majority stake in the organization became available. Well, that has happened, and the co-owner of entities like the Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Sparks, Chelsea FC, the PWHL, and the Andretti Cadillac Formula 1 team is set to become the majority owner of the Purple and Gold.
Given the other sports entities Walter is involved with, and the way those teams spend money, this is an exciting time for Lakers fans, and one player in particular stands to benefit the most from the change in ownership.
Lakers Wing Austin Reaves is Biggest Winner of Surprise Ownership Sale
Luka Doncic will get a massive extension this summer, one way or another. LeBron James will get the deal he wanted as well. Neither of these was ever a question. What this means for Austin Reaves and his future with the franchise is a different story, however.
From a basketball perspective alone, Reaves has reached the point where head coach JJ Redick considers him a core piece of the puzzle alongside the aforementioned Doncic and James. What hadn't happened yet was Reeves being paid as if he held that distinction in Los Angeles.
Reaves is under contract for the 2025-26 season and will earn $13.9 million. The following season, Reaves has a player option in his contract, which he is likely to decline to receive a long-term deal at a higher average annual value. If the Lakers aren't the franchise that will give him that kind of deal, he wouldn't have to wait long to find another franchise willing to do just that.
So, why is Reaves potentially the biggest winner in this ownership change?
The organizations Walter has aligned himself with as a minority owner have track records of spending big money to add and retain top-end talent. Fans only need to look at the monster contracts he handed out to Dodgers stars Shohei Ohtani ($700 million), Mookie Betts ($365 million), and Yoshinobu Yamamoto ($325 million) in recent years.
The Lakers can offer Reaves a four-year, $89 million extension this summer, but it seems unlikely he will accept that offer when unrestricted free agency is an option come the summer of 2026. They'll have to pay him a fair market value, and the new ownership's fully lined pockets can help with that.
This past season, Reaves averaged career-best averages in points (20.2), assists (5.8), and rebounds (4.5) per game. Should that trend continue, as it has over the last three seasons, then Walter and the front office will be more than happy to open up the checkbook and pay Reaves exactly what he is worth.