It was a move that has left the NBA world in shock. And the deal was done astonishing quickly. The Los Angeles Lakers’ record $12.5bn (£9.3bn) sale was agreed in the space of a weekend.
News broke on Wednesday that Josh Kushner, the brother of US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared, and former Disney chief executive Bob Iger were buying the controlling interest in one of the world’s most iconic sports teams.
Kushner moved fast to get the deal done.
Only last Friday, he approached Mark Walter over the majority stake he purchased only last year. They got to work instantly to hammer out an agreement.
If approved by the NBA’s board of governors, the deal will become the most expensive sports team sale ever reported – and Walter will have made a $2.5bn (£1.9bn) profit on his investment in next to no time.
Walter had not actively been looking to sell his majority stake in the NBA franchise, while Kushner’s move was not influenced by the collapse of Fifa’s controversial World Cup investment plan.
Thrive Eternal, an American venture capital firm founded by Kushner, had been expected to lead the proposed investor group for the Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal before it was abandoned.
The speed of the Lakers agreement has added to the level of surprise surrounding the sale in the United States.
When ESPN broke the story on Wednesday, it sparked a flurry of reaction and comment. NBA executives, insiders and other figures within the sport were all stunned.
The Lakers were valued at $10bn (£7.4bn) in June 2025 – then a record for a sports team.
So where does this deal rank in world sport? And will the deal be a good thing for the Lakers?
