Josh Kushner and Bob Iger have agreed to buy the Los Angeles Lakers from Mark Walter for more than 12 billion dollars, a deal that would set a new record for the most expensive sports franchise sale in history.
The agreement, reported on 12th August 2026, would hand controlling ownership of one of basketball’s most valuable franchises to a venture capitalist and a former entertainment chief executive. The transaction would also mark the second time in under a year that the Lakers have changed majority ownership: Walter acquired his controlling stake from the Buss family at a valuation of roughly 10 billion dollars, meaning the franchise has appreciated by more than two billion dollars in fewer than twelve months. Reporting from En places the figure at north of 12 billion dollars.
Kushner is the founder of Thrive Capital, a New York-based venture firm established in 2009 whose portfolio includes Instagram, Spotify, Stripe and OpenAI. He confirmed a minority stake in the Miami Heat in 2025, and earlier this year Thrive agreed to acquire a minority position in the San Francisco Giants through Thrive Eternal, a long-term investment vehicle built to hold stakes in sports franchises and cultural institutions. The Lakers would be the largest acquisition yet under that strategy.
Iger brings a complementary set of credentials. He served as Disney’s chief executive from 2005, steering the acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm and 21st Century Fox before stepping down in 2020. He returned to lead Disney in 2022 and handed the chief executive role to Josh D’Amaro in March 2026. His connection to the NBA runs directly through Disney’s ESPN business, a long-standing league broadcast partner. In 2024, he and his wife purchased a controlling stake in NWSL club Angel City FC for a then-record 250 million dollars for a women’s professional sports team. He joined Thrive Capital as an adviser earlier this year, a relationship that has now evolved into a full ownership bid.
The Lakers were not the pair’s original target. In the weeks before the deal emerged, Kushner and Iger had been exploring a bid for a potential NBA expansion franchise in Las Vegas, working through Thrive Eternal and retaining investment bankers for that purpose. They ultimately chose to make an aggressive offer for an existing franchise rather than wait for the league to award a new one, concluding a deal directly with Walter.
NBA Board of Governors approval is required before the transaction can formally close. If it is sanctioned, the record books for sports franchise valuations will need updating and the Lakers will have a new majority ownership group for only the second time in under a year.
