The Los Angeles Lakers — one of professional basketball’s most glamorous and storied franchises — were sold for $10 billion.
The price, far higher than the prior record of about $6 billion for their historic rivals, the Boston Celtics, showcases both the breakneck growth in valuations of sports teams, as well as the Lakers’ unique draw.
But though the Lakers have won the second most NBA titles, and LeBron James, arguably the greatest basketball player ever, is currently a member, they have not historically been among the league’s biggest-spending teams. So their purchase by Mark Walter, chief executive of the financial firm Guggenheim Partners, may bode well for their on-court prospects: “Laker fans should be ecstatic,” team legend Magic Johnson posted.