When Jerry Buss purchased the Lakers back in 1979 the club was valued at around $16,000,000 according to Yahoo Sports.
Forbes recently placed the value of the Los Angeles Lakers at over a billion dollars.
Buss graduated from the University of Wyoming in 1955 and proceeded to make a fortune in the real estate business. Along with the Lakers basketball club, he also acquired the Forum Stadium in Inglewood, the Kings Hockey Team of the NHL and a 13,000-acre ranch…..all acquired in 1979 at, what was then, the enormous sum of $67,500,000.
On Monday morning February 18, Dr. Jerry Buss succumbed to liver failure and passed away at the age of 80. He will be sorely missed by his family, friends and players alike. He left a legacy of championships, successful business expansion, brand development and an aura of greatness seldom glimpsed in professional sports. Under his leadership, the Los Angeles Lakers became the standard bearer for professional basketball around the world.
Back when Jerry Buss bought the Lakers, they were hardly the tour-de-force that they are today. In fact, even though the Lakers were always a good team, the Boston Celtics beat them regularly and the championships remained elusive until Buss and company took over. The addition of Magic Johnson lit a fire under the Lakers organization that remains strong and hot to this day.
Buss used the glamour and glitz of the city of Los Angeles to re-vamp the standards for the Lakers. Being good competators or just staying in the hunt was no longer good enough for Jerry Buss. He wanted championships and he set out to get them. The Lakers were expected to win championships by their fans as well as the ownership.
Jerry Buss raised the bar, and in doing so, he made the Lakers into the greatest franchise in basketball. Just take a look at some of the players that Buss brought into Staples Center….. Kareen Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Dwight Howard and Steve Nash. These guys are all now in the NBA Hall of Fame or headed there one day soon.
Jerry Buss himself was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.
He will be remembered as one of the most innovative visionaries in the history of the game of basketball. Rest in Peace, Dr. Buss.
