Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Lakers fans and fans across the country.
As quickly as the news has been coming through in recent days, particularly in regard to the Buss family, it’s somehow almost fallen to the wayside that Bob Iger and Josh Kushner now own the Lakers.
Their purchase was abrupt, followed by the equally unexpected news that the Buss family would be joining that sale…maybe. It’s also hard to speculate
about what the future may look like when the owners appear to have bought the team without much of a plan for the future.
It all feels like a bit of a mess with a lot of drama, which is often the Lakers way.
Still, there’s a new future awaiting the purple and gold. Not only is it new ownership for the Lakers, but it’s also new sports owners, period. While Kushner has been a minority owner in the NBA, neither he nor Iger has been the lead decision-maker for a sports franchise.
So, that’s where we took this week’s SB Nations Reacts survey question as we asked fans what their feelings are about the new ownership.
On the plus side, the Lakers are being taken over by another owner with lots of money. Kushner’s net worth is measured in the billions, so money should not be an issue, as was the case under Walter.
In Iger, the Lakers are getting someone who revitalized a Disney brand that was once massive but had hit rough times. That feels an awful lot like the Lakers. He’s also someone very familiar with the NBA, even if he hasn’t owned a team in any capacity before.
On the negative, though, is the sort of elephant in the room that we keep noting is that neither of these guys has done this before. There’s a decent chance this doesn’t work.
These two have had success running companies outside of sports. Will that translate? It feels like anyone’s guess.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
