ESPN Insider Says Mark Walter Heralds Lakers’ ‘Modern Era’ After $10 Billion Deal With Jeanie Buss

Brian Windhorst believes Mark Walter will bring the same ethos to the Lakers as he brought to the Dodgers in 2012.

ESPN Insider Says Mark Walter Heralds Lakers’ ‘Modern Era’ After $10 Billion Deal With Jeanie Buss

Mark Walter has become the majority owner of the Los Angeles Lakers (Image via FirstSportz)

The Lakers have stolen all the headlines ahead of Game 6 of the 2025 NBA Finals. Mark Walter’s $10 billion purchase has made the team the most valuable entity in sports. The majority owner of the LA Dodgers has been a minority owner since 2021. He has now finally taken a controlling interest in the most iconic NBA team after four years of waiting in the wings, understanding the workings of the NBA as an owner.

Mark Walter is a very private businessman. Practically nothing is known of his business dealings, outside of communications made by Guggenheim Partners to the media. Walter is 65 years old and has led the Guggenheim Partners with a 20% stake since 2000. Other than their sports dealings, his firm is heavily involved in the insurance industry. His firm has partnered with Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Capital.

With all of this new money incoming, Lakers fans have to feel very excited about their team’s outlook. While the Buss family has been responsible for 11 NBA championships and the cementing of the team as a transcendent international brand, the franchise has always felt out of its depth when compared to teams with more deep-pocketed owners. LeBron James, for instance, has a higher net worth than Jeanie Buss.

Brian Windhorst pointed this out in his morning segment, pointing out how their fortunes can now change in terms of how the purse strings are loosened by the owner and how much expenditure will be made on things outside of roster salaries and basketball operations:

Two big things. First off, the Lakers are about to join the modern era. While they have had incredible success and their brand is enormous, they were ran as a family operation in a league that is run by tech billionaires and hedge fund billionaires, and they run their NBA teams that way and they invest in the infrastructure of the teams that way. The Lakers were behind in that regard and they are, I’m sure, going to get great investment.

How Mark Walter has changed the outlook of the LA Dodgers

Mark Walter personally owns 27% of the Los Angeles Dodgers via Guggenheim Partners after buying his stake in 2012. The firm paid $2.15 billion at the time for an asset valued at $1.4 billion by Forbes. This led to a lot of raised eyebrows at the time, with questions around how he planned to run the team. These questions were put to rest when he appointed Stan Krasten to run the team and turned them into juggernauts.

Mark Walter of Guggenheim Partners oversee a lot of sports teams
Mark Walter of Guggenheim Partners oversees many sports teams (Image via Open Source/X)

The Dodgers have made the playoffs for each of the past 12 seasons. During this time, they have recruited world-class talents like Mookie Betts and later, Japanese sensation Shohei Ohtani. The Dodgers returned to the World Series in 2024 after winning it in 2020. They sealed their second World Series after beating the New York Yankees 4-2 last year.

Mark Walter has invested heavily in payroll for the Dodgers. The team led Major League Baseball in payroll during the 2013, 2023 and 2024 seasons. They have signed Ohtani to a whopping 10-year, $700 million deal after he became the most sought-after free agent in league history in late 2023.

They are also paying through their nose to retain Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts. The Dodgers have also recruited one of the most menacing pitching bullpens in league history and currently lead the National League with a 46-29 record.

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