When Shams Charania dropped the Lakers sale bombshell, the $10 billion figure made jaws drop. But as Brian Windhorst noted, “That’s the number you’re going to see across the globe.” The real story? How Jeanie Buss turned a high-stakes ownership puzzle into the most lucrative exit in sports history.

This deal had quietly started forming back in 2021. A seemingly routine lease extension at Crypto.com Arena set off a chain reaction. As Windhorst revealed, “As soon as the guy who owned the arena got them to re-up… he immediately sold his stake.” That guy—Philip Anschutz—cashed out his 27% to Mark Walter’s Guggenheim group. That first domino gave Walter not just a minority stake, but something bigger: the right of first refusal on any future sale. In other words, he became the heir apparent.

Here’s where Jeanie’s genius kicked in. When Walter locked in that 27% stake in 2021, her path narrowed. She could sell on his timeline or risk a weaker return. The Celtics’ $6 billion sale wasn’t just a headline—it reset the market. It gave Jeanie her last, best window to cash out before Walter’s leverage grew. As Windhorst put it, that sale “reset the market,” giving Jeanie the perfect cover. Add in the Lakers’ “largest local TV deal in NBA history”—one that, as Windhorst noted, made them “in one week what the Grizzlies did all year”—and that $10 billion valuation became too good to pass up.

Now the pieces fall into place with Showtime-worthy precision. Walter, who already owns the Dodgers and Chelsea FC, takes control of basketball’s crown jewel. The Buss family holds onto about 15%—just enough for Jeanie to remain governor (for now) as Magic Johnson revealed in his private congratulations call. And Anschutz? The 90-year-old billionaire got out at the perfect time. Brian Windhorst in his podcast had it right: “I’m not sure he wanted to pay $10 billion.”

This wasn’t just a sale. It was a masterclass in timing, leverage, and cold-eyed calculation. Jeanie Buss flipped Walter’s three-year power play into her perfect exit. She secured generational wealth and protected the Buss legacy. As Windhorst might say: the numbers tell the story, but the real magic lies in how you make them add up.

The Dodgers Playbook Won’t Save the Lakers – But Here’s What Might

Mark Walter’s $10 billion Lakers purchase comes with an unspoken assumption: that whatever magic he worked on the Dodgers will automatically translate to basketball. Here’s the problem – the NBA doesn’t play by MLB’s rules. You can’t just outspend the competition when there’s a salary cap, and “Moneyball with celebrities” only works if the celebrities actually want to be in Oakland.

Yet Walter’s real advantage was never just his wallet. When he took over the Dodgers in 2012, the franchise was a financial dumpster fire. His first moves weren’t flashy – they were surgical. A record $8.35 billion TV deal. A front office rebuilt from the ground up. A player development machine that turned the Dodgers into a talent factory. The Lakers don’t need his money nearly as much as they need that same ruthless operational efficiency.

The catch? Basketball’s a different game. The Lakers already have the global brand the Dodgers spent a decade building. What they lack is modern infrastructure – the kind Walter specializes in. Think scouting networks that find the next Austin Reaves before he’s trendy. Analytics departments that don’t treat “vibes” as a key metric. Maybe even (gasp) a G-League team that actually develops players instead of just existing.

Jeanie Buss gets to keep her governor title, but make no mistake – this is Walter’s show now. The Buss era thrived on star power and Showtime glamour. The Walter era promises something far less flashy: cold, calculated competency. The real question isn’t whether he’ll spend—it’s whether Lakers fans can handle their team being run like a Fortune 500 company instead of a Hollywood blockbuster.

One thing’s certain: if Walter can turn bankruptcy into back-to-back World Series, making the Lakers more than just a retirement home for superstars might be his easiest challenge yet.