He revealed that he wasnt very interested in the familys sports ownership business, and his interest further diminished after his fathers death. He was the majority owner of the Los Angeles Lakers professional basketball team in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning 10 league championships that were highlighted by the team's Showtime era during the 1980s. Youd pick up three of them, and it was the same trade tweaked multiple times. degree in two and a half years in 1955. I dont do death very well. The Lakers, Kings and WNBA's Sparks later played their home games at the Staples Center (now Crypto.com Arena) starting in 1999. 2020 THE SUN, US, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | TERMS OF USE | PRIVACY | YOUR AD CHOICES | SITEMAP, Jerry Buss' purchase of the Lakers in 1979 started a family legacy that still continues to this day, In order to purchase the team, Jerry had a team of lawyers and accountants and ultimately exchanged the Chrysler building in NYC, Under Jerry's ownership, the Lakers would win 10 NBA titles making him the most decorated owner in sports history, Jerry's daughter, Jeanie, took over the Lakers in March 2017, Inside the wild story of the Lakers family legacy after Dr Jerry Buss exchanged the Chrysler building for the team, Chelsea sell wonderkid Billy Gilmour to Brighton for 9m as midfielder agrees four-year contract at the Amex, Chelsea confirm 10m transfer of Barcelona striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang with Marcos Alonso heading to Nou Camp, Fulham confirm season-long loan transfer from Leeds star Dan James on busy day for Marco Silva's side, 'Not always easy' - Hector Bellerin posts emotional message to Arsenal fans after joining Barcelona on free transfer, 'This isnt the club it was two years ago' - Rodgers slams Leicester's transfer business with Foxes bottom of league, Michy Batshuayi transfer from Chelsea to Nottingham Forest COLLAPSES after documents not sent in time, Aston Villa HIJACK West Ham's move for Jan Bednarek and agreeing season-long loan transfer for Southampton defender, Bamba Dieng walks out of private jet terminal for flight to Leeds and chooses Nice transfer.. but then FAILS medical, Fulham complete transfers of ex-Arsenal and Chelsea ace Willian and former Tottenham striker Carlos Vinicius. Life is funny that way. The league wasnt faring that well prior to 1979, for whatever the reasons were, so whether it was Magic, Dr. Buss or a combination of things that coincided with their arrival, it helped save this league and helped pave the way for all of us to do what we do today. A few days later, the first time I met Dr. Buss was at the Forum Club, after a game. How he figured out our monetary system, the Coast Guard, customs, the first inspector general of the Army ridiculous. He was a very special man to me. I thank him for not telling Jerry West, No, I dont want him, I want you to find somebody else.. He was as down to earth and cool as everybody said he was. Jerry Busss other two sons, Joey and Jesse, are also a part of the LA Lakers operations. Coach him. So Jerry Buss does not still own the Lakers, but his children do. Every day, wed just hang out together between practice sessions. In 1988, winning for the second straight year and fulfilling the prophecy of Pat Riley (guaranteeing a repeat) was a special year but that year was so hard. Dr. Buss, its because the lights are so high up in the ceiling, and in order to make the court bright enough for broadcast, its really bright. He says, I understand, but can you keep an eye on that? So in 2004, the NBA came in with the All-Star game, and they brought in rigging with lights to create that sort of Broadway musical focus on the court. So, it was interesting timing how we both ran into each other in Barcelona during a family trip from him, and he came to the gym I used to work out at in a hotel in Barcelona. Over the shows first season, Buss daughter, Jeanie Buss, assists Claire Rothman and works to realize her fathers grand vision for the Lakers. He was always right. We were just sitting there talking, and that was a pretty special moment. Not only evidenced by his 10 NBA Championships but also from his sports marketing successes such as creating a regional sports network, establishing the first-ever NBA dance squad, "The Laker Girls," and, of course, designing the VIP row featuring the "Jack Nicholson" seats. I was a nervous wreck the entire game, and we won the game, and I delivered the best that I could at the time. And he had his hands on everything. I think the desire to be an owner left when my dad passed away, Johnny said. Dr. Buss really would have been happy being a teacher. "When you think New York, you think Yankees. In any industry, when your boss says youre doing a good job, thats what you want to hear. Johnny never fully dove into his familys sports holdings, but he stuck around while his father lived. Really low key and very friendly. I asked, What did Kobe think, and my dad had talked to Kobe on the phone, and Kobe said, Yeah, I can win with this dude. We had the injury to Andrew and Trevor Ariza that year and ran into the Celtics in the Finals, but we showed big improvement from the year before, and ended up winning the next two years. Theyd fax over every scenario they had for Shaq trades. Echovita Inc is a registered trademark. He was a very, very, very generous man. Meghan Mountbatten Windsor, The Duchess of Sussex. The importance of saying "I love you" during COVID-19, Effective ways of dealing with the grieving process, Solutions to show your sympathy safely during the Covid-19 pandemic. The $24 million he purchased for the Lakers and Kings would be $95.57 million in today's money. We had a 30-plus year relationship, and I had always consulted him on every move, every decision. Daniel's 5th outing as Bond gets bums back on seats in the cinema. What impressed me most about him was he would speak to the parking attendant, the staff, anybody he just liked people, and you felt that about him. Never talked down to people. Theyd grab a card, and hed ask them what their stats were that year. Where is Jerry Buss Daughter Jeanie Buss Now. It was an honor to be able to be asked to say some words. He is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor. Jerry Buss was the son of Connie Buss and Melvin "Red" Buss, who owned the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association. I remember walking into his bedroom and seeing 20 or 30 pieces of fax paper spread all over his bed as he was pouring over and analyzing every scenario and option. Today, you cant. Thats why its such an important part of his formula for success, and why its important to find that winning formula and to continue to keep the team focused on winning, and thats what Im trying to do. I know you may not believe that, but trust me, we do. Because Id worked on prior events like Championship parades and so on, event mode planning started. He showed that you dont really have to lock yourself down in one area as a person. Let the women be the show, get the attention. We were so confident. Success starts at the top. Immediately when Dr. Buss bought the team, he invited me to the party, and he said, You know Jamaal, if Muhammad wont come to the mountain, the mountain will come to Muhammad. Theres a very subtle story there, because what he was saying is, we could both reach out. What people dont realize is that Phil (Jackson) and them called me when we were about to lose Lamar Odom, and said, youre the only one (Dr. Buss) will listen to. Then in his third season owning the team, they ended up calling them the Laker Girls, and established a dance team. Authorize the publication of the original written obituary with the accompanying photo. And I did very well investing in the coins. Jeanie Buss, Magic Johnson, Jerry Buss, and Phil Jackson Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Lakers Center (1975-89) 6X Champion, 2X Finals MVP, 6X MVP, 19X All-Star, Hall of Fame He always treated me very. As a player, he helped lead the Lakers to three NBA championships in 1980, 1982, and 1985. You walk into the locker room and you see three Hall of Famers on your side, plus one of the best defenders of all time in Michael Cooper, and a great coach, and you cant help but feel that way. It's always been about putting it back into the team.. Or to USC football games. Jesse would just rattle off the stats. He was waiting on some people to come, so we just sat there, and it was right after retirement, and he talked about how appreciative he was of me being a Laker and the three championships. Playing for him was one of the best highlights of my life. with JoAnn Buss{ "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "name": "JoAnn Buss", "gender": "Female" }, Joey Buss{ "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "name": "Joey Buss", "gender": "Male" }, born 1985, age 37 (approx.) You could see it. If I was offended by the book, or what my feelings were. LOVIN' IT! We didnt plan to meet, but after work one time, I stopped at Dan Tanas by myself. Youve got this really good looking coach in Pat Riley whos completely Hollywood. The only way for us to change was to do something drastic. He understood that I needed that, and I would have been lost out here in this big city. with Karen Demel{ "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "name": "Karen Demel", "gender": "Female" }, Jesse Buss{ "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "name": "Jesse Buss", "gender": "Male" }, born 1988, age 34 (approx.) Winning drove both of us. One of his favorite comments always used to be, Aint nothin like winning! So thats one of my vivid memories. But one things I remember that stood out to me, as nice as Dr. Buss was, he was really a good owner but he looked at me and said, Look, I understand youre upset. Some people said, How dare you, you cant make it commercial. But yes. But they dont know what happened behind the scenes, and thats what we wanted to show, is what goes on after the game and the effect that winning has on people, on a family.. Dr. Buss left a lasting legacy, expressed through those that were close to him. So Jerry picked me up at the airport in his 944 Porsche. After the first time we lost to the Celtics in 2008, Dr. Buss and I talked and I said, Man I feel bad, we lost to the Celtics, I never want to bring that heartache to you and this organization ever again. He said, No, it sucks losing to them. I said, I promise to you well never lose to those (expletive) again. And then we wound up beating them two years later, and we thoroughly enjoyed that, by the way, after we beat them in Game 7. And his business smarts (also kicked in), and the Laker Girls got branded through Reebok. But thats how I got to know him and the Buss family. Buss made several key moves in his early years as the team's owner, most notably selecting Magic Johnson with the No. We all understood that, we all knew that, we were all for it. It was everything that you would hope for in a new teammate thats going to make a significant contribution to the team. He was once an heir to his father Jerry Busss kingdom, but insists the sports world never quite interested him. They didnt sell the naming rights, they (used their name). I thought they had a great relationship that seemed to blossom until the day that Dr. Buss passed away. With 10 NBA championships under his belt, Jerry was the single most decorated owner in sports history. And I remember after Game 7 of the 2010 Finals against Boston, down on the court amongst all the fanfare, Dr. Buss and I huddled up a little bit and kind of smiled. You can be super successful and win at the highest level while being a great father and family man, and also still have a social life. And he did. He not only was an avid reader, he knew some of the great authors, as well. So, we were preparing for the offseason in 1996 when we signed Shaq and traded for the rights to draft Kobe. Los Angeles, Ducks three-game win streak snapped in overtime loss to Capitals, High school basketball: Southern California and Northern California Regional results and updated pairings, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame overcomes deficit to win Mission League opener, Still in UCLAs corner, Ben Howland stressed importance of getting No. She surprised us doing a great job running the Forum. My dad just figured hed last another 10 years and that Joey and Jesse would start taking over the basketball side and Jimmy would start retiring and that would be it. We all held the trophy together. I didnt get a phone call, or any kind of notification that, Well, Jerrys leaving, Mitch, and Im hiring you. I remember Jerry West retiring, and me saying, OK, whos the GM going to be? I think somebody asked me to reach out to Dr. Buss, and Dr. Buss said, Well Mitch, of course you are. I said, Thank you very much. I think he assumed it, but of course I didnt assume it. The fact that he was still one of us in a sense, because it was all about him having a good time, and if we met him at any certain point, hed always invite us over if we were at the same club or something. He had a home in San Diego, where I live, and we used to go to training camp in Hawaii just about every year, and a couple times we were on the same flight heading over from San Diego. I get up, I go there at 10 a.m. to his office (at the Forum) and they tell me I have to wait, Dr. Buss is in a meeting with Jerry West. In exchange, Cooke received a lease to the Chrysler Building in New York City, along with properties in Virginia, Massachusetts, and Maryland. She is the one who took over the family business, and her children may do the same someday. It was really his love, his heart. We were holding the trophy, and there was a writer, Steve Springer with the L.A. Times, who came into the hallway when we were walking off the floor with my dad, and (Springer) asked what did it feel like to win your first championship since 1988? All those times we were together, I shared with him, I wanted to be more than just a basketball player. And after a few bad games, hed send his driver to me after the game and say, Hey Ill be picking you up tomorrow at 6 p.m., and wed go sit down and have dinner. Wed watch Lakers games together before he bought the team, and all hed talk about was, Someday Im gonna own that team. And (a couple of years later) he did. Buss graduated from the University of Wyoming with a bachelor's degree. He gave the OK to pursue it. Then he was doing Italy for the whole summer. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. with Karen Demel Jesse Buss born 1988, age 34 (approx.) Buss purchased the team, reported to be worth around $1 billion, in 1979. We were down, and it was that same old thing. And then youve got this team thats running. The times that he took out for 1-on-1 time to get me to feel comfortable, to tell me that he loved my game, that he wanted me to play confident. He called Jerry, and it was done. He really maximized his time and was very efficient with his time, and he knew later on that he didnt have much time left. He asked a lot of questions about defense, how we were defending this or that. Their parents divorced in 1972, leaving Buss feeling emotionally abandoned. Dr. Buss was someone who really cared about other people, and I think that same tradition of loyalty of friendship has filtered down to his children. Buss died of cancer on Feb. 18, 2013. Not just the owner-player, employer-employee relationship. When he got a chance to buy it, it was his biggest thrill at that point in time. And little did we know wed be teammates months later extremely serendipitous. When Dr. Buss first bought the team, he looked at what we were charging for floor seats, and knew based on anecdotal data of talking to people that with a young Magic Johnson and this team, he could charge more. I thought hed go in the top three or four. I remember the locker room celebration with Dr. Buss after we won Game 6 in L.A., and he was just like the rest of us sitting at the bar just talking and kibitzing. Thats pretty good. Dr. Buss was very thoughtful. We werent getting better to the point that I needed our team to be. Tania Ganguli covered the Lakers for the Los Angeles Times from 2016-20. When Earvin announced he was HIV positive, it was a tough day. My dad only missed the playoffs twice in his entire 34-year tenure as an owner. And he loved Italian food. Darrell C. Harriman Law The Lakers were very successful under Buss' ownership, winning ten NBA championships with such players as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. Through his 80th birthday on January 27, 2013, he had not attended a Lakers game during the 201213 season due to health concerns. I think when you have success, its just different. You can be multifaceted. It was a father/son environment. I remember being in the Finals against Philadelphia, and we were at the hotel bar of the team hotel. Never, ever. Ex-husband of JoAnn Mueller He was so cool when he introduced himself, so laid back. Having known that about him, after we won various championships, the relief that you saw on him when we got that trophy, it was like he was out there sweating with us. There was no question about that. He was that fast. The trade was difficult for me, obviously at that moment. I was just looking at my dad in awe, with how incredible that was. Later it was Miller Genuine Draft. Theres not going to be a 7th game. He loved plays, and he wanted the focus to be on the athletes and the court. He originally went into real estate investing in order to provide an income so he could continue teaching. It was Jerry West and Jerry Buss who opened the door for me, especially Dr. Buss, because I think Dr. Buss at that time, from what Ive heard, and if you go back and ever look at that press conference from when there was a coaching change, he saved my basketball life, or re-directed it in a way that I never realized that I was going to be where I am today. From online or printed sources and from publicly accessible databases. Thats not normal for most owners. I had to prove that I could play in the NBA. Luckily that first year the players, in spite of my lack of experience, we won the championship and the rest is history. We were up 3-1, and I remember about 2-to-3 hours before tip, I called him and said, Where are you, why are you not coming to Orlando? He said, Im not going to make it, you have to hold down the fort if we win, you have to accept the trophy. I said, Why cant someone else do it. He said, No, youre an owner, Im having you do it. I said, Well, OK do you have any advice? He said, Oh youll do great, dont worry, and he hung up the phone. And hed say, I want you to come to Vegas in a week. Everywhere we went, everybody would holler our names. We all know that Dr. Buss was the first to bring in a dance team, and he felt it was equal opportunity. There was prime real estate, and it was about location, location, location. I said, Were trying to repeat, and I know you love winning championships, and a key piece of that is Lamar Odom. His vision inspired us and gave us the OK to be, sometimes, and thats pretty cool. From my standpoint, when I got in, Magic had been in the league for a few years and they were really close. He was a great man and an incredible friend. During the Finals in Philly in 2001, we would get cheesesteaks before the games. Then he wanted to work out for us one more time, so Michael Cooper, whod been retired for a year or two, we asked him to come out and participate. with JoAnn Buss{ "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "name": "JoAnn Buss", "gender": "Female" }, Jeanie Buss{ "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "name": "Jeanie Buss", "gender": "Female" }, born 1961, age 61 (approx.) And I would come back in town, and we would see each other. There was no secondary market, but he knew that he was leaving money on the table and he was under indexing for certain price points. He liked to talk hoops. That showed me what he was all about to me, he was the best owner. Buss had four children with his wife, JoAnn Mueller: Johnny, Jim, Jeanie and Janie. Dr. Buss created that. I thought their relationship was great. There were eight or nine different price codes, and each one had so many thousands of seats, not counting the floor seats. Source: Los Angeles Times, Lakers expected to remain a Buss family-owned team, Mike Bresnahan, Feb. 19, 2013. Because he found out very quick that I was very serious about winning, and he respected that. He really was in a lot of ways a mentor, in business, in life and in basketball. We were out there on family vacation, and (Dr. Buss) was in Italy, and he hopped a plane to come sit with me. I remember wed just won the championship against the Pacers, and he took us down on the floor. But he insisted he never wanted to push out his sister. And they said, Now the Dallas Mavericks come up. They said, Word is that the Lakers may trade James Worthy to Dallas for Roy Tarpley, a couple other players and a draft pick. The Lakers had literally won the championship a few minutes earlier, but my dad couldnt stop raving that I had 25 points, 16 rebounds and 5 blocks in my AAU game. He absolutely loved it, because Jesse would know every single stat about every single player. Elon Musk. To me, that sums up everything about who he was and how much he cared about always wanting to his players to feel good about him and about the brand, especially for somebody that played as many years for the Lakers as I did. I was just sitting there. So its strange to have a guy whos your mentor, father figure and best friend all rolled into one And then when Jeanie called me (to share the news that he had passed away (one of the) toughest days in my life. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. site map He said, I want to do something for you for what youve done over the 1980s. I was just an assistant coach, with that kind of contract. Thats all I heard. And then 25 years later, to be able to celebrate at a different stage in my life with him again (2010). 9018 Balboa Blvd., #620, Northridge, CA 91325 I think that was the only ring that he wore, when we beat Boston the first time. Thats the affirmation you really want. We reached our natural peak as a team in 87, 88 and 89. Joey Buss accepts the Larry O'Brien Trophy from David Stern, Jeanie Buss, Magic Johnson, Dr. Jerry Buss, and Phil Jackson. Or hed ask us about contracts, and certain trade scenarios. Dr. Buss said how proud he was of us to be there in the Finals, and it was just a nice moment. You have a right to express yourself. He took a drag of his cigarette, and he said, But when you say management thats me. And he didnt say anything after that. Throughout my tenure away from the team, Id send him a note every time they won a championship. It was really vivid and authentic. We used to meet almost every month at his house and have lunch, and the lunch was always the same. I was taken back by his willingness to be one of the guys, and his openness with his players was very enjoyable to be around. Coming from Yugoslavia, I had some issue with military service, and there was an issue there that Dr. Buss made sure to let me know he was behind me and my family no matter what. So I became obsessed with it, and how that process worked. Copyright 2023 Echovita Inc. All rights reserved. In contrast, Buss sons are primarily absent from the narrative for the most part. He did everything in his head. We just started talking about the crazy journey that weve been on. So I was just wandering around, and I walked right by this one man who was wearing jeans and maybe an old sports jacket. All the other times, wed go to Las Vegas. 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