Picture this: it’s 1979. Disco is dying, gas lines are a thing, and the Los Angeles Lakers are a solid but unspectacular basketball team. Nobody’s exactly rioting in the streets over them. Then, a flamboyant real estate mogul named Jerry Buss struts in and buys the whole shebang for what today sounds like the price of a fancy sports car. How much did he actually pay? Buckle up, because the answer is almost as ridiculous as a Jack Nicholson courtside outburst.
The price tag was $67.5 million. Yes, you read that right. For the entire Lakers franchise—complete with the Forum, the Kings hockey team, and a ranch in the deal. Sixty-seven-point-five million. In today’s NBA, that wouldn’t even buy you a bench warmer with a good haircut. The Lakers are now worth over $6 billion. Do the math: that’s about a 9,000% return. Your 401(k) is officially crying into its mutual fund.
The Great Heist of 1979
Let’s put that $67.5 million in perspective. In 1979, you could buy a house in Los Angeles for $70,000. So Jerry Buss basically traded 964 houses for what is now a global empire. Imagine telling your great-grandkids, “Yeah, I bought the Lakers for the price of a small condo complex.” They’d laugh you out of the retirement home.
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But here’s the real kicker: Buss didn’t even have the full amount in cash. He put up only $20 million of his own money and borrowed the rest. He took out a loan to buy the Lakers. That’s like walking into a car dealership, pointing at a Ferrari, and saying, “I’ll give you two BMWs and a pinky promise.” And it worked.
The Magic Ingredient (Literally)
The timing was everything. Buss bought the team just months before they won the 1980 NBA Championship. And who was the rookie leading that charge? Some kid named Magic Johnson. Buss didn’t draft Magic—that was a coin flip that went the Lakers’ way—but he bought the basket that caught all the eggs. Without that purchase, there’s no Showtime, no five championships in the 80s, and no Kobe-to-Shaq love story.
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Imagine if Buss had walked away. The Lakers might still be in Minneapolis, wearing ugly jerseys, and fighting for relevance with the Clippers. The Clippers. That’s the nightmare scenario Buss saved us from. The man deserves a statue just for that.
The Hidden Gem: The Forum
Part of that $67.5 million included the Forum arena. At the time, the Forum was a giant, circular, spaceship-looking thing that smelled faintly of popcorn and ambition. Buss bought it, renamed it “The Fabulous Forum,” and turned it into Hollywood’s basketball palace. Jack Nicholson got his legendary courtside seat. Chick Hearn got his megaphone. And the Lakers got their mystique.
Fun fact: the Forum also came with a ranch in the deal. Yes, a literal ranch. Somewhere out there, there’s a cow that can claim it was part-owner of the Lakers dynasty. That cow is probably richer than your uncle who always talks about Bitcoin.
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The Kings Were the Real Bargain
Nobody talks about this part. The purchase also included the Los Angeles Kings hockey team. For the same $67.5 million, Buss got a hockey franchise that would later become Wayne Gretzky’s second home. That’s like buying a burger and getting a steak for free. The Kings alone are now worth over a billion. So Buss essentially paid $67.5 million for a billion-dollar Lakers, a billion-dollar arena, and a billion-dollar hockey team. That is how you do a real estate deal.
The Inflation Twist
If you adjust for inflation, that $67.5 million in 1979 is about $290 million today. Still a steal. The Golden State Warriors sold for $450 million in 2010, and now they’re worth $8 billion. But Buss’s deal? It’s the original grande latte of sports ownership. He paid the price of a mansion in Beverly Hills and got a skyscraper. The man’s financial advisor deserves a plaque on the moon.
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And get this: Buss originally tried to buy the Lakers in 1975 for even less. The owners said no. Talk about a missed opportunity. That owner probably still wakes up in cold sweats, screaming, “I could’ve bought a private island with that Magic Johnson money!”
The Legacy of a Bargain
So, what’s the moral of this story? Never underestimate the power of a good loan, perfect timing, and a rookie named Earvin. Jerry Buss didn’t just buy a basketball team. He bought a lifestyle, a dynasty, and the envy of every other owner. When he passed away in 2013, he left a franchise worth billions. His children now run the show, and they’re still laughing all the way to the bank.
Next time you’re at a bar and someone says, “I remember when the Lakers were just a team,” you can reply, “Yeah, and they were $67.5 million cheap.” Then sip your drink, smile, and thank Jerry Buss for not buying the Clippers instead. Because that, my friends, would have been the worst investment since pet rocks.
