Jerry Buss

January 27, 1933-February 18, 2013

Los Angeles Lakers’ owner Jerry Buss died February 18, 2013 at the age of 80. He had been battling cancer since 2012.

Buss was a real estate investor and had his doctorate in Physical Chemistry from the University of Southern California. He went to work for the Bureau of Mines and then went to work at USC on the faculty. He started investing in real estate so he could continue teaching. He found great success in real estate and pursued it full time.

In 1979, Buss bought the Lakers, the Los Angeles Kings, the Forum and a large ranch from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation for $65 million. He later sold the Los Angeles Kings, but kept control of the Lakers and the Forum. In his first year as owner, he drafted Magic Johnson out of Michigan State.

Buss was the leader of the “Showtime era” of the NBA. He wanted basketball games to have entertainment. He added the Laker Girls, the first professional cheerleaders in the NBA. He also added players such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, and added coaches Pat Riley and Phil Jackson.

He even inspired a couple of his players to become business owners, which include Jerry West and Magic Johnson. Jerry West became the General Manager of the Lakers, while Magic Johnson owns Starbucks, Fatburger, Magic Johnson Theaters, and the Dodgers. While Buss was owner of the Lakers, they won 10 championships.

Buss is legendary in basketball. He loved Los Angeles and Los Angeles loved him. He will be missed greatly.