Lakers minority owner dishes intentions with 4% stake in team after sudden Buss sale
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Lakers minority owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong reportedly has no intention of selling his 4% stake in the team following Bob Iger and Josh Kushner purchasing the franchise from Mark Walter last week for a record-breaking $12.5 billion.
“Dr. Patrick is absolutely not selling his minority share of the Lakers,” Chuck “Tiger” Kenworthy, the Soon-Shiong family attorney, told ESPN on Thursday. “Bob Iger and Josh Kushner are good friends, and we will be joining them as supportive, active and engaged partners once they close the transaction with Mr. Walter. We are extremely excited about the Lakers’ future and look forward to many more championship years.”
The 74-year-old Soon-Shiong purchased his stake in the franchise from Lakers legend Magic Johnson in 2010.
Soon-Shiong is a surgeon and businessman who’s renowned for inventing a drug used for lung, breast and pancreatic cancer called Abraxane. He’s also the owner and executive chairman of the Los Angeles Times.
The Lakers have been sold twice in the last 10 months. The Buss family sold the Lakers to Walter in October 2025 for $10 billion, before Walter stunningly sold the team to former Disney CEO Iger and venture capitalist Kushner. The deal is still pending approval from the NBA Board of Governors.
The Buss family, which has a 17.8% remaining ownership stake in the team, is embroiled in a battle over its share. Five of the Buss siblings voted to sell, while Jeanie Buss, the Lakers’ governor, is contesting the sale.
Under NBA rules, a governor must hold at least a 15% stake in the franchise.