And I would come back in town, and we would see each other. Then due to (certain circumstances), Jerry wanted us to be co-coaches. That showed me what he was all about to me, he was the best owner. He also taught me how to be a leader and to hire the best people and let them do their jobs. Thats another way we connected. We talked about where we came from, what our lives were like, and in a lot of respects we had some similarities in our lives. The next season, they wanted more of a team, so they called them the Golden Girls, and they had big pom poms. Thats how I try to live. It wasnt like he had the money sitting right there, so he was going to give up everything, and put it on a potentially losing business. Some might wonder if his death will bring radical changes to the ownership of the team, but according to his family, that's not very likely. OK but I dont just want your money, I also want you do this, this and this to build our brand. He cut deals that were unheard of in those days, and I witnessed that. Magic was worth every accolade or attention he got, because he carried us. Veteran guys. Jerry's 66 percent ownership of the team passed to each of his six children via a trust, equating to 11 percent per child. I first met him at Muhammad Alis retirement party at the Forum. It was the first time we actually felt a part of something. In January 2008, Buss donated $7.5 million to USC's Department of Chemistry to fund two endowed chairs and an endowed scholarship fund for chemistry graduate students; the two chairs were to be named after his mentors at USC, professors Sidney Benson and David Dows. I was with Jerry West, (a.k.a.) It was a very unique way of conducting business. It doesnt mean you can always win every year, but you have to give them something that theyre proud of and that they can connect to. And when Dr. Buss said that, that was all our thinking. 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. He moved to Los Angeles and attended the University of Southern California (USC), where he earned an M.S. Its more than just going out there and playing. In other words, how offensive could it be? He didnt know what the future held, I didnt know what the future held. When he bought the Forum, it was called the Forum. Dr. Buss was the perfect owner to play for. And while his relationship with his siblings is strained, he shares with them a reverence for their father. But then right away, the Lakers started winning championships, and Showtime was coined, and little did I know that Id get a chance to join them years later. That was a big part of growing up for all of us. He went from playing, to (working with) Chick, to assistant coach to a head coach in what, two and a half years? Today, it's about celebrating his life, his contributions to the city of LA and his inimitable. For him to give me that 1-on-1, personal treatment considering where I stood on the team that was treatment I thought hed give Kobe or Shaq. If I was offended by the book, or what my feelings were. He was a first-time owner. Buss, who was 80 when he died of. My dad started incorporating Joey and I more after we won the back-to-back titles, and we had the mid-level exception in the summer, and he asked who we liked. Episode 1 of the docuseries will cover Buss' deal to buy the Lakers from Jack Kent Cooke. Jeanie Buss, Magic Johnson, Jerry Buss, and Phil Jackson, Lakers celebrate their 1985 Championship over the Celtics. He was as down to earth and cool as everybody said he was. And thats what Dr. Buss did. Rattling off 10 championships before his passing in 2013. And in hindsight, we can see the result. 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. "With him, it's never been about putting money in his pocket. He is the greatest team owner ever. We knew when we got on that plane and we were going to beat the Celtics in Game 6. As the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers from 1979 until he passed away in 2013, Dr. Jerry Buss oversaw one of the greatest stretches in sports and entertainment history. I thought I was just starting to play well, starting to blend in. It means more, and it means more because of this one man, and everything that came from it. We were so confident. In 1996-97, after I came back to the Lakers for Kobes rookie year, we didnt see Dr. Buss quite as much. Youve got this really good looking coach in Pat Riley whos completely Hollywood. At the time of his death, a Buss family spokesperson declared that the children had "no interest in ever selling the team.". I was just looking at my dad in awe, with how incredible that was. She is the one who took over the family business, and her children may do the same someday. But Jerry West and Jerry Buss nurtured me, they mentored me. I remember growing up in the 1990s, and often losing to the best teams in the West, like the Supersonics, and then the Jazz. Create a franchise that was worth billions., Follow Tania Ganguli on Twitter @taniaganguli. And I was happy to be a part of it, because Jack Kent Cooke, as great a businessman as he was, he was tough. Although he stepped away from active involvement in the Lakers operations in 2017, Johnny seemingly remains a part-owner in the franchise. We used to sit at his house and eat the same thing, Chinese chicken salad from California Pizza Kitchen, and wed sit there and just talk. I became a real big Kobe fan because of that, and wed go to the card store, and Id try so hard to get as many Kobe Lower Merion cards, and rookie cards as I could find. Dr. Buss was the first celebrity owner in all of sports. The Buss siblings had a meeting the week after Dr Jerry Buss death, to discuss how the Lakers would work going forward. We reached our natural peak as a team in 87, 88 and 89. All relationship and family history information shown on FameChain has been compiled from data in the public domain. I saw how he would be able to rebuild a team quickly to get back to contender status. I remember him saying, You know how cool it would be for the Buss family to own the Lakers for 100 years? Money has never been a part of my being. Dr. Buss paid out of his own pocket for a million-dollar surgery to save the kids life, not knowing if hed ever play basketball. We kept in touch that way. When we won Game 4 in the Garden, that was the big difference. He gave the OK to pursue it. Well, at that time, Jack Kent Cooke was going through a divorce, and he moved to Nevada to establish residency in order to process his divorce as a citizen of Nevada, which had different settlement laws. Then he was doing Italy for the whole summer. He was a very intuitive guy, said Steiner. That was one of his favorite things he started doing later on, because before, he was doing Hawaii for a month. We had a genuine relationship and respect for one another, because I was there with him at the time he bought his dream, and it was mine too. Hed meet his friends there, and some of his friends were executives at Great Western Bank. But it was one of the toughest things Ive encountered physically, mentally and emotionally. I get this call, and (am told) Dr. Buss wants to see you. He had thought about it. In the process of that, we worked Kobe out one day against two guys who were supposedly going to be drafted higher than him, and it was ridiculous. When he bought the team, there were literally two prices: the downstairs and the upstairs. He was the first one to see that opportunity to sell the naming rights of the building, which really was an asset to the company, because now instead of going to Forum, you were going to the Great Western Forum, and Great Western was one of the big banks in Southern California at the time. He loved to jump on it. Its not just another team in the league. But his impact went well beyond Los Angeles' overall record. He understood the brand of the Lakers, and that first time he sat down with me in 1979, he said, I want to make the Lakers a household name. Basically, he wanted Showtime. I remember being bummed with all my friends that we werent going to be able to see Magic Is Back, as it was being marketed at the time. I was a nervous wreck the entire game, and we won the game, and I delivered the best that I could at the time. 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. It started with Dr. Buss, and we were all upset about 1984. There was prime real estate, and it was about location, location, location. Not only did Dr. Buss want a dance team to entertain on the court during halftime and quarter breaks, but he also wanted to show that there were talented young ladies who are great brand ambassadors. After we lost to the Pistons*, we had an organization type of dinner, with all the players and the media in a banquet room. His dream was to own the Lakers, my dream was just to be a part of it, and we became part of a team that goes down in history, and then he built another one when he got Shaq and Kobe. Wed celebrate, have the parade, have a party, and then hed go to Vegas. And so, I had to trust him. The sports executive is the controlling owner and president of the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Thats what he basically said. Mr. He was one of the first people to do it, and now its commonplace. That was it. And we all took one set. Buss also received Cooke's ranch in California, which was valued at $10 million. Daniel Craig. When he said that on the podium at the Forum, we were just trying to celebrate the previous title, but he knew what he was doing. Family and friends are welcome to leave their condolences on this memorial page and share them with the family. That's why, when I created this new uniform, I wanted people to see that. 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. We had something to talk about immediately, and he was flattered to know that I was aware. Then-NBA commissioner David Stern called Jerry a visionary owner whose influence on our league is incalculable and will be felt for decades to come.. The Buss family owns . 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. It was a conversation that only he and I knew about. So it was really a family. He was also a country singer who performed at dive bars, among his favorite jobs. He was in the pass, he was in the deflection. Their parents divorced in 1972, leaving Buss feeling emotionally abandoned. I understood him, because he was a man that loved to have fun, but he was also very competitive at everything. (Fast forward to the Finals) against Indiana, and in the 4th quarter and my dad grabs me and Jesse with a minute left in the game, and he says, We gotta go! He just took us down to the court. Wed usually eat, hang out by the pool and talk after the morning session, and then after the evening session, a lot of times wed go to dinner together. USC Band. The Finals were tough, though, against Boston. The Sparks also experienced their share of success, winning two WNBA championships with such players as Lisa Leslie, Tamecka Dixon and DeLisha Milton-Jones. He saved Ronnys life, and he didnt have to. It was really important when I gave that speech not just to honor his memory and his legacy, but to also make sure we honor him in a way that we carry his legacy moving forward. His ex-wife owns a portion of the team but does not have the ability to vote on a sale. 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 Lazers also played in The Forum. He was so cool when he introduced himself, so laid back. I wanted that to be the case here as well. Very happy.*L.A. He wasnt born in Los Angeles, but it was his home, and he loved it here. When I wanted to get into the theatre business, he was the one who connected me with everybody. We had a bunch of guys who were great guys that all knew their roles, and they werent out seeking attention for themselves. We were big into collecting basketball cards growing up. I had someone in my mind, me coming from the South, who was going to be really distinguished and have a suit on, and youd be able to know who the owner was right away as soon as you seen him. Thats how he was. Sources close to the Buss family who arent authorized to speak publicly disputed that. He has been able to do so because he is one of the shrewdest businessmen you will ever meet. It became a happening. 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jerry buss grandchildren