$10,000,000,000 LA Lakers made Memphis Grizzlies’ full season revenue in one week with local TV deal, per analyst

The Buss family shocked the basketball community on Wednesday, selling a majority stake in the LA Lakers franchise to LA Dodgers’ owner Mark Walter. ESPN’s Shams Charania first broke the news on Wednesday.

According to Charania’s report, the Lakers were sold off at a hefty evaluation of $10 billion. After this big sale, some NBA media outlets have been discussing the implications the ownership change can have, while others are looking into Jeanie Buss’ decision to sell the franchise.

Following the big news, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst was joined by Tim Bontemps and Tim MacMahon on Wednesday’s episode of “The Hoop Collective” podcast, where the trio discussed and reacted to the Buss family’s decision.

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There, Windhorst revealed the amount of money the Purple and Gold made from their local TV deal.

"Their local TV deal with Spectrum is the largest local television deal that's ever been done in the NBA," Windhorst said. "A couple of years ago when I got the books from the NBA books leaked to me, I looked at the Lakers' local media revenue and the Lakers roughly made as much in one week of the season as the Grizzlies did for the whole year."

Windhorst did not reveal an exact number. Tim Botemps gave his opinion on the matter and revealed that most regional television deals in the NBA had fallen off over the years, with Spectrum being the only one standing among the few left.

Botemps highlighted that the TV deal allowed the Buss family to operate the Purple and Gold, and it was a big concern for them if the deal ran out in the future. He said that LA would not be in a position to keep up with the rest of the league if the deal fell off.

However, by selling the franchise to a successful sports franchise owner like Mark Walter, the Buss family has now eliminated the possibility of LA struggling if the TV deal runs out.

Lakers legend Magic Johnson congratulates Jeanie Buss on record-breaking sale

Lakers legend Magic Johnson congratulated Jeanie Buss for making a record-breaking sale in NBA history. Johnson wrote about his conversation with Buss in an X post on Wednesday.

"I just talked to my sister Jeanie Buss to tell her congratulations, and that I’m so happy for her and family," he wrote. "I told her that her dad Dr. Buss would be very proud of her for getting $10B for the Lakers, the largest sports franchise sale in history!"

The NBA icon also praised Buss' decision to sell the franchise to Mark Walter of all people, whom he described as the "right person."

Johnson and Mark Walter have known each other for more than a decade. The former NBA star is a member of Walter's investment group and was also involved in the business tycoon's acquisition of the LA Dodgers in 2012.

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Avi Shravan

Avi Shravan's first year of college was the year he discovered his passion for basketball and the NBA. He has been an ardent fan of the sport ever since, from waking up early to cover games to watching pundit discussions, he does it all.

Avi is a big fan of Giannis Antetokounmpo from the Milwaukee Bucks and Anthony Edwards from the Minnesota Timberwolves and firmly believes that the young star is the next big thing in the NBA.

Avi graduated in Mass Communication and Journalism, further enhancing his skills as a journalist and a writer. In his spare time when he is not writing, you can find him playing video games, watching anime, or reading a book he randomly picked at a bookstore.

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