The planned sale of the Los Angeles Lakers for $12 billion would mean that Luka Dončić has played under five different owners during his first 10 NBA seasons. The Lakers sale and Luka Dončić ownership timeline highlights an unusually high number of ownership changes across the teams he has represented.
The Lakers are being purchased by Josh Harris, described in the reports as the brother of Jared Kushner’s wife. Kushner is the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump.
The reported $12 billion price would represent a major change in ownership for one of the NBA’s best-known franchises.
Dončić Has Already Played Under Several Owners
Dončić began his NBA career with the Dallas Mavericks, where he spent most of his first years in the league. During that period, the Mavericks themselves went through an ownership change.
He initially played while Mark Cuban was the majority owner. The club was later sold to the families of Miriam Adelson and Sivan and Patrick Dumont, creating another ownership structure during Dončić’s time in Dallas.
Dončić was then traded from Dallas to the Los Angeles Lakers. That move placed him under the Buss family ownership, which has controlled the Lakers for decades.
With the new sale, the Lakers sale and Luka Dončić story would bring another ownership change during his career. The incoming ownership would become the fifth different ownership arrangement under which he has played in the NBA.
Five Owners Across 10 NBA Seasons
According to the reports, Dončić will therefore have played under five different owners or ownership groups across only 10 NBA seasons.
His career began under Mark Cuban in Dallas, continued after the Mavericks’ sale to the Adelson-Dumont ownership group, and then moved to the Buss family after his transfer to the Lakers.
The latest Lakers transaction would add another ownership group to that list. The reports present this as a particularly unusual feature of Dončić’s NBA career given the relatively limited number of seasons he has played.
The sale also brings another major ownership transition for the Lakers, while Dončić once again finds himself playing for a franchise undergoing a change at the top.
