Some people don’t realize the value of an owner in
professional sports. The entire behind the scenes work that they do, the risks
that they take to make their team a contender, and the money that they spend,
are just some of the things that owners do. Growing up in Southern California
and watching the Los Angeles Lakers win five titles has been amazing to watch.
But today, the man that made all of this happen lost his life as Lakers owner
Dr. Jerry Buss died this morning at 5:55 AM.
In 1979,
Dr. Buss bought the Lakers, the LA Kings, and the Forum for an estimated $ 67.5
million, which at that time was the largest transaction in sports history. With
his first pick in the 1979 NBA Draft, Buss drafted a player by the name of
Magic Johnson and Johnson became the first rookie to ever win an NBA Finals MVP
after the Lakers beat the Philadelphia 76ers in six games. The Lakers won just
six titles before Buss became owner, but in his first 9 years with the team,
they won five. The 80s Lakers were known as “Showtime” because of their fast
paced offense led by Johnson that also featured hall of famers F James Worthy
and C Kareem Abdul-Jabaar.
In 1999,
Buss built STAPLES Center and on October 17, the arena was opened. There was
something special about playing in that arena as the Lakers won three straight
titles from 2000-2002 with the Kobe/Shaq dynamic duo leading the team. Buss
also wanted the arena to be used for other events besides the Lakers as the LA
Kings and Clippers currently play there, former Arena Football team LA Avengers
played there, and there have been hundreds of concerts at STAPLES.
Buss also
brought in the idea of cheerleaders as entertainment in professional basketball
when he brought in the Laker Girls in 1979. Buss wanted the cheerleaders to
bring a different type of entertainment to the games and Buss brought in the
Laker Girls when there weren’t a lot of teams with cheerleaders at the time.
Now, the Laker Girls are one of the most popular cheerleading squads in sports.
Watching
former Laker legends F Kurt Rambis and Magic talk about their time with Buss on
ESPN’s SportsCenter this morning and how he was such a caring guy just shows
how amazing of a man Buss was. Buss was a winner as the Lakers won 10 titles in
his 34 years of ownership. Some people question whether the Buss family will
sell the Lakers but I doubt it because Buss had been preparing his son Jim and
daughter Jeanie for years.
No one can
ever compare to what Dr. Buss did for the Lakers and I would say it was an
absolute privilege to have him as an owner of my favorite team. Thank you for
everything that you have done and may your legacy live on. Rest In Peace Dr.
Buss.
image was used from espn.com
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