The Los Angeles Lakers are set to be sold for a reported $12.5bn (£9.3bn), which would make it the most expensive sports-franchise sale on record. The deal would give Josh Kushner and former Disney chief executive Bob Iger control of one of basketball’s most recognisable teams, underlining the rising value of major US sports assets.

Mark Walter only acquired a majority stake from the Buss family less than a year earlier in a deal reportedly valued at about $10bn (£7.45bn), approved by the NBA’s Board of Governors in October 2025. Kushner, whose brother Jared is married to US President Donald Trump’s daughter, and Iger said they intended to build on the Buss family’s legacy, compete at the highest level and serve Lakers fans and Los Angeles.