The Buss family has agreed in principle to sell the Lakers — something that would have been unthinkable in the not-too-distant past. The team, which is currently valued at at least $10 billion, will be sold to financier Mark Walter, who is also part of the Sparks' ownership group. While many have pushed the narrative that Walter will invest in the Lakers in a way the Buss family has not, there's one elephant in the room: if that's the case, why hasn't more been done for the Sparks?
The sale would finally unite the Sparks and Lakers under the same ownership, a reality that hasn't existed since 2006 — when Jerry Buss (of all people) sold the team to an investor group led by Kathy Goodman and Carla Christofferson.
History of the Sparks' ownership
Jerry Buss owned the team from the very beginning of the WNBA through the 2006 season. The team's first two seasons weren't strong, but drafting Lisa Leslie in 1999 proved to be a major steal and the Sparks won back-to-back championships in the 2001 and 2002 seasons (the latter was the same year Leslie became the first woman to dunk in a WNBA game).
The following seasons were tough, and despite signing Tamika Whitmore and Teresa Weatherspoon, the Sparks suffered. Buss sold the team for $10 million to a group led by long-time season ticket holders Kathy Goodman, a high school teacher, and Carla Christofferson, an attorney.
In January 2014, the ownership group changed again when Williams Group Holdings stepped back and the WNBA absorbed the team until a new ownership group was found. Sparks LA Sports, which included Magic Johnson, bought the group the same year. The ownership group also includes Walter as well as Stan Kasten, Todd Boehly, Bobby Patton, and Eric Holoman.
How the sale could impact the Sparks
Investment into the Sparks has not been what fans have hoped over the years, but Walter is known for being willing to spend money to make money in a way that the Buss family is not, something that is being touted as a positive for the Lakers and the team's fans.
There's an ongoing debate about whether or not sharing ownership groups with NBA teams impacts a WNBA team in a positive way — and there's a lot of evidence out there to suggest that it just might. The Pacers and Fever are both owned by the Simon family, and the dynamic between the two teams has been pointed to as an example of what can happen when ownership groups invest equally in their teams.
But this sale is a little different. If you ask anyone on the street to name an NBA team, it's likely that even a non-basketball fan will name the Lakers — the team is something special, even dynastical, in the world of men's basketball. An increased investment in the Lakers hasn't yet translated directly to an investment in the Sparks. There's hope that a shared ownership banner will mean shared opportunities and possibilities, but there's also skepticism: if Walter was going to invest in the Sparks the same way he's likely to invest in the Lakers, wouldn't he have done it by now?
The Sparks deserve more from their ownership group
The Sparks made offseason strides this year when they pulled Kelsey Plum from the Aces, a move that will likely pay out sooner rather than later, but the team still deserves much more from its ownership group than it's getting. Though the team shared a stadium with the Lakers last season, they still practiced at El Camino College in Torrance, The Academy in Pasadena, and the UCLA Health Training Center, and lacked a permanent weight room, locker room, and their own facility.
In November 2024, the team announced plans for a brand new, state-of-the-art facility, a strong first step toward delivering what the Sparks deserve. They held their 2025 training camp at JR 286, which is about 30 minutes from Crypto (but it's LA, so you never know), and represented a marked improvement in terms of access to the tools the Sparks need to continue to improve (like weight rooms and training rooms). There haven't been many updates on the topic since then.
It's clear that money hasn't been the issue (the Sparks' ownership group has plenty of that), but investing the time and committment the team needs has been instead. Hopefully, Walter continues to uphold promises made to the Sparks ahead of, during, and after any potential Lakers sale, and doesn't let the same fall to the wayside, again, when they're finally so close to getting what they deserve.