UPDATED with Magic Johnson comments: Fulfilling almost every American boy’s dream, Bob Iger has bought himself a big-city sports franchise.

The ex-Disney CEO and Thrive Capital boss Josh Kushner have scored the Los Angeles Lakers for $12.5 billion, Deadline has confirmed.

“As lifelong NBA fans, we are deeply honored for the opportunity to become stewards of the Los Angeles Lakers one of the most iconic sports franchises in the world,” courtside regular Iger and Kushner said in a statement Wednesday. “We have immense respect for the leadership and vision of Jerry and Jeanie Buss. Our long-term commitment is to build on that foundation, compete at the highest level, and serve this extraordinary team, its fans and the city of Los Angeles.”

Even as the deal needs to get formal thumbs-up from the NBA Board of Governors, Iger and Kushner got the stamp of approval from Lakers legend Magic Johnson ASAP.

“Laker fans, you couldn’t have two better owners,” Johnson posted online this morning. “I’ve known Bob personally for over 40 years — he has always loved the Lakers and basketball, and he will bring championships back to LA”

After two stints as Disney boss, Iger exited the CEO seat in March. He rejoined Thrive as an adviser in April, setting the court for today’s big news. And it has been a true whirlwind for the multi-championship-winning Lakers the past year — and we’re not just talking about LeBron James leaving and joining the 76ers.  

Los Angeles Lakers players Jake LaRavia, left, and Luka Doncic during a game against the Memphis Grizzlies in October 2025

Angel City FC stakeholder Iger and Kushner, the once-FIFA-touted financial player (and Donald Trump family member by marriage), take a controlling interest in the one-time home of Magic, Shaq and Kobe from Mark Walter just over a year after the Guggenheim Partners CEO bought the Lakers from the Buss family for $10 billion.

Not that this is Iger’s first rodeo, so to speak.

Back in 2024, Iger and superstar spouse Willow Bay snared a controlling interest in L.A.’s Angel City FC for $250 million. At the time that was the richest valuation on any women’s sports team ever. Even though Disney under Iger was the first big media outlet to bend the knee to Trump in a $16 million settlement of a lawsuit against ABC News that was widely regarded as weak, Angel City has been a loud and strong advocate for immigrants rights amidst ICE abductions and more in L.A.

From left: Angel City FC technical director Mark Wilson, assistant GM Matt Wade, co-founders Julie Uhrman and Natalie Portman and majority owners Willow Bay and Bob Iger after a March 2025 game in Los Angeles

Disney-owned ESPN first broke the news of the Lakers’ new owners.

The upcoming NBA season, with Iger expected to be front and center in DTLA, starts on October 20 with a tripleheader of the Boston Celtics vs the powerful Detroit Pistons, followed by defending champs the New York Knicks up against the 76ers (with LeBron’s debut for the Philly team) and the San Antonio Spurs battling the Oklahoma City Thunder. In a season that sees games on NBC/Peacock, Amazon Prime Video and ESPN, the openers will be on the Comcast-owned outlets. ABC and ESPN still hold the exclusive rights to the NBA Finals, so there’s a good chance Iger will be back at Disney in a form or fashion after all.

Because that’s how you do it in the NBA.