Hed get a chuckle out of it, and a lot of satisfaction. He was in the entertainment business. After we won our first championship in 1980, we hugged, and said, Can you believe this? So I immersed myself into the college game and wanted to be that for my dad, so we wouldnt take up a lot of cap space, but we could still get valuable role players. It's always been about putting it back into the team.. He was always sitting behind the bench during games and was such a basketball junkie, he just loved being around. That would be amazing to me. You have a right to express yourself. He took a drag of his cigarette, and he said, But when you say management thats me. And he didnt say anything after that. Dr. Buss was one of those guys. When Dr. Jerry Buss purchased the Lakers back in 1979, he turned a perennial second-place franchise into a pillar of excellence. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Dennis Schroder leads depleted Lakers to crucial win over Thunder, LeBron-less Lakers cant keep pace with Ja Morant, Grizzlies, LeBron James to miss Lakers game Tuesday and possibly more, We keep progressing: Lakers takeaways after beating Dallas, Before and after photos from space show storms effect on California reservoirs, Dramatic before and after photos from space show epic snow blanketing SoCal mountains, The chance of a lifetime: Five friends ski the tallest mountain in Los Angeles, Best coffee city in the world? He was there to support us. It was a nice event, because hed ask every player and every coach to say a few words, and it was a nice atmosphere. I was thankful he gave me an opportunity to get involved, and more importantly, get involved with someone like him where I learned a lot. You can. Dr. Buss, many nights after the games where hed come down to the locker room after everybody cleared out. It wasnt even close. He was the first one who recommended Angels and Demons, before it became a really big hit. Dr. Buss, its because the lights are so high up in the ceiling, and in order to make the court bright enough for broadcast, its really bright. He says, I understand, but can you keep an eye on that? So in 2004, the NBA came in with the All-Star game, and they brought in rigging with lights to create that sort of Broadway musical focus on the court. It began when Dr. Buss purchased his dream. Theyd grab a card, and hed ask them what their stats were that year. Therefore, viewers must be curious to find out whether Buss sons ended up working with the LA Lakers. Under the ownership of the Buss family, the franchise won 10 championships with Jerry leading the pack and one with his daughter, Jeanie Buss. Although he stepped away from active involvement in the Lakers operations in 2017, Johnny seemingly remains a part-owner in the franchise. Buss also owned other professional sports franchises in Southern California. It will feature "exclusive access to the Buss family and probing, revealing interview with players, coach and front office execs.". I dont wear designer clothes. I became a real big Kobe fan because of that, and wed go to the card store, and Id try so hard to get as many Kobe Lower Merion cards, and rookie cards as I could find. We were playing for not just ourselves but everybody. Theyll like this! In 1999-2000, we got to the Western Finals against Portland, which was absolutely exciting. Thats something I still talk about and brag about to my sons. After a family feud, Jim resigned from the Buss Family Trusts and the Board of directors but is still seemingly a part-owner of the franchise. He had it all memorized in his head. With me, he was always classy. In other words, how offensive could it be? When I took over, he and I chatted about getting the girls out in the community because the players werent always able to. Because every family member of the Buss family Ive ever met knows how to treat people. He showed that you dont really have to lock yourself down in one area as a person. Kind of re-thinking the economics of ticket sales. He always treated me very well. He taught us that we should do our best to be happy, and do things that make us happy; whether or not that was basketball was up to us. Thats what he basically said. We had a bunch of ideal guys Kareem Abdul Jabbar and James Worthy next to Earvin. We wanted to change that, and one way was to have entertainment all the way through the game, he said. He was my mentor. We made it a mission to play them again in 1985, to prove to ourselves and the world that we could beat them. I thought he was really sincere about the things that he always said, so thats what I appreciated the most about him. It was a really intimate moment. with JoAnn Buss Janie Buss born 1963, age 59 (approx.) In 1985, before we left (L.A. after Game 5), I told the dudes only take one set of clothes. And he got it right every single time. Source: Los Angeles Times, Lakers expected to remain a Buss family-owned team, Mike Bresnahan, Feb. 19, 2013. He is the greatest team owner ever. And Jerry West pulled off the biggest free agent signing there ever was when he brought Shaquille ONeal in 1996. Dr. Buss was the first celebrity owner in all of sports. academy of western music; mucinex loss of taste and smell; william fuld ouija board worth. Just so, so cool. The stake could legally be sold off entirely, but given the familys devotion to the team, the Lakers are sure to stay with them. From my standpoint, when I got in, Magic had been in the league for a few years and they were really close. How he figured out our monetary system, the Coast Guard, customs, the first inspector general of the Army ridiculous. Id say, I call it the smorgasbord defense a little bit of everything.. During his induction into the NBA Hall of Fame in 2010, Magic Johnson called Jerry a master at building a team.. He really was. 1 overall pick in the 1979 NBA Draft. It doesnt mean you can always win every year, but you have to give them something that theyre proud of and that they can connect to. The purchase price, $67.5 million, made it the largest transaction in sports history at that time. Gerald Hatten "Jerry" Buss (January 27, 1933 February 18, 2013) was an American businessman, real estate investor, and chemist. People that worked in the Forum, his gardeners, people who worked in the parking lot just everyday people. These were special parts of the relationships between our teammates and management and everything. Smiled and laughed, drank champagne and went to the White House. So in 1987, we win the championship, and I win Defensive Player of the Year. It was just a conversation (Dr. Buss) and I had. Then-NBA commissioner David Stern called Jerry a visionary owner whose influence on our league is incalculable and will be felt for decades to come.. Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss, who presided over a team that won 10 NBA titles and showcased some of the biggest names in professional basketball, died Monday. When asked if selling his shares was part of his aim, Johnny said, Absolutely.. Worthy, Riley, Magic, Cooper, and Buss Celebrate the 1987 Title. While still very much involved with the Lakers, Dr. Buss continued to rely on Mitch Kupchak, Phil Jackson, Jim Buss, Jeanie Buss and Magic Johnson as the Lakers built back up from the Kobe-Shaq years into the Kobe-Pau Gasol-Lamar Odom years. So he went to Jerry West, and said, weve got to get somebody to come and get us back to winning. I read a biography on Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow, and really got into collecting early gold coins, so I focused on it, and it was interesting talking to Dr. Buss about his collecting. All the other times, wed go to Las Vegas. Theyd fax over every scenario they had for Shaq trades. It is. Rattling off 10 championships before his passing in 2013. Her father, Jerry Buss, had died in February 2013 at age 80, . Every time wed meet, itd be at an Italian restaurant. It was a great relationship for a number of years. And then when I came down to Miami, it was a whole new world for me down here. Then he was doing Italy for the whole summer. But lo and behold, we had won again, in dramatic fashion, and I remember the look in Dr. Busss eye, like, We made the right decision.. He had a lot to prove: a lot of people looked at him, because he didnt wear a suit and tie, he came in as a different owner. But then right away, the Lakers started winning championships, and Showtime was coined, and little did I know that Id get a chance to join them years later. I expect too much from the players, and the way I interact with players is terrible, its not who I am and I dont want to do it. I never had a relationship like this, and nor did he. Id just moved up to live with him in Playa Vista in 2006, and late one night after a game he was drinking wine. Id have at least expected a phone call or something. I didnt realize this was a thing, where you get handed this trophy from the commissioner and do a speech. Copyright 2023 Sporting News Holdings Limited. But do note that it is not possible to be certain of a person's genealogy without a family's cooperation (and/or DNA testing). He was not nearly as animated in the other championships as he was in that one, for obvious reasons. Wed talk about business. The money that everybody is making today he was the first one that saw outside that box, and he really moved the NBA to a whole other level by his out of the box thinking. We had growth within our own team, like Andrew Bynum, to go with Kobe and Lamar. But Wrigley was also the name of the family who owned the team, and also the name of their chewing gum, Wrigleys Spearmint Gum. The Lakers were the crown jewel. There was a lot of worry on the part of Jerry West. Thats how he was. "My dream really was to have the Lakers and Los Angeles identified as one and the same," Buss said in a 2010 interview with ESPNLosAngeles.com. But how can I contribute? Everybodys been calling, but this is the call Ive been waiting on. When they were taking a break, let the women have center stage. He had a brilliant mind, and he made a fortune in real estate because he was able to see the opportunity and bring everything together, and thats how he built his wealth. I knew he and Magic were really close. I love it. He was very appreciative, very happy. and Janie. (Eventually) I became his eyes and ears about college players. He was a master at dealing with people, a genius businessman, and really just as good with people as he was with business. And that resonated all the way back to Los Angeles. You saw his mannerisms go with every little gyration that was going on. Laker Girls. And Kobe was going to be one of them, we thought. His best finishes included third in the 1991 World Series of Poker seven-card stud event and second place in the 2003 World Poker Tour Freeroll invitational. Once that game got going, he was into it. That was a big thing for both of us. I get up, I go there at 10 a.m. to his office (at the Forum) and they tell me I have to wait, Dr. Buss is in a meeting with Jerry West. Between 2006 and 2011, Id see him when I was coaching, and wed reflect on memories. Then he won another five championships. And little did we know wed be teammates months later extremely serendipitous. We were holding the trophy, and there was a writer, Steve Springer with the L.A. Times, who came into the hallway when we were walking off the floor with my dad, and (Springer) asked what did it feel like to win your first championship since 1988? I think theres a lot of money in it. That's why, when I created this new uniform, I wanted people to see that. But we were able to do it together. Dr. Buss shared it with us in great style. He was the first to see this league as the entertainment value that it is. Its not just another team in the league. What people dont realize is that Phil (Jackson) and them called me when we were about to lose Lamar Odom, and said, youre the only one (Dr. Buss) will listen to. He was like a rebel, but in a good sense. I dont think theres any thrill in it. And he really wanted me to listen. He made good observations about the game, and personnel and so forth. It was a father/son environment. We were down, and it was that same old thing. I think his success led him to the heights where people, fans loved him, and they were like him. 5 stars - Nights after the game, hed tease me, because wed go to have dinner at Dan Tanas or somewhere like that, and Id say, I have to go home, we have practice in the morning. And hed say, Thats why I love you. Jerry played an important role as owner of the Lakers, ensuring that basketball become more than a sport, but also a spectacle. He had to liquidate everything, practically, to get it. Today, you cant. Buss became an owner in World Team Tennis, the Los Angeles Strings. At the end of the day, it was almost like a perfect puzzle. Thats when I learned, in my life, you can tell a lot about someone with how they treat someone else that can do nothing for them. The Buss family owns . There were eight or nine different price codes, and each one had so many thousands of seats, not counting the floor seats. HRH King Charles III. So, it was interesting timing how we both ran into each other in Barcelona during a family trip from him, and he came to the gym I used to work out at in a hotel in Barcelona. We were out there on family vacation, and (Dr. Buss) was in Italy, and he hopped a plane to come sit with me. with Karen Demel Incredible. After the 2008 debacle, being able to redeem yourself in 2010, that made it extra special. Betty and I were friends from 6th grade and we always had a lot of laughs together. Buss also owned other professional sports franchises in Southern California. I first met him at Muhammad Alis retirement party at the Forum. And I know when it was all done, Dr. Buss was just very proud. We won that as a group. Dr. Buss was incredibly intuitive and in touch with the fans from a business standpoint. In 1996-97, after I came back to the Lakers for Kobes rookie year, we didnt see Dr. Buss quite as much. She is also survived by many nieces and nephews. 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