In 1978, they moved to the Forum from the Sports Arena, and my dad was a big sports fan, so hed go to Laker games. The most innovative with Showtime and all the business connections he was way ahead of his time, more than any owner in history. It was a remarkable experience that Ill remember forever. He noticed for a few years that the owner, Jack Kent Cooke, was not attending Laker games. They didnt sell the naming rights, they (used their name). I remember being in the Finals against Philadelphia, and we were at the hotel bar of the team hotel. We drafted Ronny, were ready to sign him, but first we sent him in for a physical exam. But thats how I got to know him and the Buss family. Between 2006 and 2011, Id see him when I was coaching, and wed reflect on memories. He didnt walk around with a big hammer. But Buss was wise to plan early for the team and make his wishes specific and legally binding. dropping just one game throughout. We had a bunch of guys who were great guys that all knew their roles, and they werent out seeking attention for themselves. And they said, Now the Dallas Mavericks come up. They said, Word is that the Lakers may trade James Worthy to Dallas for Roy Tarpley, a couple other players and a draft pick. Before that we had the (NBA) Draft, and we traded Vlade Divac, and we got back a player that frankly I thought was the best player in the Draft (Kobe Bryant). And I was really just flabbergasted. It wasnt like I was negotiating for a contract, or I was currently playing, or he was looking for any ideas about other players. After moving to Wyoming, Jim was later appointed as the Head of Basketball Operations but was removed in 2017 by Jeanie. I saw how he would be able to rebuild a team quickly to get back to contender status. It was amazing how he had it all down. Just so, so cool. Jerry was a sharp and intelligent boy from an early age who attended the University of Wyoming with a scholarship. won 3-0 against Denver, 4-1 against Golden State and 4-0 against Seattle. Buss married JoAnn Mueller and had four children; Johnny Buss in 1957, Jim Buss in 1959, Jeanie Buss in 1961, and Janie Buss in 1964. championship, and Lisa Leslie made headlines as she became the first woman in In 1996-97, after I came back to the Lakers for Kobes rookie year, we didnt see Dr. Buss quite as much. After we lost to the Pistons*, we had an organization type of dinner, with all the players and the media in a banquet room. She was only 17 when her father bought the team, and she held various managerial roles over the years, with the team winning the title in 2020. There wasnt a lot of sour grapes between players and Dr. Buss. Buss got married to Joann Mueller, but their marriage didn't last long. Michael Cooper and James Worthy getting back on defense, West introduces Shaq as a Los Angeles Laker, Joey Buss celebrates with his father after the Lakers' Championship in 2002. During the tournament, he became the third-best finish. After all the experiences Ive had in pro sports, Ive never had a better owner. In the process of that, we worked Kobe out one day against two guys who were supposedly going to be drafted higher than him, and it was ridiculous. Despite his extracurricular work commitments, Jerry never took championships in 1980, led by the established center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and of a golden era for Los Angeles sports, and Busss public profile rose with the There was another interesting time back home in North Carolina when I was watching the draft on TV, and nobody had been talking about me being traded, and I hadnt heard any rumors or anything. I never had a relationship like this, and nor did he. We would see each other during the summer, and I remember playing against the Lakers in those preseason games in Las Vegas, and he was always kind and always made sure he came to say hi. Then he started to go to Italy for a month. Hed say, Jeanie, the Lakers are what connects the community, and when theyre not winning, then were not being part of the community. Its almost like the Lakers are owned by the fans. He was an incredibly brilliant person, but he had great heart and caring for the people around him. After his academics, Jerry began working as a chemist for the Bureau of Mines then at the aerospace industry on the faculty of USCs chemistry department. Pat and I were really good friends, and he was trying to work his way back into basketball, involved with Chick on the radio. Not just the owner-player, employer-employee relationship. It wasnt out of fear, it was out of respect, that players wanted to play hard for him. He really maximized his time and was very efficient with his time, and he knew later on that he didnt have much time left. widespread reactions from the sports world and beyond. It is believed to be correct at the . It is believed to be correct at the time of inputting and is presented here in good faith. So I played in San Antonio for about 4.5 months and had no idea the Lakers were interested in me. When the deal was complete that Dr. Buss bought the Lakers, we had lunch, and we hung out for the whole weekend. The couple has four children together two elder sons, Johnny Buss (born in 1956), James "Jim" Buss (born in 1959), and two younger daughters in Jeanie Buss (born in 1961) and Janie Buss (born in 1963). I remember being bummed with all my friends that we werent going to be able to see Magic Is Back, as it was being marketed at the time. So when you talk about him not being a person who would yell or be a tyrant or throw things to motivate, he was a teacher, and he knew how to motivate people. Unless you were John Wooden, you couldnt win every year, so he had some realistic expectations about some things that could happen even to dynastic teams. The Dwarfs were regular fixtures in and among the Showtime Lakers throughout the 1980s and 1990s, and until Jerrys passing in 2013. My family is from the islands, so the West Indies part of his background resonated with me also. We didnt plan to meet, but after work one time, I stopped at Dan Tanas by myself. He was thinking of Kobe. was another memorable one, as the team clinched their second successive He was waiting on some people to come, so we just sat there, and it was right after retirement, and he talked about how appreciative he was of me being a Laker and the three championships. Leadership starts from the top, and he was one of these guys who commanded respect. From then on, I was at his house every weekend during the season, it seemed like. It was a great relationship for a number of years. And I would come back in town, and we would see each other. Have you ever seen anybody win the lottery? Donald asks the courts to let him tweet. Given that the Winning Time season finale takes place in 1980, only Johnny and Jim appear in the episode. Really low key and very friendly. 13,000-acre Sierra Nevada ranch in a deal worth $67.5 million. dollars a day. an NBA game. Boris Johnson. After she united with them, Lee's birth family and the Buss family became very close. Buss was an American What made him so special is he was this analytical, mathematical genius who had business savvy and sense, and the right negotiating sense, because he could apply the human factor to it. Lydus Buss{ "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "name": "Lydus Buss", "gender": "Male" }, Jessie Buss{ "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "name": "Jessie Buss", "gender": "Female" }, relationship resumed before 1975 until before 1990, Johnny Buss{ "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "name": "Johnny Buss", "gender": "Male" }, born 1956, age 66 (approx.) I just felt like with the passing of Dr. Buss, they need to understand what it means to wear this uniform. My contract is up, wed just beaten the Celtics in Boston, everybody was happy. You can be super successful and win at the highest level while being a great father and family man, and also still have a social life. Dr. Buss was my boss in a completely different way from what happened later. This was the start of a lifetime of Rockets, LeBron James surpasses 38,000 career points in Lakers loss to 76ers, Lakers stay optimistic as Anthony Davis and other injured players work toward return, Want to solve climate change? Joey owns 11% of the Lakers, the same as his brothers and sisters,. Jeanie Buss, who worked in numerous roles for her father over the years, has taken the most prominent role of all Jerrys children. He was always right. Not just in the Lakers and what theyd become but he had a plan. Everybody was like, who is this dude? Hey Pat, come on down and lets have a talk. The next thing I know, theres a number in front of me with more money than I could ever dream of making in my life. It was the first time we actually felt a part of something. The Western playoffs were predictable, and we won pretty easily*. US based Meghan and Harry.. FameChain has their amazing trees. Magic was like his third son after Jimmy and Johnny before Jesse and Joey were born. That helped save this league. He liked to challenge us. Not making quick decisions, rushing into things. Nevada. You werent just a spreadsheet to him. When Jerry Buss died in February 2013, the legendary Lakers owner left his six children each with an equal vote in charge of a family trust, with a 66% ownership stake in the team. We would usually start watching NBA League Pass at 4 p.m., when the Eastern games would come on, but he didnt really know as much about the draft. But inside it was the 4th of July, with fireworks. "Everybody that we asked to participate agreed to be interviewed, and . Meghan Markle. He was a wheeler and dealer. an angel. Who Is Jerry Buss Mom & Dad? [18], On May 29, 2007, Buss was issued a citation for driving under the influence after two California Highway Patrol officers saw him driving his gold Mercedes-Benz on the wrong side of the road in the coastal community of Carlsbad in northern San Diego County, with a 23-year-old woman passenger. When we made the decision to move to Staples Center, we had to price the building. After the test, he was found intoxicated with a blood-alcohol level of over 0.08 percentage and was taken into custody. It was a conversation that only he and I knew about. later rounds. My dad could see talent, and he knew how to approach and get the best out of each person. fm m rult f wrkng wth, Read More Ryan Haywood: Early Life, Sexual Misconduct & Net WorthContinue, The secret to modeling is not beauty; what one needs is a face people can recognize in a second. I was a rookie. His father, Lydus, was an accountant who went on to teach statistics at Berkeley. The Lazers also played in The Forum. He truly cared about how we were doing, how our families were doing. colleagues also commented on Busss personality and generosity in their He was one of a kind, man. He did everything in his head. The trade was difficult for me, obviously at that moment. Magics family is like this, and here we are winning all these games. died in 2013. He wanted everybody to be together, and he was right in the middle of us. closed in 1978 (although it has returned since), and Jerry Buss would make Pat learned his job on the fly. We cant let him go. And he said, I know Earvin. There were eight or nine different price codes, and each one had so many thousands of seats, not counting the floor seats. Donald Trump. Theyll like this! After Jerrys death, Jeanie became the president of the Lakers. There was prime real estate, and it was about location, location, location. I do remember when Lamar (Odom) was a free agent, and Im not sure what our financial situation was at the time, but it was a rough negotiation, because wed just won the 2009 championship. However, that changes in the season finale as Buss wishes to bring more family members into the new family business. [1] When he was nine years old, he moved with his mother to Los Angeles; they moved to Kemmerer, Wyoming, three years later when she remarried. In the mid to late 1970s, Dr. Buss owned the Los Angeles Strings of World Team Tennis. And so, I had to trust him. When I took over, he and I chatted about getting the girls out in the community because the players werent always able to. to happen to the LA Kings for decades happened shortly after Buss sold the Daniel's 5th outing as Bond gets bums back on seats in the cinema. I was a dominant player in Games 2 through 6, and we got over the hump finally. And quite frankly, I cant remember a time where he made a bad decision. Dr. Buss also provided resources for scholarships at Wyoming and USC, and endowed the Magic Johnson Scholarship at Michigan State University. And that resonated all the way back to Los Angeles. high school, Jerry had secured a job in a local hotel, where he would make two If everyone took as much care and time to plan for the end of their lives, there would likely be much less fighting among family members when it came time to administer their estates. *L.A. won 3-0 against Denver, 4-1 against Golden State and 4-0 against Seattle. We wouldnt have to spend the midlevel exception; we could try to find midlevel value guys for a fraction of the price. mark on the world. February 18, 2013, aged 80. He put his imprint on the league fast, and then we win the championship too? RIP Jerry Buss the greatest owner in the history of American sport. And little did we know wed be teammates months later extremely serendipitous. We were down, and it was that same old thing. Buss achieved M.S. Jerry West Lakers General Manager (1982-2002), 6X Champion Lakers Guard (1960-74) NBA Champion, Finals MVP, 14X All-Star, Hall of Fame When he bought the team, it was more like a dream come true. Jeanie Buss, 55, is in her fourth season as Lakers president, her 18th season overall with the organization. Very happy.*L.A. Dont worry about it, kid. We took a little bit longer to know each other, but he was great for me and for my family. She began working for The Times as a contributor to the digital sports report, with a focus on USC football, and left in 2018. Jessie Buss was married to Lydus Buss and the couple had Jerry together in 1933 while living in Salt Lake City, Utah. We reached our natural peak as a team in 87, 88 and 89. explained this lack of acceptance made him a very compassionate person. This With me, he was always classy. He left the organization in good hands Jeanie is a great owner, too. As a professional poker player, Jerry Buss received a lot of recognition in 1991, when he came third in the World Series of Poker event, and when he won a second place in the World Poker Tour Freeroll . He was one of the first people to do it, and now its commonplace. After we won our first championship in 1980, we hugged, and said, Can you believe this? with JoAnn Buss{ "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "name": "JoAnn Buss", "gender": "Female" }, Jim Buss{ "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "name": "Jim Buss", "gender": "Male" }, born 1959, age 63 (approx.) He not only was an avid reader, he knew some of the great authors, as well. With Dr. Buss in particular, I had surgery on my left wrist after my rookie year. New Jersey was going to draft him at seven, which they did not. Eventually, all three teams moved into a more modern arena in downtown Los Angeles, the Staples Center, which opened in 1999. is incalculable and will be felt for decades to come.. His vision inspired us and gave us the OK to be, sometimes, and thats pretty cool. The 11 years that I was coaching as an assistant and head coach, that team went to the NBA Finals eight or nine times and we won five championships, probably should have won two more. After Jerry Buss death, Jim continued as the VP of Basketball Operations while his sister, Jeanie, looked after the business side of things as the team governor and president. Dr. Buss paid out of his own pocket for a million-dollar surgery to save the kids life, not knowing if hed ever play basketball. 3 reviews. Later in 1999, all three teams of Buss moved into a modern arena as the Staples Center. When he bought the team, it was more like a dream come true he told me he always wanted to own the Lakers. In a 1998 interview, she Jeanie Buss Family. All six of his children worked. to attend the University of Wyoming, graduating two and half years later with a You can. His father, Lydus, I do remember after we won that year, on the night of Game 7, and looking in Dr. Busss eyes as he was being presented the trophy. All relationship and family history information shown on FameChain has been compiled from data in the public domain. I would watch him ask them how their grandchildren were, if they graduated knowing people by name. His ex-wife owns a portion of the team but does not have the ability to vote on a sale. Furthermore, this poker player also appeared in the GSN series High Stakes Poker and the NBC late-night series Poker After Dark. When you hire someone and they meet your qualifications, let them do their job, and go from there. [10] Buss later sold his controlling interest in the Kings to Bruce McNall in 1988 (who made headlines that year by trading for Wayne Gretzky from the Edmonton Oilers), retaining ownership of the Lakers and The Forum. 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? We talked about where he was at in his life the Lakers we covered everything. With his franchise point guard at the helm, Dr. Buss saw to the creation of Showtime, an all-time great sports dynasty that saw the Lakers go to the NBA Finals nine times in 12 years, amassing five championships with their owner front and center. Thats something I still talk about and brag about to my sons. In his spare time, Sanjib enjoys staying up to date on the latest celebrity news and attending red-carpet events. He was a very well-rounded person. What Are the Odds Of You Regretting Your Next Tattoo? He was previously married to JoAnn Mueller. Whos your favorite band? We owned a box at the Forum as a family, so we went to a lot of events, and it was the beginning of him seeing an opportunity and pursuing it with a passion that when you own these kinds of teams, you feel, as an owner, that the team is going to somebody who cares about it as much as you do. The Great Western Forum is a Los Angeles indoor arena that used to host many games for the Buss family's teams. Throughout my tenure away from the team, Id send him a note every time they won a championship. Buss purchased the team, reported to be worth around $1 billion, in 1979. Get all the Lakers news you need in Dan Woike's weekly newsletter. The 2013 World Series of Poker held The $2,500 Seven Card Stud tournament in his memory and drew 246 entrants. It was estimated his Jerry Buss has six children. Jeanie was only 19 when she became the general manager of the Los Angeles Strings, a tennis team owned by Jerry. And then 25 years later, to be able to celebrate at a different stage in my life with him again (2010). Heres a look at each of their positions: Johnny Buss, 60, serves as the Lakers executive vice president of corporate development. For that, he also had to sell the Great Western Forum. Theyd fax over every scenario they had for Shaq trades. We actually ended up making an offer, and then taking the offer off the table, because it still was not acceptable. When I wanted to get into the theatre business, he was the one who connected me with everybody. It had just come out, and somehow he got his hands on it, and wanted to know my thoughts on it, especially because he knew I was Italian and I was raised Roman Catholic. 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. In 1985, before we left (L.A. after Game 5), I told the dudes only take one set of clothes. Youd pick up three of them, and it was the same trade tweaked multiple times. Dr. Buss was there, and Earvins family was there, and it was just very special. I was a young player in Portland, and I knew about Jack Kent Cooke and what his reputation was, but we all heard about this man named Dr. Buss buying the Lakers, Kings and the Forum, and some real estate properties for what was an exorbitant amount of money at the time. One time, we shook everybody up. And when we were all kids and we were together growing up, wed always watch the games. They traded their starting center for a guard. And he loved Italian food. At the time, we were marveling at how much a Michael Jordan rookie card was in the early 1990s. In 1999-2000, we got to the Western Finals against Portland, which was absolutely exciting. Whatever Lamar got paid was worth it. She became the first carried their regular season form into the playoffs, winning the WNBA title and Jeanie, Dr. Buss and I spent a lot of time talking about price sensitivity. The Lakers have been our lives as well and we will honor his wish and do everything in our power to continue his unparalleled legacy," the statement concluded. Buss started working for his stepdads plumbing company while still in school. All these companies want to do business with the Lakers? lost his life seven years after Buss. You look at them like father figures. My relationship with him, I think, became so close as Id try to explain to him how important each position was and what you would expect from those different positions, and how theyd fit. Almost never, to my knowledge, I dont remember ever seeing him with a pen or a pad in front of him. In order to purchase the team, Jerry had a team of lawyers and accountants and ultimately exchanged the Chrysler building in NYC Credit: Getty - Contributor. Jesse Buss, 29, is in his second season as the Lakers assistant general manager and director of scouting, which he oversees for the both the Lakers and the D-Fenders. One story showed how appreciative he was for the work that he did, and for playing hard for the city of Los Angeles. In the summer of 1986, I had no idea that I was about to be traded to San Antonio. People thought it meant you had to have a superstar, but it really wasnt about that, it was about the winning, and then people would see the superstars because we were winning. Jerry Buss's age was 80 years old at the time of his death. And thats what Dr. Buss wanted, to create a place where it could be magical, almost like Disneyland. 1961) and Janie (b. Buss was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, on January 27, 1933, at the height of Remarkably, the Lakers made the Finals in nearly half the seasons he was in charge (16). Dr. Buss was there with us. It was a father/son environment. It really became overwhelming to see just how much he put into seeing every single little detail of that trade. This inductee. But I hadnt seen him yet. Right after I was drafted by the Lakers in 1982, Jerry West wanted me to come out and have a physical, and meet everyone including Dr. Buss. She said, So as February approached, and the trade deadline, I was worried that my brother was going to make trades that would put us further down and take even longer to recover from, so I had to swiftly make a decision., A post shared by Jeanie Buss (@jeaniebuss). They watched the game and came out cheering and smiling, and I asked whats happening, and he said, Were getting ice cream! I was excited to have the ice cream thats probably when becoming a Lakers fan began for me. I remember the first time we did it, during my second season, he told me, Hey man I really like your game, I like the way you play, I want you to go back and play confident and I want you to know that Im the boss, and I like you. Professor Uju Anya analyzes race, gender, sexual orientation, and social class identities in the context of learning a new language via the experiences of African American students. My last year when I retired (2004-05), I remember being a free agent, and one call from him made my decision easier when he told me, You started with the Lakers, you have to retire with the Lakers. That was my decision, trusting that guy, and man, it was a pleasure to play with him. A new 10-part docuseries on the family titled Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers details the family's rich history and how Jerry came to own the team. Thats the kind of guy you want to partner with. I thought, Wow, this is awesome. Dr. Buss never sat and waited a month or two. Apart from the Lakers, Jeanie also co-owns Women of Wrestling. In 2002, when the WNBA was restructured to give its teams individual owners, Buss took ownership of the Sparks. At the end of the conversation he pushed that over, and he said, What I want to do Pat, is to take care of you and to be fair with you. So he pushed the number towards me, and I turned it over and I said, Thats more than fair, Dr. Buss. Shook his hand, and we had a deal on a new 3-year contract. Magic being Mr. Inquisitive, he wanted to know about the business aspect of basketball and life in general. the family in minority ownership. It was about how thankful he was to me for helping to enhance his brand. He was an actor, known for Law of the Lawless (1964), Arli$$ (1996) and High Stakes Poker (2006). Dr. Buss had the trifecta of human values, as far as Im concerned, which is honesty, kindness and loyalty, and I think that was most exemplified in the Ronny Turiaf situation. At the end of the day, it was almost like a perfect puzzle. Thats not to say it was People that worked in the Forum, his gardeners, people who worked in the parking lot just everyday people. Id say, I call it the smorgasbord defense a little bit of everything.. Well, at that time, Jack Kent Cooke was going through a divorce, and he moved to Nevada to establish residency in order to process his divorce as a citizen of Nevada, which had different settlement laws. The Buss family still The Laker tradition of bringing the biggest players to LA has continued, too, most notably with Lebron James who has taken home a salary of around $40 million per year with the Lakers since joining in 2018. It wasnt even in my mind. Such a meaningful and historical figure to all of us that who love this game and this League. So my dad went there and repeatedly met with Cooke, and convinced him with his passion that the Lakers needed somebody to be there, to be present, to take ownership. And I offered Vlade Divac to everyone, a starting center. There was purity to that. Besides being a sports team owner, he was also an American businessman, chemist, real estate investor, poker player, and philanthropist. He owns The Ice House, a comedy club in Pasadena, California, and has also shown interest in politics. Pat Riley, myself, Dr. Buss and one of his friends. Darrell C. Harriman Law This franchise and that franchise, and we got em. We had some tumultuous losses. It was really a great celebration of life for him, and I was so proud of that. Dr. Buss knew his team needed more wins than losses, but he also knew they needed to entertain. It was very personal with him. [28] Lakers guard Kobe Bryant said "His impact is felt worldwide," and called Buss the greatest owner in sports ever.[29]. I thought he was kidding. out of college was working as a chemist for the Bureau of Mines. This isnt to say he was Funeral and memorial service arrangements are pending. Jeanie is now in a relationship with actor and comedian Jay Mohr and lives in Los Angeles, California. science. Innovative in numerous areas, Dr. Buss made break throughs in advertising (like a major agreement with Great Western Bank in 1988), served served two terms as President of the NBA Board of Governors and helped launch Prime Ticket Network (now FS West/Prime Ticket) in 1985. Pat learned his job on the latest celebrity news and attending red-carpet events know about business. The players werent always able to rookie year in my life with him again ( 2010 ) had so thousands. Good faith a you Can mid to late 1970s, Dr. Buss never sat and a. Between 2006 and 2011, Id see him when I took over, and... Their amazing trees to wear this uniform who connected me with everybody not the. Ronny, were ready to sign him, and then taking the offer off the table, because still. Still talk about and brag about to be worth around $ 1 billion, in 1979 authors as! 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