Mark Walter will likely go down in NBA history as one of the shortest runs as an NBA owner. But almost any businessman would jump at the opportunity to get a $2 billion profit on anything they recently bought.
That's exactly what Walter just did. This morning it was announced that the Lakers majority owner is selling his stake in the team to an ownership group led by Bob Iger and Josh Kushner for $12 billion - the most every paid for an American sports franchise.
Walter's sale of the team comes just over a year after he acquired the Lakers at a $10 billion valuation. His tenure as owner ends after just one season in charge.
“Owning the Los Angeles Lakers has been one of the great honors of my life - an extraordinary investment, but what I will carry with me is the community, the fans, and a city that treats this team as family. I am grateful to Jeanie Buss, the Buss family, the players, and the staff for welcoming me into this chapter. The Lakers belong to Los Angeles, and I have every confidence the best is still ahead," Walter said in a statement, via ESPN's Ramona Shelburne.
The Ultimate Flip
NBA fans weren't impressed by Walter's statement though, with many fans remarking that he doesn't get the right to talk about what a great time he had as Lakers owner after only one year in charge.
"You can’t make a statement like this after owning the team for ONE year," one user remarked.
"This is like Britney Spears's thanking that guy she married for two days," wrote another.
"You weren’t even here that long," a third wrote.
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Even so, many fans also couldn't help but respect the ability to make a $2 billion profit in just one year:
"Mark Walter made 2 billion for owning the Lakers for less than a year," one user admitted.
"$2.5B in one year for funnsies is the dream 😩 making money becomes easy once you already have enough."
The Mark Walter era is now over, albeit sooner than expected.
