I think he knew, with me being 20 and alone all the way from Michigan, he became a father figure to me. On the other hand, Jim, her brother, once headed the organizations basketball division as the vice president of basketball operations. His vision really helped make these moments possible. I got a call from Tim Harris on the morning that Dr. Buss passed away. Dr. Buss is walking around, hes in the (various) rooms, hes hanging out, talking to people, shaking hands. The team folded in 1989 and the league folded three years later. The Forum Club theres never been a hotter night club within a building. [4] Buss started as a chemist for the Bureau of Mines (now the Mine Safety and Health Administration);[5] he then briefly worked in the aerospace industry and was on the faculty of USC's chemistry department. He was not nearly as animated in the other championships as he was in that one, for obvious reasons. Buss credited Jackson with helping her see the team as individual people and players on and off the court, instead of just seeing them as a unit. Smiled and laughed, drank champagne and went to the White House. So, Dr. Buss was one of the coolest owners Ive been around. Ex-Lakers player Michael With Dr. Buss, Im sure he would have loved for the two of them and the team to be able to coexist a little longer and maybe get another title or two, but he let it play out. Very happy.*L.A. Dr. Buss had a way of communicating with everybody, whether you were 18 or 80, Dr. Buss could make you feel comfortable. We talked about where we came from, what our lives were like, and in a lot of respects we had some similarities in our lives. My first initial meeting I was kind of thrown back, because he didnt seem like an owner. Especially after I retired, we spent time together. And so, I had to trust him. I think Dr. Buss always had a plan in life. If we werent playing well, he would just show up at practice, unannounced, wouldnt say anything. Thiry has appeared on nationally televised sports broadcasts on Fox Sports 1. In this article, we look in-depth at Jeanie Buss' net worth and success and how she became a business mogul. I connected with him more through others, some of the people that were tight with him, who would always tell me that Dr. The Lakers were the crown jewel. He sold the team in 2006. He was doing it because it was truly his passion. [28] Lakers guard Kobe Bryant said "His impact is felt worldwide," and called Buss the greatest owner in sports ever.[29]. I thought their relationship was great. widespread reactions from the sports world and beyond. But in the middle of 2018, after a series of personal and professional blows, she wasnt finding much to laugh about. She accepted her history as she grew older and is now at peace with everything that transpired. (My decision to stay) was 100 percent Dr. Buss. It was weird timing, because Kobe was during that time also unhappy and there were stories of him potentially getting traded, or being able to move on from L.A., and then looking for a different situation. I couldnt believe it. Or to USC football games. He went from playing, to (working with) Chick, to assistant coach to a head coach in what, two and a half years? the family in minority ownership. Have you ever seen anybody win the lottery? an angel. It began when Dr. Buss purchased his dream. As a player, you have to put your trust in the organization and some organizations nowadays have so many different shareholders and board members and people that are making decisions by committee and all this crazy stuff. He was a great guy and someone who I really cared about a lot. Id been with the Blazers for eight years, and almost came to accept the fact that we couldnt beat the Lakers, with Magic and Kareem and Jamaal Wilkes, and then James Worthy and everybody comes in. Dr. Buss was incredibly intuitive and in touch with the fans from a business standpoint. He then returned to Los Angeles and attended the University of Sou Thats when we found out about his enlarged aortic root. Would I have been in this position if my dad didnt own the team? Me coming from a DIII school, Im one of the youngest, unknown guys, lowest on the totem pole. He was the majority owner of the Los Angeles Lakers professional basketball team in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning 10 league championships that were highlighted by the team's Showtime era during the 1980s. Shortly thereafter, we got Pau Gasol, and the rest is history. RIP Jerry Buss the greatest owner in the history of American sport. closed in 1978 (although it has returned since), and Jerry Buss would make And then when I came down to Miami, it was a whole new world for me down here. He was the majority owner of the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning 10 league championships that were highlighted by the team's Showtime era during the 1980s. He had his jeans on with his sports coat, big smile on his face, open collared shirt. Stanley Cups before he sold the team to Bruce McNall in 1988. Read our revised Privacy Policy and Copyright Notice. Since Joey and Jesse were little, wed go to the card shop and buy basketball cards, and (Dr. Buss) would love to quiz them on the players. find out. You have to look at me coming in as a rookie, with Hall of Famers like Phil Jackson, Kobe and Shaq, and the history of the Lakers. After the first time we lost to the Celtics in 2008, Dr. Buss and I talked and I said, Man I feel bad, we lost to the Celtics, I never want to bring that heartache to you and this organization ever again. He said, No, it sucks losing to them. I said, I promise to you well never lose to those (expletive) again. And then we wound up beating them two years later, and we thoroughly enjoyed that, by the way, after we beat them in Game 7. That was it. He really was in a lot of ways a mentor, in business, in life and in basketball. He married Christy Curtis, an L.A. Clipper Girl, in 1992, and the couple later divorced, TMZ reported. He had Hugh Hefner come with all the girls, and then I invited Michael Jackson. She recalled Jackson spending hours in the bookstore before the holidays picking out books specifically for each player. Its louder than officials claim, California population winners and losers: Why some counties boomed and others shrank, How Kevin McCarthys Bakersfield is reacting to Trumps indictment. And hed say, I want you to come to Vegas in a week. Everywhere we went, everybody would holler our names. His Its hard to go through this again., I guess, she added, you just dont get over it.. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. And he did. And he got it right every single time. Your email address will not be published. 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). Just sit and let the dust settle, and a decision will be evident to you. The Western playoffs were predictable, and we won pretty easily*. It was the start of the unraveling of their relationship. And we drafted a kid who we think is going to be phenomenal. I told him when I saw him in college at LSU: The day I saw you, I went and told our owner, Jerry Buss, he has to wear a Laker uniform one day. In the process of this thing, I said, Jerry, this is going to really be costly. We talked for about an hour and a half, two hours, and I decided to believe in him, and he believed in me. And thats what Dr. Buss did. 
Magic was way ahead of the game, and now Kobe Bryant and LeBron James and some of these guys have been (following in those footsteps) in business. Buss's 66% controlling ownership of the Lakers passed to his six children via a trust, with each child receiving an equal vote (11% for each child). If I was offended by the book, or what my feelings were. He would be sickened if he saw what was going on with my older brothers, she said. Despite his extracurricular work commitments, Jerry never took 
Dr. Buss used to come down to the locker room after every game, starting in the 1981-82 season. Jeanie and Jim Buss chat before the start of a news conference to introduce Dwight Howard as the Lakers new center on Aug. 10, 2012. After we won our first championship in 1980, we hugged, and said, Can you believe this? championships won back to back made 12 basketball championship wins in total Could you imagine sitting in the front row for every concert? has been some success, most notably the championship win in 2020. And I know when it was all done, Dr. Buss was just very proud. She revealed in an interview that she was very close to her adopted father and considered him her hero. get along. He would just sit there, empty desk, and Id go through the business with him and vary rarely would he say, Let me think about that and get back to you. It was almost always he had an opinion or a decision right then and there. with JoAnn Buss{ "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "name": "JoAnn Buss", "gender": "Female" }, Jeanie Buss{ "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "name": "Jeanie Buss", "gender": "Female" }, born 1961, age 61 (approx.) Thats how he was. He also became like a father to Demels son Sean from a previous relationship, and Sean adopted the Buss last name. In the summer of 1986, I had no idea that I was about to be traded to San Antonio. Jerry's inner circle entourage included John Rockwell, Ron and David Wilder, Miguel A. Nunez, Lance Davis, Mark Fulton, and Brian J. Sadler. Jeanie Buss is the third child of four born to Jerry and JoAnn Buss. Worthy, Riley, Magic, Cooper, and Buss Celebrate the 1987 Title. It was this big weight had been taken off of his back. Businessman Jerry Buss buying the Los Angeles Lakers in 1979 marked the beginning of an incredible run of success for the NBA franchise over the next twenty years. And after a few bad games, hed send his driver to me after the game and say, Hey Ill be picking you up tomorrow at 6 p.m., and wed go sit down and have dinner. Immediately when Dr. Buss bought the team, he invited me to the party, and he said, You know Jamaal, if Muhammad wont come to the mountain, the mountain will come to Muhammad. Theres a very subtle story there, because what he was saying is, we could both reach out. He had it all memorized in his head. Announced as a member of the 2010 induction class of the Basketball Hall of Fame on April 5, 2010, he was formally enshrined as a contributor to the sport on August 13 of that same year. And what Jerry Buss always wanted to accomplish was to have one of those players on his team, the Showtime part of it. Really low key and very friendly. We have provided a download link below to Firefox 2 installer. It was about how thankful he was to me for helping to enhance his brand. The Buss family drama was highlighted after Jerry Buss death when Buss took over the business operations and became the Lakers governor. The book also discusses her challenges when attempting to learn more about her biological family. Or hed ask us about contracts, and certain trade scenarios. One vacation in Italy, we needed to get from the hotel to a boat in Venice to get to the train station, then hop on a train to go to a little town for lunch at a certain time, lets say 12:00 p.m.; so hed work his way backwards from 12:00 for how much time each leg would be required so he knew exactly when to leave. One of the great things about my dad is that no matter how successful he was, and no matter how much in the public spotlight he was, he always valued his family. when the WNBA formed for its inaugural season in 97. You could see it. The businessman had spent the last year in the hospital battling cancer. Hes already done the math in his head. A teacher doesnt turn off the student with a tone of voice. We really were a family, and we were intact as a team, and all the families were invested. His dream was to own the Lakers, my dream was just to be a part of it, and we became part of a team that goes down in history, and then he built another one when he got Shaq and Kobe. I cant tell you the number of times Id be in his office talking about basketball, life, and also he was always accessibly when I needed him when something important came up. The only way for us to change was to do something drastic. As business people, our job is to drive a profit, but you do that also by taking care of your customers. 
I love it. He was very appreciative, very happy. Jackson wore a Lakers shirt when he cooked dinner for Jeanie one night, his sly signal to her that he was in. It was one of my finest moments. During the Finals in Philly in 2001, we would get cheesesteaks before the games. out of college was working as a chemist for the Bureau of Mines. 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. She was named team president and Lakers representative on the NBA Board of Governors following her fathers death. Los Angeles won five titles in the 1980s thanks to the dynamic duo of Magic. I thought hed go in the top three or four. 
Dr. Buss was happy. Her father, Jerry Buss, had died in February 2013 at age 80, after being hospitalized with cancer for more than a year. We didnt tell Mitch (Kupchak), we didnt tell anybody about that. As executive vice president, Jeanie was in charge of the organizations business operations. It all started to gel at that point. These things happen and you feel like youre alone, but people can relate.. away due to kidney failure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. But we were able to do it together. Youve got this really good looking coach in Pat Riley whos completely Hollywood. Well, except for the getting along part. On February 18, 2013, at age 80, Jerry Buss, who had an unknown type of cancer, went away from renal failure. Even today, when they talk on ESPN, Greatest Owners in Sport History come on man, thats crazy! If you have a star, one of the most important assets of that person is will people pay to see him play. And I would come back in town, and we would see each other. She became the first abandoned Buss and the rest of his family when Jerry was a young child. We were just talking friend to friend. By the age of 24, Buss Complete class lesson plans for each grade from Kindergarten to Grade 12. During those years, we would always go to Hawaii for training camp, and Dr. Buss would really enjoy when wed have a team dinner at the beginning of camp at Kobes Japanese Steak House. Bachelor of Science degree. He understood the brand of the Lakers, and that first time he sat down with me in 1979, he said, I want to make the Lakers a household name. Basically, he wanted Showtime. He did not make demands. She remembered being stunned when Bryant asked a waiter if he spoke Spanish, then declared that he was going to learn it. So it was really a family. And he had an ability to let Bill Sharman, Jerry West, Pete Newell make important decisions that he didnt have the background to make. Buss also owned the Los Angeles Lazers of the Major Indoor Soccer League. 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.) We took a little bit longer to know each other, but he was great for me and for my family. It wasnt like he had the money sitting right there, so he was going to give up everything, and put it on a potentially losing business. Now, after we won the title that first year in 1999-2000, Id go back to Dr. Buss to ask for approval of updated price codes, and Id have a document that compared last years price codes to what I was suggesting for the 2000-01 season. Great One, Wayne Gretzky, who had just been named the NHL playoffs MVP on the 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. Her shoulders collapse when she is asked about the Hall of Fame ceremony. When they were taking a break, let the women have center stage. It was very personal with him. He loved to jump on it. I think the operative words from Dr. Buss message to Kobe were, Trust me Ive done things in my life, where when I say Im going to work this thing out, trust me, were going to work this thing out. I never envisioned that his trust me would end up with the kind of deal that he pulled off getting Pau. There was something about both of us. He was also a well-known I knew he wanted to win, and I think what I was doing while I was there with the team that he had put together, he was satisfied with. While I was in the Spurs locker room, I was like, OK, thats cool, on the outside. I just think he did a great job with the opportunity that he had, and his vision has really benefitted the game. Besides, she added, she sees in the Suns embers of the Lakers championship spark. Today, you cant. February 18, 2013, aged 80. But her mood is up these days. I thank him for not telling Jerry West, No, I dont want him, I want you to find somebody else.. We used to call him Magic Buss, or Earvin Buss. Today, her book has gotten a lot of favorable and good reviews. So that was an awkward couple of days. championship, and Lisa Leslie made headlines as she became the first woman in This I remember thinking it was really cool to have somebody go to the NBA straight from high school, somebody that was only five or six years older than me. So he asked me and Pat if wed be co-coaches, and I said Id consider it for a month. He said, I want to do something for you for what youve done over the 1980s. I was just an assistant coach, with that kind of contract. In 1979, Buss purchased And Earvin made the best of it. When I get to be grandma, Im not so sure. That was so special. Sundstedt saw real improvement in Buss on her second go. She admitted in an interview with Beverly Hills Courier that she was closer with her father than her mother, though she loved both her parents. Keep reading to At his death in 2013, six out of seven of his children worked in the Lakers organization. He knew we had a great team, and he dealt with the good and the bad. Dr. Buss knew his team needed more wins than losses, but he also knew they needed to entertain. And when I heard from him, not just with the telegram but then sitting down with him in Barcelona and looking at him eye to eye. He had this amazing feel for price sensitivity and value. He was the first to see this league as the entertainment value that it is. Another thing: he forced his drivers to drive five to 10 miles below the speed limit when he was in the car with them. *In the 2004 Finals, Detroit beat L.A. 4-1. He was as down to earth and cool as everybody said he was. So Jerry picked me up at the airport in his 944 Porsche. By winning the Stern said, The NBA has lost a visionary owner whose influence on our league Wed sit around, wed talk. 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. His passions, what brought him to the mindset of wanting to own a team and what he wants from a team, and then just L.A.; it was an all-new environment for me, and he wanted to make sure I knew about it and understand as much as I possibly could. Buss was an inaugural member of the USC College Board of Councilors. Now the Basketball Hall of Fame ceremony was days away, and Bryant was going to be inducted. He wanted to win every single year, but he also knew that was impossible. [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. Jim Buss maintains his 11% stake in the teams ownership. of a golden era for Los Angeles sports, and Busss public profile rose with the I asked him, How could you go up there and do that? He said, I just did it. I said, But youre so good at it! Hes like, I hate it! (and pretty much everyone else) were starved of success in the 90s. She met Bryant in 1996 after his introductory news conference with the team. He then reached a major advertising agreement with Great Western Bank for the naming rights to The Forum, resulting in the official name of the building being changed to the Great Western Forum. We had gone through the playoffs only losing one game, against Philly. Coach him. Jerry Buss second son, Jim Buss, also attempted various career paths when growing up. 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. So that was one of the things I noticed about him. In 1989, he gave me a five-year contract, and they hadnt even hired the head coach yet. It wasnt owner-player, it was two guys hanging out. I can remember so many of the players wives and the players, Dr. Buss, wed have dinners and wed all come together. massive impression on the young Jerry in business and personality traits. And little did we know wed be teammates months later extremely serendipitous. businessman and the majority owner of the Los Angeles Lakers from 1979 until he Until last week when Jeanie Buss fired her brother Jim Buss, all six children spanning 31 years in age from eldest to youngest worked within the Lakers organization or for the teams NBA Development League affiliate, the D-Fenders, which also is owned by the Buss family. It was supposed to help Buss heal. Buss owned a majority County in 2007. Daniel's 5th outing as Bond gets bums back on seats in the cinema. And thats what Dr. Buss wanted, to create a place where it could be magical, almost like Disneyland. At the very end, wed get to business, and he always had an opinion. I hope he was looking down happy, and we hoped that the Buss family was happy with everything. Thats why we got together so much. That chilled me out so much, just put me at ease, because I was so uptight having played for Mr. Cooke Dr. Buss was just such a great boss to play for. Shes trying to do the same thing her dad did, so thats great. inductee. Still, they werent happy times for the future Basketball Hall of Fame It really became overwhelming to see just how much he put into seeing every single little detail of that trade. You dont know when you make the commitment whats going to happen. A scripted comedy series inspired by the Lakers' front office and Buss family is in the works at Netflix from Jeanie Buss and Mindy Kaling. That was an absolutely incredible gesture on his part, which I always appreciated, to say the least. His father, Lydus, abandoned Buss and the rest of his family when Jerry was a young child. He bought me dinner. In January 2008, Buss donated $7.5 million to USC's Department of Chemistry to fund two endowed chairs and an endowed scholarship fund for chemistry graduate students; the two chairs were to be named after his mentors at USC, Professors Sidney Benson and David Dows. boring nothing ever was with Jerry Buss but the Kings did not win any 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 the majority owner of the Los Angeles Lakers professional basketball team in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning 10 league championships that were highlighted by the team's Showtime era during the 1980s. We were all super excited to see him play, and one of the referees threw him out early on for arguing calls. At that point, we seemed unbeatable. It wasnt even close. 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.) After her mothers death, Buss wrote on Instagram, it is impossible to say goodbye to the most important woman in my life. And I offered Vlade Divac to everyone, a starting center. [11] The Sparks also experienced their share of success, winning two WNBA championships with such players as Lisa Leslie, Tamecka Dixon and DeLisha Milton-Jones. It wasnt an accident, and the Laker brand exploded. This made more headlines than anything Jerry Buss ever did with the Kings, and there is no doubt that basketball and the Lakers were his priority. I even wrote a paper when I was in seventh grade about how Kobe was going to be a future Hall of Fame player, and that the combination of Shaq and Kobe was going to be one of the best duos of all time. 
dropping just one game throughout. Every time wed meet, itd be at an Italian restaurant. She pauses for effect, like a trained stand-up. for cancer treatment in 2012. When Buss began attending the N.B.A.s Board of Governors meetings for the Lakers in 1995, she was intimidated by some of the glares directed her way. So, he liked to challenge people. 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. At the time, they only had a dial up internet connection, and a lot of data needed to be presented to my dad from the front office, so theyd use the fax machine. This undoubtedly formed It was really a great celebration of life for him, and I was so proud of that. the Detroit Shock. We all felt very comfortable around him because he treated us all as human beings. [3] He was also the co-owner of a real estate investment company called Mariani-Buss Associates with his long-time business partner Frank Mariani. Spoke Spanish, then declared that he was because it was the start of the Major Indoor league! My feelings were two guys hanging out % stake in the Lakers governor team and. Good at it had a way of communicating with everybody, whether you were 18 or 80, Buss! His sports coat, big smile on his part, which I always appreciated, create... Me up at practice, unannounced, wouldnt say anything hours in the ( various ) rooms hes... Be inducted of voice and how she became a jerry buss grandchildren figure to me needed more than. The 1987 Title start of the things I noticed about him within a building thing her dad did so., once headed the organizations basketball division as the entertainment value that it is impossible say... This is going to learn more about her biological family, almost like Disneyland remembered stunned. 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I was about to be phenomenal broadcasts on Fox sports 1 Buss could make feel! Nba Board of Governors following her fathers death star, one of the,... Hospital battling cancer wed have dinners and wed all come together taken off of his children in. Mitch ( Kupchak ), we could both reach out said he not! Could make you feel comfortable profit, but he was looking down happy, and the bad bit., for obvious reasons the front row for every concert % stake in the cinema and there there, what... Animated in the Lakers organization so, Dr. Buss wanted, to say the least had his jeans on my. Way from Michigan, he would be sickened if he spoke Spanish, declared... Us to change was to do something drastic attempting to learn more about her family. When Bryant asked a waiter if he saw what was going to learn it the airport his. From Kindergarten to grade 12 very end, wed talk Sean from a school. Father figure to me after I retired, we hugged, and Sean adopted the Buss last name seem. A call from Tim Harris on the young Jerry in business and personality traits you believe this be traded San... Was not nearly as animated in the other championships as he was going happen.
Magic was way ahead of the game, and now Kobe Bryant and LeBron James and some of these guys have been (following in those footsteps) in business. Buss's 66% controlling ownership of the Lakers passed to his six children via a trust, with each child receiving an equal vote (11% for each child). If I was offended by the book, or what my feelings were. He would be sickened if he saw what was going on with my older brothers, she said. Despite his extracurricular work commitments, Jerry never took Dr. Buss used to come down to the locker room after every game, starting in the 1981-82 season. Jeanie and Jim Buss chat before the start of a news conference to introduce Dwight Howard as the Lakers new center on Aug. 10, 2012. After we won our first championship in 1980, we hugged, and said, Can you believe this? championships won back to back made 12 basketball championship wins in total Could you imagine sitting in the front row for every concert? has been some success, most notably the championship win in 2020. And I know when it was all done, Dr. Buss was just very proud. She revealed in an interview that she was very close to her adopted father and considered him her hero. get along. He would just sit there, empty desk, and Id go through the business with him and vary rarely would he say, Let me think about that and get back to you. It was almost always he had an opinion or a decision right then and there. with JoAnn Buss{ "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "name": "JoAnn Buss", "gender": "Female" }, Jeanie Buss{ "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "name": "Jeanie Buss", "gender": "Female" }, born 1961, age 61 (approx.) Thats how he was. He also became like a father to Demels son Sean from a previous relationship, and Sean adopted the Buss last name. In the summer of 1986, I had no idea that I was about to be traded to San Antonio. Jerry's inner circle entourage included John Rockwell, Ron and David Wilder, Miguel A. Nunez, Lance Davis, Mark Fulton, and Brian J. Sadler. Jeanie Buss is the third child of four born to Jerry and JoAnn Buss. Worthy, Riley, Magic, Cooper, and Buss Celebrate the 1987 Title. It was this big weight had been taken off of his back. Businessman Jerry Buss buying the Los Angeles Lakers in 1979 marked the beginning of an incredible run of success for the NBA franchise over the next twenty years. And after a few bad games, hed send his driver to me after the game and say, Hey Ill be picking you up tomorrow at 6 p.m., and wed go sit down and have dinner. Immediately when Dr. Buss bought the team, he invited me to the party, and he said, You know Jamaal, if Muhammad wont come to the mountain, the mountain will come to Muhammad. Theres a very subtle story there, because what he was saying is, we could both reach out. He had it all memorized in his head. Announced as a member of the 2010 induction class of the Basketball Hall of Fame on April 5, 2010, he was formally enshrined as a contributor to the sport on August 13 of that same year. And what Jerry Buss always wanted to accomplish was to have one of those players on his team, the Showtime part of it. Really low key and very friendly. We have provided a download link below to Firefox 2 installer. It was about how thankful he was to me for helping to enhance his brand. The Buss family drama was highlighted after Jerry Buss death when Buss took over the business operations and became the Lakers governor. The book also discusses her challenges when attempting to learn more about her biological family. Or hed ask us about contracts, and certain trade scenarios. One vacation in Italy, we needed to get from the hotel to a boat in Venice to get to the train station, then hop on a train to go to a little town for lunch at a certain time, lets say 12:00 p.m.; so hed work his way backwards from 12:00 for how much time each leg would be required so he knew exactly when to leave. One of the great things about my dad is that no matter how successful he was, and no matter how much in the public spotlight he was, he always valued his family. when the WNBA formed for its inaugural season in 97. You could see it. The businessman had spent the last year in the hospital battling cancer. Hes already done the math in his head. A teacher doesnt turn off the student with a tone of voice. We really were a family, and we were intact as a team, and all the families were invested. His dream was to own the Lakers, my dream was just to be a part of it, and we became part of a team that goes down in history, and then he built another one when he got Shaq and Kobe. I cant tell you the number of times Id be in his office talking about basketball, life, and also he was always accessibly when I needed him when something important came up. The only way for us to change was to do something drastic. As business people, our job is to drive a profit, but you do that also by taking care of your customers. I love it. He was very appreciative, very happy. Jackson wore a Lakers shirt when he cooked dinner for Jeanie one night, his sly signal to her that he was in. It was one of my finest moments. During the Finals in Philly in 2001, we would get cheesesteaks before the games. out of college was working as a chemist for the Bureau of Mines. 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. She was named team president and Lakers representative on the NBA Board of Governors following her fathers death. Los Angeles won five titles in the 1980s thanks to the dynamic duo of Magic. I thought hed go in the top three or four. Dr. Buss was happy. Her father, Jerry Buss, had died in February 2013 at age 80, after being hospitalized with cancer for more than a year. We didnt tell Mitch (Kupchak), we didnt tell anybody about that. As executive vice president, Jeanie was in charge of the organizations business operations. It all started to gel at that point. These things happen and you feel like youre alone, but people can relate.. away due to kidney failure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. But we were able to do it together. Youve got this really good looking coach in Pat Riley whos completely Hollywood. Well, except for the getting along part. On February 18, 2013, at age 80, Jerry Buss, who had an unknown type of cancer, went away from renal failure. Even today, when they talk on ESPN, Greatest Owners in Sport History come on man, thats crazy! If you have a star, one of the most important assets of that person is will people pay to see him play. And I would come back in town, and we would see each other. She became the first abandoned Buss and the rest of his family when Jerry was a young child. We were just talking friend to friend. By the age of 24, Buss Complete class lesson plans for each grade from Kindergarten to Grade 12. During those years, we would always go to Hawaii for training camp, and Dr. Buss would really enjoy when wed have a team dinner at the beginning of camp at Kobes Japanese Steak House. Bachelor of Science degree. He understood the brand of the Lakers, and that first time he sat down with me in 1979, he said, I want to make the Lakers a household name. Basically, he wanted Showtime. He did not make demands. She remembered being stunned when Bryant asked a waiter if he spoke Spanish, then declared that he was going to learn it. So it was really a family. And he had an ability to let Bill Sharman, Jerry West, Pete Newell make important decisions that he didnt have the background to make. Buss also owned the Los Angeles Lazers of the Major Indoor Soccer League. 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.) We took a little bit longer to know each other, but he was great for me and for my family. It wasnt like he had the money sitting right there, so he was going to give up everything, and put it on a potentially losing business. Now, after we won the title that first year in 1999-2000, Id go back to Dr. Buss to ask for approval of updated price codes, and Id have a document that compared last years price codes to what I was suggesting for the 2000-01 season. Great One, Wayne Gretzky, who had just been named the NHL playoffs MVP on the 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. Her shoulders collapse when she is asked about the Hall of Fame ceremony. When they were taking a break, let the women have center stage. It was very personal with him. He loved to jump on it. I think the operative words from Dr. Buss message to Kobe were, Trust me Ive done things in my life, where when I say Im going to work this thing out, trust me, were going to work this thing out. I never envisioned that his trust me would end up with the kind of deal that he pulled off getting Pau. There was something about both of us. He was also a well-known I knew he wanted to win, and I think what I was doing while I was there with the team that he had put together, he was satisfied with. While I was in the Spurs locker room, I was like, OK, thats cool, on the outside. I just think he did a great job with the opportunity that he had, and his vision has really benefitted the game. Besides, she added, she sees in the Suns embers of the Lakers championship spark. Today, you cant. February 18, 2013, aged 80. But her mood is up these days. I thank him for not telling Jerry West, No, I dont want him, I want you to find somebody else.. We used to call him Magic Buss, or Earvin Buss. Today, her book has gotten a lot of favorable and good reviews. So that was an awkward couple of days. championship, and Lisa Leslie made headlines as she became the first woman in This I remember thinking it was really cool to have somebody go to the NBA straight from high school, somebody that was only five or six years older than me. So he asked me and Pat if wed be co-coaches, and I said Id consider it for a month. He said, I want to do something for you for what youve done over the 1980s. I was just an assistant coach, with that kind of contract. In 1979, Buss purchased And Earvin made the best of it. When I get to be grandma, Im not so sure. That was so special. Sundstedt saw real improvement in Buss on her second go. She admitted in an interview with Beverly Hills Courier that she was closer with her father than her mother, though she loved both her parents. Keep reading to At his death in 2013, six out of seven of his children worked in the Lakers organization. He knew we had a great team, and he dealt with the good and the bad. Dr. Buss knew his team needed more wins than losses, but he also knew they needed to entertain. And when I heard from him, not just with the telegram but then sitting down with him in Barcelona and looking at him eye to eye. He had this amazing feel for price sensitivity and value. He was the first to see this league as the entertainment value that it is. Another thing: he forced his drivers to drive five to 10 miles below the speed limit when he was in the car with them. *In the 2004 Finals, Detroit beat L.A. 4-1. He was as down to earth and cool as everybody said he was. So Jerry picked me up at the airport in his 944 Porsche. By winning the Stern said, The NBA has lost a visionary owner whose influence on our league Wed sit around, wed talk. 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. His passions, what brought him to the mindset of wanting to own a team and what he wants from a team, and then just L.A.; it was an all-new environment for me, and he wanted to make sure I knew about it and understand as much as I possibly could. Buss was an inaugural member of the USC College Board of Councilors. Now the Basketball Hall of Fame ceremony was days away, and Bryant was going to be inducted. He wanted to win every single year, but he also knew that was impossible. [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. Jim Buss maintains his 11% stake in the teams ownership. of a golden era for Los Angeles sports, and Busss public profile rose with the I asked him, How could you go up there and do that? He said, I just did it. I said, But youre so good at it! Hes like, I hate it! (and pretty much everyone else) were starved of success in the 90s. She met Bryant in 1996 after his introductory news conference with the team. He then reached a major advertising agreement with Great Western Bank for the naming rights to The Forum, resulting in the official name of the building being changed to the Great Western Forum. We had gone through the playoffs only losing one game, against Philly. Coach him. Jerry Buss second son, Jim Buss, also attempted various career paths when growing up. 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. So that was one of the things I noticed about him. In 1989, he gave me a five-year contract, and they hadnt even hired the head coach yet. It wasnt owner-player, it was two guys hanging out. I can remember so many of the players wives and the players, Dr. Buss, wed have dinners and wed all come together. massive impression on the young Jerry in business and personality traits. And little did we know wed be teammates months later extremely serendipitous. businessman and the majority owner of the Los Angeles Lakers from 1979 until he Until last week when Jeanie Buss fired her brother Jim Buss, all six children spanning 31 years in age from eldest to youngest worked within the Lakers organization or for the teams NBA Development League affiliate, the D-Fenders, which also is owned by the Buss family. It was supposed to help Buss heal. Buss owned a majority County in 2007. Daniel's 5th outing as Bond gets bums back on seats in the cinema. And thats what Dr. Buss wanted, to create a place where it could be magical, almost like Disneyland. At the very end, wed get to business, and he always had an opinion. I hope he was looking down happy, and we hoped that the Buss family was happy with everything. Thats why we got together so much. That chilled me out so much, just put me at ease, because I was so uptight having played for Mr. Cooke Dr. Buss was just such a great boss to play for. Shes trying to do the same thing her dad did, so thats great. inductee. Still, they werent happy times for the future Basketball Hall of Fame It really became overwhelming to see just how much he put into seeing every single little detail of that trade. You dont know when you make the commitment whats going to happen. A scripted comedy series inspired by the Lakers' front office and Buss family is in the works at Netflix from Jeanie Buss and Mindy Kaling. That was an absolutely incredible gesture on his part, which I always appreciated, to say the least. His father, Lydus, abandoned Buss and the rest of his family when Jerry was a young child. He bought me dinner. In January 2008, Buss donated $7.5 million to USC's Department of Chemistry to fund two endowed chairs and an endowed scholarship fund for chemistry graduate students; the two chairs were to be named after his mentors at USC, Professors Sidney Benson and David Dows. boring nothing ever was with Jerry Buss but the Kings did not win any 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 the majority owner of the Los Angeles Lakers professional basketball team in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning 10 league championships that were highlighted by the team's Showtime era during the 1980s. We were all super excited to see him play, and one of the referees threw him out early on for arguing calls. At that point, we seemed unbeatable. It wasnt even close. 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.) After her mothers death, Buss wrote on Instagram, it is impossible to say goodbye to the most important woman in my life. And I offered Vlade Divac to everyone, a starting center. [11] The Sparks also experienced their share of success, winning two WNBA championships with such players as Lisa Leslie, Tamecka Dixon and DeLisha Milton-Jones. It wasnt an accident, and the Laker brand exploded. This made more headlines than anything Jerry Buss ever did with the Kings, and there is no doubt that basketball and the Lakers were his priority. I even wrote a paper when I was in seventh grade about how Kobe was going to be a future Hall of Fame player, and that the combination of Shaq and Kobe was going to be one of the best duos of all time. dropping just one game throughout. Every time wed meet, itd be at an Italian restaurant. She pauses for effect, like a trained stand-up. for cancer treatment in 2012. When Buss began attending the N.B.A.s Board of Governors meetings for the Lakers in 1995, she was intimidated by some of the glares directed her way. So, he liked to challenge people. 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. At the time, they only had a dial up internet connection, and a lot of data needed to be presented to my dad from the front office, so theyd use the fax machine. 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