Dr. Buss
I‘m writing an addendum to the brief story yesterday. A friend suggested I provide from a fan perspective. I was flattered but informed her I would leave the story to the professional writers. She said; “I want to hear what Larry Laker has to say about Dr. Buss.” At the time I first became a Laker fan Bob Short owned the team, Short was responsible for moving the team from Minneapolis to Los Angeles. (1.) “In September 1965, Cooke purchased the Los Angeles Lakers for $5 million from Bob Short. Under Cooke's ownership the Lakers moved from the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena to the Forum and changed their colors from Royal and Light Blue to the current Purple (which he referred to as "Forum Blue") and Gold. The Lakers during Cooke's ownership reached 7 NBA Finals and won the 1972 NBA Finals.” Cooke wanted to win an NBA Championship badly, in the 1969 finals Cooke was sure the Lakers would be a winner; he had balloons placed in the ceiling area of the Forum. When his team won the balloons would drop and Laker fans would celebrate their championship. The only problem with this scenario someone forgot to inform the Celtics they were supposed to lose.

(2) “He (Cooke) purchased the Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA along with the Los Angeles Kings hockey team of the NHL, The Forum, and a large range from Jack Kent Cooke in 1979. The purchase price, $67.5 million, made it the largest transaction in sports history at that time. Buss later sold the Kings, retaining ownership of the Lakers and The Forum. 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.” Enter Dr. Jerry Buss, when many of us first became aware of the title in front of his name assumed he was a medical doctor; the doctor earned his PhD in chemical engineering Dr. Buss was much more than the bio information I was able to gather for you. Several former players spoke of Dr. Buss being a father figure to them. Magic Johnson claims Dr. Buss provided the guidance for him to become a successful owner of a number of varied business ventures.

Even more interesting to me Dr. Buss never became the focal point of any Laker story. If you meet him you might have never guessed he owned the Lakers this unassuming man. I could name several past and present owners who could have taken a few lessons from Dr. Buss. I hope nobody misunderstands, I don’t think there was never any doubt he was in charge, at the same time he allowed Jerry West, Mitch Kupchak and other front office personnel decision making authority. They had authorization to draft players, sign free agents and other player matters. Perhaps one of the few instances of his direct involvement was the Shaquille O’ Neal trade. Few realize (or even know) it was Dr. Buss who ultimately made the decision to trade Shaq. Despite the prevailing thought it wasn’t Kobe Bryant demanding the trade. The future direction of the franchise is unknown at this point however Jim Buss and Jeannie Buss indicate the family intends to retain ownership. Jim and Jeannie have gigantic shoes to fill those of Gerald Hatten "Jerry" Buss, PhD. 10 NBA Championships under this owner a feat that will likely never occur again.

(1&2) Wikipedia