Lakers owner Jerry Buss passed away Monday at the age of 80 in a L.A. hospital. Buss was the George Steinbrenner of the NBA, minus the meddling - and with even more winning. He spent staggering sums on stars and was rewarded royally with a titanic 10 titles in total. The championships came early - in his first year of acquiring the franchise - and often - back-to-back on four occasions. Buss earned his fortune in real estate, beginning with a modest $1,000 deal, and he sensed a sound investment when he saw it. He bought the Lakers, the L.A. Kings, their old arena The Forum and 13,000 acres of land in 1979 for $67.5 million. Today, the Lakers are estimated by Forbes to be worth $1 billion. Fitting, that one of the team colors is gold.
Buss did much more than merely cut checks; he's credited with the concepts of courtside seats, cheerleaders, and cable channels carrying all the home games becoming commonplace in the league - and also the awful idea of attaching an advertiser to an arena (we're willing forgive the stadium sponsorship scourge, since he supplied us with the supple Laker Girls). Perhaps because Buss' background - he grew up impoverished in Wyoming and held a doctorate in physical chemistry - made him an unlikely owner, he acted unlike most owners: he played poker against pros and partied with players. Pardon the pun, but for Buss, life was one wonderful ride.
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