Lakers Owner Jerry Buss - Dead at 80

Jerry Buss -- owner of the Los Angeles Lakers -- died early this morning at the age of 80, this according to multiple reports.

Buss had been hospitalized for the past few months due to a previously undisclosed intestinal problem ... though it was revealed yesterday he'd been battling cancer the entire time.


Read more: http://www.tmz.com/2013/02/18/lakers-owner-jerry-buss-dead/#ixzz2LGk6ZrrB



http://www.tmz.com/2013/02/18/lakers-owner-jerry-buss-dead/

By David Wharton
10:00 a.m. CST, February 18, 2013


Jerry Buss, the longtime owner of the Lakers whose penchant for showmanship helped turn the game of basketball into “Showtime” and who led the team to 10 NBA championships, died Monday. He was 80.

A self-made millionaire who built his fortune in real estate, Buss bought the Lakers in 1979. He charted his successful course with marquee players Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, Hall of Fame coaches Pat Riley and Phil Jackson, celebrities sitting courtside and Laker Girls dancing during timeouts.

"I really tried to create a Laker image, a distinct identity," Buss said. "I mean, the Lakers are pretty damn Hollywood."


http://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...kers-jerry-buss-obit-20130214,0,4438057.story

Lakers' Jerry Buss dies at 80

The longtime owner brought 'Showtime' basketball to the NBA


By David Wharton, Los Angeles Times
February 18, 2013, 8:34 a.m.



When Jerry Buss bought the Lakers in 1979, he wanted to build a championship team. But that wasn't all.

The new owner gave courtside seats to movie stars. He hired pretty women to dance during timeouts. He spent freely on big stars and encouraged a fast-paced, exuberant style of play.

As the Lakers sprinted to one NBA title after another, Buss cut an audacious figure in the stands, an aging playboy in blue jeans, often with a younger woman by his side.

"I really tried to create a Laker image, a distinct identity," he once said. "I think we've been successful. I mean, the Lakers are pretty damn Hollywood."

Buss died Monday of an undisclosed form of cancer at Cedars Sinai Medical Center, according to his longtime spokesman, Bob Steiner. Buss was 80.

Lakers fans will remember Buss for bringing extraordinary success — 10 championships in three-plus decades — but equally important to his legacy was a sense of showmanship that transformed pro basketball from sport to spectacle.

"Jerry Buss helped set the league on the course it is on today," NBA Commissioner David Stern said. "Remember, he showed us it was about 'Showtime,' the notion that an arena can become the focal point for not just basketball, but entertainment. He made it the place to see and be seen."

His teams featured the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal and Dwight Howard. He was also smart enough to hire Hall of Fame-caliber coaches in Pat Riley and Phil Jackson.

"I've worked hard and been lucky," Buss said. "With the combination of the two, I've accomplished everything I ever set out to do."

A Depression-era baby, Jerry Hatten Buss was born in Salt Lake City on Jan. 27, 1933, although some sources cite 1934 as his birth year. His parents, Lydus and Jessie Buss, divorced when he was an infant.


http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/la-me-jerry-buss-20130219,0,6996360.story