Luka Doncic didn’t have much time to let the shock linger when the Lakers’ ownership situation changed again.
The Los Angeles star first heard about Mark Walter’s unexpected decision to sell the franchise for a record $12.5 billion in August through his longtime manager, Lara Beth Seager, before the news went public on Aug. 12. Seager got a late-night heads-up about the deal and reached out to Doncic immediately, catching him as he was waking up in Slovenia.
By the time Seager confirmed Walter had agreed to sell the Lakers to Josh Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger, Doncic had already moved past the initial surprise.
“There's not much that can shock me anymore,” Doncic told Seager, according to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne.
He echoed that same mindset the next day on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“I've gotten used to big changes over these last few years.”
For Doncic, the reaction fit a career that has already been shaped by major swings, including his stunning February 2025 trade from the Dallas Mavericks to Los Angeles. Since landing with the Lakers, he had formed strong ties with both Walter and Lakers governor Jeanie Buss, and he was in regular contact with each of them.
Walter even joined Doncic and several teammates for a Backstreet Boys concert at The Sphere in Las Vegas after the Slovenian star agreed to a three-year, $165 million contract extension.
The ownership shift also landed in the middle of a trip Doncic had planned in Slovenia to bring the team together. The five-day retreat included dinner at his favorite restaurant in Ljubljana, golf at Royal Bled and rowing lessons on Lake Bled.
Shelburne reported that Seager had dinner with Buss and Lakers executive Lon Rosen only a week before the announcement, and nothing in that meeting pointed to another sale coming so soon. Buss was reportedly caught off guard as well.
Walter had bought the Buss family's controlling interest in 2025 at a $10 billion valuation, with an agreement that kept Jeanie in her leadership role for five years. But in August he entertained the $12.5 billion offer from Kushner and Iger and reached a deal in roughly 72 hours after the first approach.
Buss reportedly didn’t find out about the transaction until hours before ESPN broke the story, even though she had chosen Walter as the franchise’s long-term successor.
The move also put new attention on the stability Buss had previously promised Doncic inside the organization.
Kushner and Iger are reportedly expected to honor Buss’ existing leadership agreement, though the sale still needs NBA approval.
If it goes through, it will be another ownership change for Doncic in a career that has already included plenty of organizational shakeup.
For now, the Lakers have bigger matters on the floor. At 3-0, they’ll try to stay unbeaten when they host the Portland Trail Blazers, who are also 2-0, on Wednesday at 8 p.m. PT.
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