The Lakers quickly became a dynasty, as the dynamic duo of Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar led Los Angeles to five championships in the 1980s. Playing for him was one of the best highlights of my life. But we were able to do it together. Dr. Buss was one of those guys. And that was pretty special to hear. He did not make demands. A teacher doesnt turn off the student with a tone of voice. In the process of that, we worked Kobe out one day against two guys who were supposedly going to be drafted higher than him, and it was ridiculous. Magics family is like this, and here we are winning all these games. 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. They all mean a lot, but some mean a little bit more than others. And how he conducted business, it was always, hey, Im holding all the cards. We won big. There was no question about that. It was too good to be true. And he did. He knew the patterns of how often the boats and trains would come, and it was then a challenge to the whole family to make sure it happened and to execute on it properly. That was so special. His father, Lydus, left the family when Jerry was an infant. After the proposal set forth by Johnny, Jim and their attorneys failed, the two brothers resigned as trustees of the Buss Family Trusts and as members of the board of directors. It was just a conversation (Dr. Buss) and I had. Thats pretty good. I love him, and his family, and I thank him to this day for the opportunity. We got something new, but we also got something that even if we didnt get Shaquille, we got a draw. He did not yell and scream at me. It became a happening. He got a big kick out of that, and by the fourth season, he won. He was a very intuitive guy, said Steiner. She was predeceased by : her husband Gerald Buss; her sons, Phil Buss and Chris Buss; her parents, Ehme Busboom and Jennie Busboom (Ideus); her siblings, Rosie Miller and Gerald Busboom; her siblings-in-law, Barbara Wrightsman (Don) and Robert Schoen; and her parents-in-law, Herman and Alvina Buss. He had been in and out of the hospital for more than a year before his death. I remember the locker room celebration with Dr. Buss after we won Game 6 in L.A., and he was just like the rest of us sitting at the bar just talking and kibitzing. But thats how I got to know him and the Buss family. He basically created premium seating, and nobody else was doing this stuff at the time. And while his relationship with his siblings is strained, he shares with them a reverence for their father. He made you feel appreciated, and part of the family. When Jack Kent Cooke sold the Lakers, the Kings, the Forum and a 13,000-acre ranch in Kern County, Jerry Buss met him at an office in Palos Verdes. Should you have information that conflicts with anything shown please make us aware by email. There is no photo or video of Betty Jean Buss.Be the first to share a memory to pay tribute. And we just talked about how cool it would be if we could actually end up playing together, but I hardly gave it a thought, because I thought there was no way they would trade me to the Lakers. Gerald Hatten "Jerry" Buss was born on Jan. 27, 1933, in Salt Lake City. Click here to Start FameChaining. Wed played pool until 2 or 3 in the morning he loved to play 8 ball, and he was much better than me. It was this big weight had been taken off of his back. Buss also owned the Los Angeles Lazers of the Major Indoor Soccer League. It was a way to motivate us to be efficient. Dr. Buss used to come down to the locker room after every game, starting in the 1981-82 season. Then he was doing Italy for the whole summer. Source: Los Angeles Times, Lakers expected to remain a Buss family-owned team, Mike Bresnahan, Feb. 19, 2013. Dr. Buss actually started in his first season, 1979-80, with a combination of USC and UCLA pom girls, and the USC band. We werent always making money; it was a passion for him. His beloved Lakers made it to the Finals 16 times nearly half of his 33 seasons and won 10 championships while missing the playoffs only twice. Thats when we found out about his enlarged aortic root. The 10-part documentary series, which is set to premiere with two episodes on Monday, Aug. 15, will detail the rise of the Lakers after Buss' purchase of the franchise. Tania Ganguli covered the Lakers for the Los Angeles Times from 2016-20. Kind of a unique thing, against the same team (Boston). I think thats important in this day and age, when people are talking about dance teams, but he really saw it as these talented dancers deserve an audience, and now every team in the NBA has a dance team. The purchase price, $67.5 million, made it the largest transaction in sports history at that time. Ten titles. Thats how generous, and how giving and how much I dont want to say a fan he was a true, true owner of the game. Boris Johnson. US based Meghan and Harry.. FameChain has their amazing trees. Thats why we got together so much. We didnt plan to meet, but after work one time, I stopped at Dan Tanas by myself. That helped save this league. I was taken back by his willingness to be one of the guys, and his openness with his players was very enjoyable to be around. If I was offended by the book, or what my feelings were. And then when I came down to Miami, it was a whole new world for me down here. Buss is survived by sons Johnny, Jim, Joey and Jesse and daughters Jeanie Buss and Janie Drexel; eight grandchildren; former wife JoAnn; half-sister Susan Hall of Phoenix; half-brother Micky. Jerry Buss Family, Net-Worth, Wiki & Bio.Topic covered in the video:who is jerry buss,How jerry buss. That was a long process, too, and stressful. Hed play his cards. And especially on airplanes, hed always ask me what I was reading, because he was an avid reader. I hope he was looking down happy, and we hoped that the Buss family was happy with everything. We all felt very comfortable around him because he treated us all as human beings. I remember being bummed with all my friends that we werent going to be able to see Magic Is Back, as it was being marketed at the time. Janie and Joey Buss replaced them. with JoAnn Buss{ "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "name": "JoAnn Buss", "gender": "Female" }, Joey Buss{ "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "name": "Joey Buss", "gender": "Male" }, born 1985, age 37 (approx.) So Jerry Buss does not still own the Lakers, but his children do. He also began to integrate his youngest sons, Jesse and Joey, more into the basketball business. Ultimately we came back and made another offer and Lamar took it. Between 2006 and 2011, Id see him when I was coaching, and wed reflect on memories. Echovita Inc is a registered trademark. He knew we had a great team, and he dealt with the good and the bad. With the Lakers, it was one man. I think I hurt his feelings, Johnny said. And I knew, dont talk about management. The takeaway is that we all have to be good, well-rounded people. Who is Dr. Jerry Buss? Jerry was confident that it was going to happen, said Jerrys longtime friend and spokesman Bob Steiner to The Sun Sentinel. Thats something I still talk about and brag about to my sons. It was amazing. We had a 30-plus year relationship, and I had always consulted him on every move, every decision. He was big on that. We cant let him go. And he said, I know Earvin. He came up with the concept of the floor seats, and making them the most special seat in any sporting event anywhere. Some of it is a blur, but thats what I remember. That would be amazing to me. 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 big into collecting basketball cards growing up. The MISL (Major Indoor Soccer League), at the point where I was playing, was propping up soccer in America, and outdrawing NBA teams in certain markets. But he insisted he never wanted to push out his sister. Here are the tributes to Betty Jean Buss. Id have at least expected a phone call or something. I thought, Wow, this is awesome. My dad changed the landscape of the NBA in terms of how he thought about the business. If we werent playing well, he would just show up at practice, unannounced, wouldnt say anything. A lot of times if I didnt see him in the locker room, we went up to the press room at the Forum, and hed be there. He is survived by sons Johnny, Jim, Joey and Jesse and daughters Jeanie Buss and Janie Drexel, all of Southern California; eight grandchildren; former wife JoAnn of Las Vegas; half sister Susan. Ultimately, one way or another, all four of Jerry Buss sons ended up being associated with the LA Lakers. Sources close to the Buss family who arent authorized to speak publicly disputed that. I think theres a lot of money in it. He, with his real estate background, realized that people would pay just like for a house on the beach. He was really a very nice guy who enjoyed the fun things in life. Buss purchased the team, reported to be worth around $1 billion, in 1979. His vision really helped make these moments possible. He was like, The contract is good. He was thinking of Kobe. Pat learned his job on the fly. Because he found out very quick that I was very serious about winning, and he respected that. In the summer of 1986, I had no idea that I was about to be traded to San Antonio. Thats another way we connected. After Jerry's death, his children took up various roles within the organization, with Jeanie Buss ultimately becoming the president and controlling owner of the Lakers.She was only 17 when her father bought the team, and she held various managerial roles over the years, with the team winning the title in 2020. Sports ownership. 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. I was happy to see the way that Dr. Buss and the franchise stuck by Earvin. A few times a year, especially if Dr. Buss traveled with the team, wed sit down and hed ask my opinion about certain things with the team, which I really appreciated his confidence in me. He currently resides in the Greater Los Angeles Metropolitan Area. Thats how he was. It wouldnt just be me reaching out. So I became obsessed with it, and how that process worked. When Jack Kent Cooke sold the Lakers, the Kings, the Forum and a 13,000-acre ranch in Kern County, Jerry Buss met him at an office in Palos Verdes. Copyright 2023 Sporting News Holdings Limited. He showed that you dont really have to lock yourself down in one area as a person. He always treated me very well. 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. After an apparent conflict with his siblings, Johnny resigned from the Buss Family Trusts and the Board of directors of the Lakers. We all held the trophy together. Although he stepped away from active involvement in the Lakers operations in 2017, Johnny seemingly remains a part-owner in the franchise. And he had his hands on everything. The latest installment of BEYOND THE GLORY goes beyond the glitz and glamour of the Lakers' owner and takes an in-depth look at the personal lives and struggles of one of sports' most well . It wasnt owner-player, it was two guys hanging out. In the 1990s, basketball was a little different, and it took a team to win the title; it wasnt put the best players on the court, it was all about teamwork and chemistry, and we were building towards that. Buss, who was 80 when he died of. Had they succeeded, that would have removed her as the Lakers controlling owner and could have threatened the Buss familys ownership of the Lakers. Success starts at the top. The next season, they wanted more of a team, so they called them the Golden Girls, and they had big pom poms. 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. And his business smarts (also kicked in), and the Laker Girls got branded through Reebok. It seems like thatd be something that would be below his pay grade, but it wasnt. I first met him at Muhammad Alis retirement party at the Forum. It was a really intimate moment. I was a little uptight, and didnt really know what to expect, so my first impression just totally relaxed me. Id heard all about the championships in the 1980s, but we werent there yet. 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. 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. And I did very well investing in the coins. Buss turned Lakers games into experiences. All those times we were together, I shared with him, I wanted to be more than just a basketball player. I used to get a big kick out of saying, Our defense is a switching, sliding, sluffing, man-to-man with zone principals. And he would laugh. We actually ended up making an offer, and then taking the offer off the table, because it still was not acceptable. My biggest concern was being traded every year. Its not just another team in the league. Thats one thing different about Dr. Buss different from owners back in the day he was a celebrity too. During his induction into the NBA Hall of Fame in 2010, Magic Johnson called Jerry a master at building a team.. Dr. Buss will always be forever in my heart. I get up, I go there at 10 a.m. to his office (at the Forum) and they tell me I have to wait, Dr. Buss is in a meeting with Jerry West. And Id just played in a rec league game maybe a week prior. I got a call from Tim Harris on the morning that Dr. Buss passed away. Buss said this or Dr. But Wrigley was also the name of the family who owned the team, and also the name of their chewing gum, Wrigleys Spearmint Gum. He said, Johnny just sit here because I think were about to embark on something incredible, recalls Johnny, now 60. Hes probably one of the best owners in the history of the NBA. 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. That team experienced dynastic characteristics. You dont realize these things until you get my age, that you have these kinds of people, that theyre not just your boss. How he figured out our monetary system, the Coast Guard, customs, the first inspector general of the Army ridiculous. But I hadnt seen him yet. He was that fast. Some people said, How dare you, you cant make it commercial. But yes. I thought we had a great professional relationship, and over the years I got to know him and be friends with him. You look at them like father figures. 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.) When he bought the team, there were literally two prices: the downstairs and the upstairs. When Jerry Buss purchased the LA Lakers from former owner Jack Kent Cooke in 1979, he was divorced from his first wife, JoAnn Mueller. Most owners are coming in, they have security, they go to their box, they get in and they get out. However, that changes in the season finale as Buss wishes to bring more family members into the new family business. It didnt have naming rights like Staples Center. He went from playing, to (working with) Chick, to assistant coach to a head coach in what, two and a half years? 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