Overview
- Commissioner Adam Silver told reporters on Tuesday that the league conducted full vetting of Mark Walter before approving him as principal governor and that the NBA itself is not investigating him.
- Mark Walter agreed in August to sell majority control of the Lakers to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger for a reported $12.5 billion, but the transaction still awaits formal approval by the NBA Board of Governors and was not expected to be voted on at the recent meetings.
- Federal and regulatory inquiries remain active: the FBI seized Walter’s devices in September 2025, two Walter-linked insurance firms received grand jury subpoenas in February 2026, and the SDNY and SEC have pursued separate probes.
- A split in the Buss family has produced litigation after five siblings voted to sell their remaining trust shares and Jeanie Buss dissented, a dispute that could determine which person must meet the NBA’s governor ownership threshold and who will run the franchise day to day.
- The episode has paused some Lakers front-office hiring and planning as the league reviews its vetting practices, and it highlights how rising media rights and revenue have pushed franchise values to levels that make governance and regulatory risks more consequential.