Lakers Owner Jerry Buss Has Died

by Matt Rudnitsky | 11:49 am, February 18th, 2013

Jerry Buss, owner of the Los Angeles Lakers since 1979, is dead at 79 years old. He had recently been hospitalized with cancer.

The Lakers won 10 NBA championships with him at the helm. This tidbit from Bruce Arthur sums up his success as an owner.

In his first 33 years as an owner, Jerry Buss’s Lakers missed the playoffs in 1993-94 and 2004-05. That’s it. And then there was this year.

— Bruce Arthur (@bruce_arthur) February 18, 2013

In remembrance, check out Buss’s Basketball Hall of Fame enshrinement speech from 2010:

RIP, Jerry.

NOTE: There is some confusion over Buss’s age. Some outlets reported he was 80, others 79. Multiple biographies around the internet say he was born in January, 1934, which would make him 79.

[LA Times]