Mark Walter claims he wasnt selling Lakers until phone call that changed everything

It was a sale no one saw coming.Not even, up until mere days before the record-setting transaction was struck this August, the man who did the sudden and unexpected selling himself.That, at least, is how Mark Walter described the process that led to his shock sale of the Lakers this summer.In an exclusive interview with The California Post this week, he said his decision to flip the franchise after barely a year of majority ownership was not premeditated; nor one that, even amid a federal investigation that had roiled his multi-hundred-billion-dollar business empire, he was actively seeking to execute.Instead, Walter indicated he was planning to retain control of the iconic NBA franchise, which he acquired at a $10 billion valuation from the Buss family in June 2025 –– until one phone call with venture capitalist Josh Kushner in mid-August ultimately changed everything.

That set into motion the $12.5 billion purchase that Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger closed with Walter within the 72 hours that followed.“We just received an offer on the Lakers that was quite a good offer,” Walter insisted, “that we decided we’d pursue selling it.”Walter’s version of events, of course, runs counter to the public speculation that has enveloped the 66-year-old businessman in the months since the deal was announced.At the time, the move was seen as a way for Walter to quickly raise capital in the face of the federal probe being conducted into several insurance companies under his control.That fire-sale narrative was further amplified when he also cashed out his stake in Chelsea Football Club of the English Premier League in September, and reportedly began exploring another sale of the WNBA’s Sparks last week.Those developments triggered larger questions about the state of Walter’s financial situation; and specifically, whether he would have to offload the Dodgers next in what was starting to feel like a full-scale sell-off of his once-vast sports portfolio....