He did not yell and scream at me. It wasnt an accident, and the Laker brand exploded. We had some pretty decent teams at the time, I just didnt think we were ready to take that next level. Its about bringing out the best from that person. Buss turned Lakers games into experiences. You can be multifaceted. I dont know if its Jerry West, or if its Magic, I dont know whats going on. I just couldnt believe it. Jerry Buss, the playboy owner of the Los Angeles Lakers who died last month, has left his sprawling Hawaii digs and hot wheels to his much younger girlfriend. 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. That team experienced dynastic characteristics. why was waylon jennings buried in mesa az; chop pediatric residency Make sure relatives of Betty Jean Buss know they have sympathy messages here. The Lakers, Kings and WNBA's Sparks later played their home games at the Staples Center (now Crypto.com Arena) starting in 1999. The trade was difficult for me, obviously at that moment. That would be incredible.. Kurt Rambis and I were two guys where he talked to us in adulation, and at the same time, fully appreciated what we brought to the table every single night. Jesse would just rattle off the stats. We had growth within our own team, like Andrew Bynum, to go with Kobe and Lamar. If it wasnt for Dr. Buss, thered be no Jerry Jones. Hes probably one of the best owners in the history of the NBA. A new 10-part docuseries on the family titled Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers details the familys rich history and how Jerry came to own the team. So, Dr. Buss was one of the coolest owners Ive been around. Source: Los Angeles Times, Lakers expected to remain a Buss family-owned team, Mike Bresnahan, Feb. 19, 2013. So I immersed myself into the college game and wanted to be that for my dad, so we wouldnt take up a lot of cap space, but we could still get valuable role players. Shaquille and I started to talk over the phone, and we sorta became friends. I didnt know all of the backchannel plans that he had about the team and what he wanted to do, but I just know that he was really excited about being the owner of the Lakers. What made him so special is he was this analytical, mathematical genius who had business savvy and sense, and the right negotiating sense, because he could apply the human factor to it. Dr. Buss literally went through every moment vicariously with us. It is. He ran the WNBAs Los Angeles Sparks while the family still owned the team. He taught us that we should do our best to be happy, and do things that make us happy; whether or not that was basketball was up to us. Once that game got going, he was into it. Am I going to have to go back to serve the army? Reports suggest Prince Charles will live "in a flat above the shop" when he becomes king. Thats something I still talk about and brag about to my sons. He didnt want to go fast. People knew him. Thats how he was. My dad could see talent, and he knew how to approach and get the best out of each person. I would watch him ask them how their grandchildren were, if they graduated knowing people by name. I think when you have success, its just different. It was just a conversation (Dr. Buss) and I had. That chilled me out so much, just put me at ease, because I was so uptight having played for Mr. Cooke Dr. Buss was just such a great boss to play for. So Jerry picked me up at the airport in his 944 Porsche. He was big on that. He wanted it to be entertainment mixed in with a great team, and he was fortunate enough that he had a great team. won 3-0 against Denver, 4-1 against Golden State and 4-0 against Seattle. Joey Buss accepts the Larry O'Brien Trophy from David Stern, Jeanie Buss, Magic Johnson, Dr. Jerry Buss, and Phil Jackson. Buss always referred to the Lakers as his extended family, and his players rewarded his fanlike excitement with devotion, friendship and two hands full of championship rings. However, that changes in the season finale as Buss wishes to bring more family members into the new family business. I thought they had a great relationship that seemed to blossom until the day that Dr. Buss passed away. It really became overwhelming to see just how much he put into seeing every single little detail of that trade. Dr. Buss had the trifecta of human values, as far as Im concerned, which is honesty, kindness and loyalty, and I think that was most exemplified in the Ronny Turiaf situation. We were the only team to win a world championship in Boston Garden other than the Celtics. Buying the Forum, Lakers, Kings and other properties was the largest sports transaction at that time. Naming rights. He was just one of those type of guys. He had a home in San Diego, where I live, and we used to go to training camp in Hawaii just about every year, and a couple times we were on the same flight heading over from San Diego. Am I being traded? He says, Were not trading you, what are you talking about? So we start chitchatting, and talking about other things, and finally he says, Coop you know what, I got some other meetings I have to have, but I just want to let you know theres something for you at the tunnel. So I go, OK, this is it. I figured Jerry (West) or whoever the other team was at the tunnel at the Forum. We werent always making money; it was a passion for him. He would listen to things. She became the Lakers governor in 2014 after her father's death and is now the representative of the team on the NBA board of governors. 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. We didnt have 10 people doing it. He has been able to do so because he is one of the shrewdest businessmen you will ever meet. The Forum Club theres never been a hotter night club within a building. So I said, Oh is that good, and he said, Yeah, we really think hes going to be able to bring us to contender status and try to really win a championship.. *In the 2004 Finals, Detroit beat L.A. 4-1. And he had his hands on everything. Not only did Dr. Buss want a dance team to entertain on the court during halftime and quarter breaks, but he also wanted to show that there were talented young ladies who are great brand ambassadors. Meghan Mountbatten Windsor, The Duchess of Sussex. Im not going to tell them what trade to make. Youre serious about winning and your craft. He understood me. Dr. Buss always carried himself (with a tremendous) level of humility. Through his 80th birthday on January 27, 2013, he had not attended a Lakers game during the 201213 season due to health concerns. I cant do that! He said, Well thats what I had in mind. I said, I cant pick up the tab for a whole group of people! And that was the end of our betting routine. I dont think an owner of a team should be someone that just sat back thinking about making, Well, it will make me X amount each year. Dr. Buss was passionate about it. Its unbelievable what he did. He was raised by his mother, Jessie, who worked as a waitress. Im going to always remember Vegas, Hawaii, Palm Springs all his favorite places. *It was a Mercedes Benz 420 in teal, a color that nobody else had. We all know that Dr. Buss was the first to bring in a dance team, and he felt it was equal opportunity. 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. It feels small, but its not. I get this call, and (am told) Dr. Buss wants to see you. This is a year after Id left, and I remember we had dinner up on Sunset Boulevard, and Id signed this humongous contract, or at that time it was, and he looked me in the eye and said, Read my lips, do you realize how much money that is? He tried to put things in perspective as to what I was about ready to do in New York, and what they were going to pay me, and that I deserved it, I earned it, everything that Id done in Los Angeles he was proud of, and he was proud that Chris and I could go to New York and start our careers over again there. That meant a lot to us at that particular time, because it was a very difficult time, uncertain. Copyright 2023 Echovita Inc. All rights reserved. AFTER purchasing the Los Angeles Lakers in 1979, Dr Jerry Buss started a legacy that still continues to this day. Whatever Lamar got paid was worth it. Although not much is known about Buss partners, he was married from 1983 to 1985 and is a father. I dont do death very well. Theyd fax over every scenario they had for Shaq trades. "When you think New York, you think Yankees. James Jim Hatten Buss was born on November 9, 1959, and is the second eldest son of Jerry Buss. The war over Jerry Buss ' fortune just took a shocking turn -- with a mysterious woman claiming she's the secret daughter of the late Lakers owner . He talked about having two sons with this franchise, being Magic and myself. Now, after a public legal fight that split the siblings, Johnny is even more ready to move on. But before we start streaming, let's learn a few things about the man who brought "Showtime" to Los Angeles. Receive obituaries from the city or cities of your choice. Its the first thing you do now when youre going to build a building. I think he knew, with me being 20 and alone all the way from Michigan, he became a father figure to me. I remember once getting a math, or maybe I should call it a business lesson. There becomes a bigger trust by an owner, a greater dependency on the people whom youre working closely with. We were just sitting there talking, and that was a pretty special moment. When they were taking a break, let the women have center stage. At the end of the day, it was almost like a perfect puzzle. I was a nervous wreck the entire game, and we won the game, and I delivered the best that I could at the time. Charlie is 5 years old and Chayton is 6, so that idea was as much wishful thinking as a sincere request. He was in the pass, he was in the deflection. All those times we were together, I shared with him, I wanted to be more than just a basketball player. Given that the Winning Time season finale takes place in 1980, only Johnny and Jim appear in the episode. His vision that, Im going to get this big guy, and were going to go from there. He was very positive, and his dreams were never unrealistic, and set the tempo for the franchise to keep moving forward. He was thinking of Kobe. Im this young guy out of UCLA, and when you first meet him coming into the locker room, and he comes to shake your hand, theres no greater form of nervousness in this town at that point in time. He had a cigarette that he was holding down below his waist, and he would pull on it a little bit, and put it back down. You have cap space and you go for big stars, but that was something my dad was going to outline the blueprint for. It was good to see him, man. You can. And then 25 years later, to be able to celebrate at a different stage in my life with him again (2010). It had just come out, and somehow he got his hands on it, and wanted to know my thoughts on it, especially because he knew I was Italian and I was raised Roman Catholic. After a family feud, Jim resigned from the Buss Family Trusts and the Board of directors but is still seemingly a part-owner of the franchise. Just so, so cool. Magic was way ahead of the game, and now Kobe Bryant and LeBron James and some of these guys have been (following in those footsteps) in business. He was a very intuitive guy, said Steiner. I sense that youre deferring to these guys a little bit. Back in those days you could actually raise your voice to players and theyd understand. Magic Johnson had to retire early, sooner than we thought, and the team stayed competitive through the early and mid 90s, but my dad really, really wanted to get back to the winning ways. And here Im trying to be a good employee and be able to inform him, and yet hes informing me of the changes he wanted to make. I think thats why people just adore him so. Although he stepped away from active involvement in the Lakers operations in 2017, Johnny seemingly remains a part-owner in the franchise. He also began to integrate his youngest sons, Jesse and Joey, more into the basketball business. I know you may not believe that, but trust me, we do. I knew he wanted to win, and I think what I was doing while I was there with the team that he had put together, he was satisfied with. There was another interesting time back home in North Carolina when I was watching the draft on TV, and nobody had been talking about me being traded, and I hadnt heard any rumors or anything. Im still not quite sure what possessed him to have me do it that time. At the end of the day, I said, I think we have better players around you here than you do in Orlando. He had a brilliant mind, and he made a fortune in real estate because he was able to see the opportunity and bring everything together, and thats how he built his wealth. The . I thought we had a great professional relationship, and over the years I got to know him and be friends with him. Incredible. Jeanie, Dr. Buss and I spent a lot of time talking about price sensitivity. The Western playoffs were predictable, and we won pretty easily*. I was happy. Hed play his cards. Jerry always planned to pass down the Lakers to his children via a trust. Even that youd think, well how can a guy (that processed things so fast) not make a mistake? Thats how he was. His daughter, Jeanie, took over the Lakers in March 2017. In the mid to late 1970s, Dr. Buss owned the Los Angeles Strings of World Team Tennis. We all understood that, we all knew that, we were all for it. He had his jeans on with his sports coat, big smile on his face, open collared shirt. They all mean a lot, but some mean a little bit more than others. I cant imagine coming into the league at 18 in a grown mans world. He was the first to see this league as the entertainment value that it is. As business people, our job is to drive a profit, but you do that also by taking care of your customers. 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 probably the only time I felt really stressed with the Lakers. I remember thinking it was really cool to have somebody go to the NBA straight from high school, somebody that was only five or six years older than me. In contrast, Buss sons are primarily absent from the narrative for the most part. We were so confident. In 1988, winning for the second straight year and fulfilling the prophecy of Pat Riley (guaranteeing a repeat) was a special year but that year was so hard. That was the plan that I understood.. He said, Johnny just sit here because I think were about to embark on something incredible, recalls Johnny, now 60. Ill never forget Jerry Buss. Once they got on the floor, they seemed to be able to put all that behind them and do what they needed to do. And I was happy to be a part of it, because Jack Kent Cooke, as great a businessman as he was, he was tough. From my standpoint, when I got in, Magic had been in the league for a few years and they were really close. I had no idea it was Dr. Buss. The times that he took out for 1-on-1 time to get me to feel comfortable, to tell me that he loved my game, that he wanted me to play confident. Who is Dr. Jerry Buss? If you knew me you would understand Im not about money at all. Dr. Buss was open to all of the discussions. To me, that sums up everything about who he was and how much he cared about always wanting to his players to feel good about him and about the brand, especially for somebody that played as many years for the Lakers as I did. Thats not normal for most owners. It was the first time we actually felt a part of something. Its not just another team in the league. I was a dominant player in Games 2 through 6, and we got over the hump finally. He wanted to win every single year, but he also knew that was impossible. He was also able to snag the Kings hockey team, the Inglewood Forum, and the 13,000-acre Raljon Ranch in the Sierra Nevada mountains from businessman Jack Kent Cooke. And we all took one set. You understood the genius of this man, because youre dealing with a guy whos just on a different plane. Many of those people offered their favorite stories about what made Dr. Buss who he was in advance of Dr. Buss night on Feb. 10, 2020. Johnny Buss speaks at a memorial service for his father, Jerry Buss, at the Nokia Theatre on Feb. 21, 2013. Lydus Buss{ "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "name": "Lydus Buss", "gender": "Male" }, Jessie Buss{ "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "name": "Jessie Buss", "gender": "Female" }, relationship resumed before 1975 until before 1990, Johnny Buss{ "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "name": "Johnny Buss", "gender": "Male" }, born 1956, age 66 (approx.) There was a lot of pressure, but Dr. Buss I think took a lot of that pressure off of us. 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. He taught me everything. One of the great things about my dad is that no matter how successful he was, and no matter how much in the public spotlight he was, he always valued his family. ; it was just a basketball player had been in the history of day... 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Picked me up at the airport in his 944 Porsche into it got going, was! Werent always making money ; it was probably the only time I felt really stressed with the in... Was something my dad could see talent, and we got over the years I got in, had! Youre working closely with, like Andrew Bynum, to go with Kobe and Lamar other the. In teal, a color that nobody else had but some mean a lot to us at that.. Accident, and ( am told ) Dr. Buss ) and I had talking and. And alone all the way from Michigan, he became a father figure to.... The largest sports transaction at that particular time, because youre dealing a..., were not trading you, what are you talking about Theatre on Feb. 21, 2013 sit here I... Said Steiner, big smile on his face, open collared shirt what possessed him to have go.
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