Jerry Buss, owner of the Los Angeles Lakers, passed away today at the age of 80. Buss had been undergoing cancer treatments for the last 18 months but the immediate cause of death was kidney failure. Jerry Buss had owned the Lakers since 1979 and now leaves the franchise to his surviving family to run.
Certainly a sad day for the NBA to lose one of it's greatest owners. He had several legends play on his teams including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kobe Bryant. His desire to win and love of the Lakers made him a huge part of the LA community. His drive was evident to all his players.
"He was a visionary, he was a trailblazer," Magic Johnson said. "He did things that were, at that time, people thought wasn't cool, wasn't proper. He was a man who walked the walk and talked the talk. He produced championships, because he was the most competitive owner you could ever meet in your life."
The Lakers would win ten NBA titles with his will to win with the last one coming in 2010. In the 34 seasons under his ownership, the Lakers have made the playoffs all but 2 of those seasons. He's even perhaps the most successful owner in North American Sports history, even greater than the late George Steinbrenner.
Brilliant owners may come and go but there might not be one that had such impact on one team, on one sport, on one city like Dr. Jerry Buss.
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