He had been in and out of the hospital for more than a year before his death. It was an honor to be able to be asked to say some words. The Lakers are on fire. degree in two and a half years in 1955. Some of it is a blur, but thats what I remember. I think Dr. Buss always had a plan in life. Wed come up with Steve Blake and Matt Barnes, and my dad was fully supportive of it, and cleared it with Mitch and Jim, and we ended up signing them. He was thinking of Kobe. My dad could see talent, and he knew how to approach and get the best out of each person. We got something new, but we also got something that even if we didnt get Shaquille, we got a draw. The Buss siblings have occasionally butted heads in the past, such as with the hiring of coach Mike DAntoni over Phil Jackson, the fiance of one of the Buss children. So he lined things up, and Id get samples, and wed talk it through, and hed say, Oh! Gerald Hatten "Jerry" Buss (January 27, 1933 - February 18, 2013) was an American businessman, real estate investor and chemist. He said, I think the desire to be an owner left when my dad passed away. So that was an awkward couple of days. So that was one of the things I noticed about him. Elon Musk. He was very, very friendly, and the door was always open. Once that game got going, he was into it. Magics mom was a Seventh Day Adventist, and they have similar dietary restrictions as Muslims, and she was aware of my faith, so she would cook for me and take care of me when I was on the road and wed cut through and play in Detroit. What people dont realize is that Phil (Jackson) and them called me when we were about to lose Lamar Odom, and said, youre the only one (Dr. Buss) will listen to. I love him, and his family, and I thank him to this day for the opportunity. Wed played pool until 2 or 3 in the morning he loved to play 8 ball, and he was much better than me. After a brief stint in the aerospace industry, Buss began working as a professor at the University of Southern California in the Chemistry department. We had some pretty decent teams at the time, I just didnt think we were ready to take that next level. I felt, eventually, people would come out and see (Kobe) play. He made sure they had the kind of food I wanted, and he was really attentive to the little details to make sure it was a comfortable environment to me. Winning drove both of us. He said, Hey Mark, I know you had the surgery yesterday and am just thinking about you, hoping for a quick recovery, and I hope youre OK. It was really cool of him. And I was happy to be a part of it, because Jack Kent Cooke, as great a businessman as he was, he was tough. Jerry Buss Family, Net-Worth, Wiki & Bio.Topic covered in the video:who is jerry buss,How jerry buss. Kurt Rambis doing his usual mischief, (having fun) with Dr. Buss. He was doing it because it was truly his passion. Once they got on the floor, they seemed to be able to put all that behind them and do what they needed to do. If you knew me you would understand Im not about money at all. After failing a field sobriety test, Buss was taken into custody, given a blood test and booked on suspicion of driving while intoxicated with a blood-alcohol level over 0.08. Buss turned Lakers games into experiences. All six of his children worked. All relationship and family history information shown on FameChain has been compiled from data in the public domain. I was a senior in high school, and my dad would explain it to us kids like, Could you imagine to going to every Laker game? [7] On February 14, 2013, it was revealed that Buss had been battling cancer since 2012. We took a little bit longer to know each other, but he was great for me and for my family. It was amazing how he had it all down. Very happy.*L.A. Im going through a bunch of different players throughout the league, and I remember he just looks at me after four or five hours, and he goes, You know you were always so quiet, and I thought you didnt know (stuff). Before that, I remember my dad telling me about this workout for an up-and-coming high school kid, and how Jerry West told him that he was going to be this special player. Authorize the publication of the original written obituary with the accompanying photo. Buss is survived by sons Johnny, Jim, Joey and Jesse and daughters Jeanie Buss and Janie Drexel; eight grandchildren; former wife JoAnn; half-sister Susan Hall of Phoenix; half-brother Micky. But when we did speak and get a chance to talk to each other, I thought it was real genuine. He did not yell and scream at me. And when we were all kids and we were together growing up, wed always watch the games. We were just talking friend to friend. Buss, who was 80 when he died of. But once we acquired Shaq and Kobe, we started beating them more often than they were beating us. There is no photo or video of Betty Jean Buss.Be the first to share a memory to pay tribute. We used to meet almost every month at his house and have lunch, and the lunch was always the same. Jim worked as the President of Los Angeles Lazers from 1985 (to 1989), succeeding his elder brother in the role. Thats probably the most Ive ever seen him animated. Im going to always remember Vegas, Hawaii, Palm Springs all his favorite places. 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. So Jerry Buss does not still own the Lakers, but his children do. He was a wheeler and dealer. Dr. Buss is walking around, hes in the (various) rooms, hes hanging out, talking to people, shaking hands. That was my reaction. 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. The first time I met him was in 1987 after I was hired, and Dr. Buss said, You come with a good recommendation Chickie Baby has recommended you highly. Buss said that. Jeanie Buss, Magic Johnson, Jerry Buss, and Phil Jackson Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Lakers Center (1975-89) 6X Champion, 2X Finals MVP, 6X MVP, 19X All-Star, Hall of Fame He always treated me very. With Dr. Buss, Im sure he would have loved for the two of them and the team to be able to coexist a little longer and maybe get another title or two, but he let it play out. He brought Magic in, and they formed a bond right away. He really wanted to own the team.. Buss also owned other professional sports franchises in Southern California. I didnt realize this was a thing, where you get handed this trophy from the commissioner and do a speech. To watch the franchise grow and see his influence on the Lakers, and more importantly, some of the things he did that teams in the league are still doing. In other words, how offensive could it be? I thought we had a great professional relationship, and over the years I got to know him and be friends with him. He always was that kind of an owner. 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. The whole franchise. Sports ownership. Think about somebody calling you to say goodbye, and we both cried for I dont know how many hours. Before the championships from 2000-02, as an adolescent, it was very frustrating watching the Lakers lose in the playoffs. If you knew me you would understand Im not about money at all. 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. Meghan Mountbatten Windsor, The Duchess of Sussex. He called Jerry, and it was done. It was good to see him, man. Im sure he had a lot of good conversations with Kobe at that time that helped him get his feet on the ground. Buss later sold the Kings, retaining ownership of the Lakers and The Forum. He was a very special man to me. Afterwards, I had to go to the hospital for three days. I will miss her and send my deepest sympathy to the family.. Its not just another team in the league. Everybody that we asked to participate agreed to be interviewed, and everybody gives the experience that they had because the fans know about what took place on the court, Jeanie said to The Athletic. Dr. Buss really would have been happy being a teacher. That was a long process, too, and stressful. It wasnt that I was around Dr. Buss that much that I had to rely on him for something, but when you were around him damn he made you feel good. He knew that he had this hot team in the Lakers in the early years of Showtime, but the Kings were always a tough sell. And especially on airplanes, hed always ask me what I was reading, because he was an avid reader. We didnt tell Mitch (Kupchak), we didnt tell anybody about that. He was definitely someone that was willing to do whatever it took to bring the city of Los Angeles a winner, and win at the highest level. Shaquille and I started to talk over the phone, and we sorta became friends. And he always wanted to know what my favorite book was, and I told him it was The Agony and the Ecstasy. He said, Thats interesting, because I knew Irving Stone, the author. Dr. Buss never sat and waited a month or two. They watched the game and came out cheering and smiling, and I asked whats happening, and he said, Were getting ice cream! I was excited to have the ice cream thats probably when becoming a Lakers fan began for me. Jerry's 66 percent ownership of the team passed to each of his six children via a trust, equating to 11 percent per child. And I remember after Game 7 of the 2010 Finals against Boston, down on the court amongst all the fanfare, Dr. Buss and I huddled up a little bit and kind of smiled. Jeanie was always going to be slated as running the business side for as long as she lived, Johnny said. The Bryant-Shaquille O'Neal tandem brought three more titles in the early 2000s. In the process of that, we worked Kobe out one day against two guys who were supposedly going to be drafted higher than him, and it was ridiculous. Very few. We were all super excited to see him play, and one of the referees threw him out early on for arguing calls. 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. If you have a star, one of the most important assets of that person is will people pay to see him play. That team experienced dynastic characteristics. In any industry, when your boss says youre doing a good job, thats what you want to hear. Such a meaningful and historical figure to all of us that who love this game and this League. And thats what he, thats what we, created. Back then, (player movement) on that scale was not something that happened that often I think Dr. Buss mindset played into it a lot. As business people, our job is to drive a profit, but you do that also by taking care of your customers. Id run into him in Los Angeles at various places and said hello. There was prime real estate, and it was about location, location, location. Because the Lakers threw everything into the pot, anticipating and hoping to be able to acquire Shaq. I think that was the only ring that he wore, when we beat Boston the first time. Immediately when Dr. Buss bought the team, he invited me to the party, and he said, You know Jamaal, if Muhammad wont come to the mountain, the mountain will come to Muhammad. Theres a very subtle story there, because what he was saying is, we could both reach out. Thats another way we connected. Bryant captured two more rings without O'Neal to close out that decade. Boris Johnson. The lying in state was held on Monday, February 27th 2023 from 12:00 PM to 8:00 PM at the Fox Funeral Home (1116 N 19th St, Beatrice, NE 68310). Given that the Winning Time season finale takes place in 1980, only Johnny and Jim appear in the episode. Betty and I were friends from 6th grade and we always had a lot of laughs together. He focused on the team's marketing, commissioned the Laker Girls, and had movie stars appear in the crowd during games. The thing he taught me the best is that he maximized his days. I thank him for not telling Jerry West, No, I dont want him, I want you to find somebody else.. He also taught me how to be a leader and to hire the best people and let them do their jobs. Luckily that first year the players, in spite of my lack of experience, we won the championship and the rest is history. EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Jerry Buss' children intend on carrying out their father's succession plan for the Los Angeles Lakers following the iconic owner's death Monday. We used to call him Magic Buss, or Earvin Buss. You dont know when you make the commitment whats going to happen. If you are thinking of buy an NBA jersey then check out the official retailers of the NBA below. Hes probably one of the best owners in the history of the NBA. And I remember I was working as a scout when my dad called and let me know about us acquiring Pau Gasol. Receive obituaries from the city or cities of your choice. He liked to challenge us. But they dont know what happened behind the scenes, and thats what we wanted to show, is what goes on after the game and the effect that winning has on people, on a family.. Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) February 18, 2013 Wed talk about business. I think theres a lot of money in it. I thought it was a 1-on-1 dinner! He allowed Jerry West to make the bulk of the basketball decisions, and Dr. Buss would give him the yay or nay, and most of the time it was a yay. I said, Were trying to repeat, and I know you love winning championships, and a key piece of that is Lamar Odom. So I played in San Antonio for about 4.5 months and had no idea the Lakers were interested in me. I remember him saying, You know how cool it would be for the Buss family to own the Lakers for 100 years? Kinda rustic. I just looked at him. And there were always all these hours spent talking basketball, and him trying to prep me for a bigger role. He always wanted to make his family feel important, and he showed that in many different ways. By age 46, Jerry and his business partner, Frank Mariani, turned that million into a real-estate empire in multiple states that was worth an estimated $350million. After we lost to the Pistons*, we had an organization type of dinner, with all the players and the media in a banquet room. It was one of my finest moments. Because Id worked on prior events like Championship parades and so on, event mode planning started. Were just talking basketball for hours, until 2 a.m., and Im telling him about how I love being a talent evaluator. It was just a conversation (Dr. Buss) and I had. kids--Joey, now 14, and Jesse, 10--with one of his girlfriends, Karen Demel. He was in great spirits, it was great talking, he still had his sense of humor. We thought it was great. From online or printed sources and from publicly accessible databases. We had a few. I think he knew, with me being 20 and alone all the way from Michigan, he became a father figure to me. My dream was to be a businessman after I was done. He asked a lot of questions about defense, how we were defending this or that. Youd pick up three of them, and it was the same trade tweaked multiple times. Never talked down to people. My dad started incorporating Joey and I more after we won the back-to-back titles, and we had the mid-level exception in the summer, and he asked who we liked. Jim was later appointed as the Head of Basketball Operations but was removed in 2017 by Jeanie. One of the things he said is the most important thing about business is just having patience. We had the press conference, and I said Im going to be here with Pat for a month, and then Pats going to be the head coach. Buss became an owner in World Team Tennis, the Los Angeles Strings. And when Dr. Buss said that, that was all our thinking. Copyright 2023 Sporting News Holdings Limited. An alumnus of Northwestern University and Arcadia High School, she has written about everything from high school sports to college football to boat racing during the past 15 years. I think his father was a coal miner, if I remember correctly, and we shared a lot of personal things that you share if you like each other. It wouldnt just be me reaching out. We had something to talk about immediately, and he was flattered to know that I was aware. In 1979 Jerry purchased Pickfair Mansion in Beverly Hills from the estate of Mary Pickford. Its unbelievable what he did. Recently he has become a father figure to Demel's. But before we start streaming, let's learn a few things about the man who brought "Showtime" to Los Angeles. He didnt know what the future held, I didnt know what the future held. He wanted to make sure that the Lakers, what hed created with the winning, and what they meant to the community, would continue. The entrepreneur, the Doctor. When Dr. Buss first bought the team, he looked at what we were charging for floor seats, and knew based on anecdotal data of talking to people that with a young Magic Johnson and this team, he could charge more. Its not only a game, its entertainment. He was also a country singer who performed at dive bars, among his favorite jobs. *Jan. 11, 1980: the Lakers won 123-100. In 1978, at age 33, he became owner of the team following his father's death. Buss purchased the team, reported to be worth around $1 billion, in 1979. I was happy. It was really a great celebration of life for him, and I was so proud of that. *It was a Mercedes Benz 420 in teal, a color that nobody else had. He and I would sit there drinking rum and cokes, talking about strategy, talking about the game. When asked if selling his shares was part of his aim, Johnny said, Absolutely.. But now I realize, you actually really know your (stuff)! Then he started asking for my opinion on things. 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. Buss made several key moves in his early years as the team's owner, most notably selecting Magic Johnson with the No. It was like watching a 17-year-old guy just batter a 30-something year old guy, and youd expect itd be a lot more balanced than that. While still very much involved with the Lakers, Dr. Buss continued to rely on Mitch Kupchak, Phil Jackson, Jim Buss, Jeanie Buss and Magic Johnson as the Lakers built back up from the Kobe-Shaq years into the Kobe-Pau Gasol-Lamar Odom years. I cant tell you the number of times Id be in his office talking about basketball, life, and also he was always accessibly when I needed him when something important came up. We all understood that, we all knew that, we were all for it. 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