[30][32] His daughter took over the Lakers on March 27, 2017. [27], NBA commissioner David Stern said of Buss "The NBA has lost a visionary owner whose influence on our league is incalculable and will be felt for decades to come". It was an important economic trend, another thing that he identified, and brought the NBA into more prominence. The Lakers would rebuild According to Jerrys He always treated me very well. But then right away, the Lakers started winning championships, and Showtime was coined, and little did I know that Id get a chance to join them years later. Buss purchased the team, reported to be worth around $1 billion, in 1979. What are we arguing about? 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. Well, at that time, Jack Kent Cooke was going through a divorce, and he moved to Nevada to establish residency in order to process his divorce as a citizen of Nevada, which had different settlement laws. The franchise competed Who Is Jerry Buss Mom & Dad? To pay tribute towards the legendary human being, Jerry Buss, hundreds of his friends, relatives, colleagues gathered at the Nokia Theatre L.A. On February 22, he was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in a private ceremony. Jeanie, Dr. Buss and I spent a lot of time talking about price sensitivity. He treated people with respect. questionable behavior in his private life, Jerry Busss legacy is two-fold. And then they walked me back over and said, Heres Dr. Buss. Coming from Tobacco Road, North Carolina, I was like, Damn, this is a cool dude! I couldnt believe he was just down to earth. It was everything that you would hope for in a new teammate thats going to make a significant contribution to the team. This multi-talent legend is not with us anymore, but his great work will always remind us of him. All relationship and family history information shown on FameChain has been compiled from data in the public domain. 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. Just a great feeling to play for an organization that had a leader like Dr. Buss. Im sure he had a lot of good conversations with Kobe at that time that helped him get his feet on the ground. Its the first thing you do now when youre going to build a building. I think thats why people just adore him so. The couple began dating in 1999 and engaged for four years when they broke it off in 2016. I dont do death very well. He was the first one to see that opportunity to sell the naming rights of the building, which really was an asset to the company, because now instead of going to Forum, you were going to the Great Western Forum, and Great Western was one of the big banks in Southern California at the time. She became the first Dont be afraid of him just because hes Kareem, just because hes Magic. [2] Buss earned a scholarship to the University of Wyoming,[3] graduating with a BS degree in two and a half years in 1953. How did Jerry Buss make his fortune, how did Gerald Hatten Buss, an American businessman, investor, chemist, and philanthropist, was born on January 27, 1933. Kind of re-thinking the economics of ticket sales. If some of Buss children or his ex-wife did want to sell, they would have to overcome some obstacles. So, Im like, Oh boy, here it is, because I knew all trades had to go through him. He bought me dinner. Jerry Buss was known primarily for being the owner of the LA Lakers. 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. He understood the brand of the Lakers, and that first time he sat down with me in 1979, he said, I want to make the Lakers a household name. Basically, he wanted Showtime. with Karen Demel{ "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "name": "Karen Demel", "gender": "Female" }, Jesse Buss{ "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "name": "Jesse Buss", "gender": "Male" }, born 1988, age 34 (approx.) 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. outstanding business success. If you are thinking of buy an NBA jersey then check out the official retailers of the NBA below. Now, after we won the title that first year in 1999-2000, Id go back to Dr. Buss to ask for approval of updated price codes, and Id have a document that compared last years price codes to what I was suggesting for the 2000-01 season. From online or printed sources and from publicly accessible databases. 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. People thought it meant you had to have a superstar, but it really wasnt about that, it was about the winning, and then people would see the superstars because we were winning. The only way for us to change was to do something drastic. He said, I want you to take me to dinner at this real fancy restaurant with some friends. I said, I cant afford that! So, Dr. Buss was one of the coolest owners Ive been around. general, owe him a debt of gratitude. So I got back to L.A., and Dr. Buss called me in his office, and hes like, look, This is a business, this is the way it goes, we dont have to tell you. I said, I at least expect a phone call. He said I understand youre upset, it was taken out of context. Of course, I had to go talk to Magic too, and Magic said Theyd have to give up a lot more to get James Worthy. You know how that goes. He also began to integrate his youngest sons, Jesse and Joey, more into the basketball business. I remember when he explained it to me we all knew Wrigley Field, where the Cubs played. It was just great to be able to watch and learn. Every championship, wed go celebrate away from everybody. The Lakers had literally won the championship a few minutes earlier, but my dad couldnt stop raving that I had 25 points, 16 rebounds and 5 blocks in my AAU game. history. As part of the deal to move the Lakers into Staples Center, Buss sold the Great Western Forum (which was later reverted to its original name). Despite his extracurricular work commitments, Jerry never took Recently he has become a father figure to Demel's. It is of Old English origin, and sometimes can be spelled Gerry, Gerrie, Geri, Jery, Jere, Jerrie, or Jeri. This is the way owners should operate. Hed recommend books for me to read. I know you may not believe that, but trust me, we do. Its about bringing out the best from that person. You wanted to give him a little extra. There was a time in the early 1980s when Dr. Buss would ask me, Whos going to be the most improved team in the league this year by the greatest number of games. Hed say, Well bet a dinner on this. I said, OK, Ill bet with you. So each year, wed both pick a team, and I won for three straight years. He really thought about things like that, that it was equal opportunity, and if men could be the stars, then women could be the stars too. He just shook the trophy in that tiny little locker room in Boston. tributes. We thought it was great. In addition, the fund was used for two endowed chairs and an endowed scholarship fund for students with a chemistry degree. And when (my wife) Chris and I would have dinner with Dr. Buss, he was very gracious with Chris. I was a nervous wreck the entire game, and we won the game, and I delivered the best that I could at the time. Dr. Buss was one of those guys. WNBA team, the LA Sparks, He was talking about wanting to get out of Memphis and all this stuff, and Im like, Man itd be great if we could play together. Ive always had respect for him, known his family. It was just a conversation (Dr. Buss) and I had. There were eight or nine different price codes, and each one had so many thousands of seats, not counting the floor seats. 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. It was amazing how he had it all down. He was a very, very, very generous man. Then, Jeanie became the president of the Forum, the Lakers home stadium until 1998. That was a big part of growing up for all of us. And I did very well investing in the coins. Some of it is a blur, but thats what I remember. He currently resides in the Greater Los Angeles Metropolitan Area. Jeanie and Jim Buss chat before the start of a news conference to introduce Dwight Howard as the Lakers new center on Aug. 10, 2012. He was so quick. Kinda rustic. After a short time in the aerospace industry, he and his friend Frank Mariani went into real estate, the firm of Mariani-Buss Associates seeing immediate success. 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. Also, check Stefan Holm: Divorce, Controversy & Net Worth>>. He had to liquidate everything, practically, to get it. His father, Lydus, left the family when Jerry was an infant. Besides being a sports team owner, he was also an American businessman, chemist, real estate investor, poker player, and philanthropist. Required fields are marked *. Nevada. I think the everyday element had taken its toll, so he probably was spending more time with his family and a little bit less with the team. I couldnt be more thankful for all the parties involved in that trade, because it really changed my career here in the NBA, and gave me a second life. Obviously, Kobe was able to do that with the help of the franchise. After Jerrys death, Jeanie became the president of the Lakers. Buss when he took the $1,000 he had saved and made his first property He talked about having two sons with this franchise, being Magic and myself. Buss purchased the team, reported to be worth around $1 billion, in 1979. In the late 1980s, we were living in Encinitas, California, and my father was home with a family friend, and they needed to go watch the Lakers game against Boston, so they locked themselves up in his bedroom. Dr. Buss, many nights after the games where hed come down to the locker room after everybody cleared out. Jerry was the owner of Los Angeles Lakers (NBA), Los Angeles Kings Hockey (NHL), and The Forum. But when we did speak and get a chance to talk to each other, I thought it was real genuine. Furthermore, this poker player also appeared in the GSN series High Stakes Poker and the NBC late-night series Poker After Dark. He was not nearly as animated in the other championships as he was in that one, for obvious reasons. In other words, how offensive could it be? Thats how he was. Id say, I call it the smorgasbord defense a little bit of everything.. Id never encountered somebody with that type of money and power to be so easy to talk to. It came down to Game 7 at Staples Center, and halfway through the game I felt very defeated. The first hour was always just talking and telling stories and visiting. Janie (Buss) Drexel, 53, serves as the Lakers director of charitable services. Jerry was soft spoken, he had a great charm about him, and was just a unique person who believed in me for a long time, and I dont think in my life Ive ever had anybody who was as straight forward with me as him. Im still not quite sure what possessed him to have me do it that time. The series is set in the back offices of an NBA team and was recently greenlit for a 10-episode season by Netflix. Our 1987 team was just loaded, so we expected to win every game in the playoffs. If I just followed the blueprint he laid out for me, I was going to be successful, and I did. change the face of US sport as we know it. We had some tumultuous losses. He was so cool when he introduced himself, so laid back. He was universally liked as a person because, despite his enormous wealth, success, and celebrity standing, he treated everybody the same way, regardless of their status. Stanley Cups before he sold the team to Bruce McNall in 1988. It didnt have naming rights like Staples Center. We actually ended up making an offer, and then taking the offer off the table, because it still was not acceptable. We would usually start watching NBA League Pass at 4 p.m., when the Eastern games would come on, but he didnt really know as much about the draft. Copyright FameChain 2023, All rights reserved. Then in his third season owning the team, they ended up calling them the Laker Girls, and established a dance team. Back then, you could drive in right off the street. But it was one of the toughest things Ive encountered physically, mentally and emotionally. He was with Brent Musberger after the game with the trophy in his hand, and he was shaking it: This has removed the most odious sentence in the English language It can never again be said that the Lakers have never beaten the Celtics.. championships won back to back made 12 basketball championship wins in total And so, when I became an assistant coach because of Jack McKinneys injury, and then all of a sudden I became the head coach on an interim basis, and Jerry Buss thinking and probably speaking to Jerry West about, Im going to turn over a $100 million asset to a guy whos never, ever coached and Jerry (West) and I had a good relationship, but I dont think he thought that I had the chops to really be a head coach. It was Jerry West and Jerry Buss who opened the door for me, especially Dr. Buss, because I think Dr. Buss at that time, from what Ive heard, and if you go back and ever look at that press conference from when there was a coaching change, he saved my basketball life, or re-directed it in a way that I never realized that I was going to be where I am today. The team folded in 1989 and the league folded three years later. Shes trying to do the same thing her dad did, so thats great. It was one of my finest moments. 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. But, despite We all held the trophy together. American businessman and professional chemist Jerry Buss lived up to the milestone of 80 years along with his partner, Karen Demel. 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 brilliant, incredible owner, but he was even a better person with a great heart. Heres a look at each of their positions: Johnny Buss, 60, serves as the Lakers executive vice president of corporate development. Regarding her time within the organization, Jeanie once said, Yes, I was given a privileged position at a young age. businessman and the majority owner of the Los Angeles Lakers from 1979 until he He just wanted to assure me that his promises never changed about winning championships, and being patient in the process, waiting for the right piece to come along. He was in Hawaii at that time, and I called him. Or to USC football games. 20-year-old rookie point guard Magic Johnson. His vision and creating an organization where we all felt like a family, and we all felt very important to him. in World TeamTennis, a mixed-gender tennis league that featured global I first met him at Muhammad Alis retirement party at the Forum. The couple has four children together two elder sons, Johnny Buss (born in 1956), James "Jim" Buss (born in 1959), and two younger daughters in Jeanie Buss (born in 1961) and Janie Buss (born in 1963). And of course I went to greet at him and sat at his table until his guests got there. Without his vision, the sport would "We not only have lost our cherished father, but a beloved man of our community and a person respected by the world basketball community," a statement released on behalf of the Buss family said. He really maximized his time and was very efficient with his time, and he knew later on that he didnt have much time left. When I wanted to get into the theatre business, he was the one who connected me with everybody. He was a very well-rounded person. It was weird timing, because Kobe was during that time also unhappy and there were stories of him potentially getting traded, or being able to move on from L.A., and then looking for a different situation. Rockets, LeBron James surpasses 38,000 career points in Lakers loss to 76ers, Lakers stay optimistic as Anthony Davis and other injured players work toward return, Want to solve climate change? It was really vivid and authentic. Hes already done the math in his head. Buss entered the sports [21] Through his 80th birthday on January 27, 2013, he had not attended a Lakers game during the 201213 season due to health concerns. He completely got something that all of us take for granted: athletes love entertainers, and entertainers love athletes. After the first time we lost to the Celtics in 2008, Dr. Buss and I talked and I said, Man I feel bad, we lost to the Celtics, I never want to bring that heartache to you and this organization ever again. He said, No, it sucks losing to them. I said, I promise to you well never lose to those (expletive) again. And then we wound up beating them two years later, and we thoroughly enjoyed that, by the way, after we beat them in Game 7. He saved Ronnys life, and he didnt have to. Moreover, Jerry made an advertising agreement for the naming rights to The Forum with Great Western Bank. Jim Buss, 57, was in his 12th season as the Lakers head of basketball operations his 19th season in the front office until Jeanie Buss fired him from the position last week. [16] During his time as Lakers owner, Buss was widely known as a playboy and had a string of young girlfriends. He had a huge, beautiful office with all kinds of knick knacks and stuff like that. So he lined things up, and Id get samples, and wed talk it through, and hed say, Oh! And I would come back in town, and we would see each other. In 1996, after the formation of the WNBA, Jerry took charge of the Los Angeles franchise, the Los Angeles Sparks. We used to sit at his house and eat the same thing, Chinese chicken salad from California Pizza Kitchen, and wed sit there and just talk. Or hed ask us about contracts, and certain trade scenarios. Former Saturday Night Live cast member Jay was married to . However, that changes in the season finale as Buss wishes to bring more family members into the new family business. Personal Life: Affair, Girlfriends, Wife, Kids. But if I had not been willing to work hard and prepare myself for all the challenges I would face, I would not have held on to my position all these years, regardless of my family ties.. He talked about beating the Celtics. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. We had gone through the playoffs only losing one game, against Philly. causing a significant power struggle in the organization. So I became obsessed with it, and how that process worked. He knew wed thrive under that pressure. Talking about the body measurement of this businessman, Buss stood tall with an average body height of 5 feet 8 inches, i.e., 178cm. It wasnt out of fear, it was out of respect, that players wanted to play hard for him. It was an honor to be able to be asked to say some words. There was nothing too distract them, the players, and the family, because it really was all about the Lakers, all about preparing for the games, all about having fun in the games, Showtime, all about having fun in Los Angeles, all about having fun as families. Between 2000 and 2002, D in physical chemistry from the University of Southern California. January 7, 2022 by Daily Dodge. Donald asks the courts to let him tweet. How he figured out our monetary system, the Coast Guard, customs, the first inspector general of the Army ridiculous. Clutch and going to meet everybody. 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. I never had a relationship like this, and nor did he. As the executive vice president, Jeanie managed the organizations business side. The Finals were tough, though, against Boston. Its opening night for Staples Center: Nov. 3, 1999. Some of my earliest memories were sitting courtside and seeing Magic come back from the HIV diagnosis, and him getting thrown out in one of his first games back. It means more, and it means more because of this one man, and everything that came from it. Im going to always remember Vegas, Hawaii, Palm Springs all his favorite places. record of 72-26. If you got up five miles over the speed limit, hed say, What are you doing? Hed always end the discussion with something like, Mitch, thats my opinion but youre the expert and Ill trust your judgment. Now, the one thing that was unique about him, if it ever involved numbers, I never saw him ever write anything down or calculate anything in shorthand or with a calculator or anything like that. At the end of the day, I said, I think we have better players around you here than you do in Orlando. Darrell C. Harriman Law Rookie owner, rookie player and we did it. Not to mention, this millionaire and businessman had also owned the Los Angeles Lazers of the Major Indoor Soccer League. Dr. Buss used to come down to the locker room after every game, starting in the 1981-82 season. I get up, I go there at 10 a.m. to his office (at the Forum) and they tell me I have to wait, Dr. Buss is in a meeting with Jerry West. His dream was to own the Lakers, my dream was just to be a part of it, and we became part of a team that goes down in history, and then he built another one when he got Shaq and Kobe. And after a few bad games, hed send his driver to me after the game and say, Hey Ill be picking you up tomorrow at 6 p.m., and wed go sit down and have dinner. Jerry's inner circle entourage included John Rockwell, Ron and David Wilder, Miguel A. Nunez, Lance Davis, Mark Fulton, and Brian J. Sadler. 9018 Balboa Blvd., #620, Northridge, CA 91325 So it was really a family. Jerry Buss was a kind-hearted and humble human being who is no longer with us; however, his children represent him, who works in the Lakers organization. Many Los Angeles Lakers fans mourned the passing of the teams primary owner, Jerry Buss, on Monday. It was a father/son environment. After we lost to the Pistons*, we had an organization type of dinner, with all the players and the media in a banquet room. His beloved Lakers made it to the Finals 16 times nearly half of his 33 seasons and won 10 championships while missing the playoffs only twice. widespread reactions from the sports world and beyond. Remarkably, the Lakers made the Finals in nearly half the seasons he was in charge (16). In any industry, when your boss says youre doing a good job, thats what you want to hear. world when he became the owner of the Los Angeles Strings in 1974. Thats another way we connected. In my rookie year, my first meeting with Dr. Buss, I didnt speak English. [1] When he was nine years old, he moved with his mother to Los Angeles; they moved to Kemmerer, Wyoming, three years later when she remarried. What do you think. Johnny, Jim, Jeanie, and Janie with his wife JoAnn Mueller (divorced [22] On February 14, 2013, four days before his death, it was revealed that Buss had been battling cancer since 2012. And thats what he, thats what we, created. You can. Also, check Bohdan Bondarenko: Early Life, High Jump & Net Worth>>. I was picking his brain, and he was helping me every time. After we won our first championship in 1980, we hugged, and said, Can you believe this? Brown would make a Arguably the best thing I just wanted some of that Salisbury steak and a good meal. My family is from the islands, so the West Indies part of his background resonated with me also. He got a big kick out of that, and by the fourth season, he won. The whole franchise. I connected with him more through others, some of the people that were tight with him, who would always tell me that Dr. He had a 66 percent stake in the team when he died, and judging by the trust he set up years ago to hold the ownership stake, it has long been his intention to keep the Lakers in the Buss family. We all felt very comfortable around him because he treated us all as human beings. I expect too much from the players, and the way I interact with players is terrible, its not who I am and I dont want to do it. For me, we do drive in right off the street trust me, we do thats my but... However, that changes in the public domain him it was everything that from. Life, Jerry Busss legacy is two-fold third season owning the team folded in 1989 and Forum! Of context students with a chemistry degree great feeling to play hard him., Can you believe this known his family Cups before he sold the team, and I won for straight! 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