Advertisement - scroll for more content
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement - scroll for more content
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Responding to an article written by The California Post’s Lakers beat reporter Khobi Price suggesting that Jerry Buss should be next to be honored with a statue, Magic Johnson took to social media to emphatically agree. “I 100% agree that Dr. Jerry Buss the greatest franchise owner in sports history and deserves a statue in front of Crypto arena soon in his honor,” Johnson wrote.
Earvin Magic Johnson: “He’s not only the greatest owner in NBA history but he also has a strong argument for the greatest franchise owner in sports history.” Words from Khobi Price in his latest article in the @nypost - and he’s exactly right! I 100% agree that Dr. Jerry Buss is the greatest franchise owner in sports history and deserves a statues in front of Crypto arena soon in his honor!
The statue will be unveiled April 9, 2027, before the Lakers' game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. .... Jackson will be the ninth member of the Lakers with a statue at Star Plaza outside Crypto.com Arena, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elgin Baylor, Chick Hearn, Magic Johnson, Pat Riley, Jerry West, O'Neal and Bryant (who has two). The statue was commissioned by the Lakers to be designed and created by Omri Amrany of Rotblatt Amrany Studio.
And as it pertains to Magic Johnson, what is alleged here, and is what is being alleged illegal? Pablo Torre: What we are reporting is that Magic Johnson was the key aspect of how Mark Walter wound up loaning himself more than $300 million to enable the purchase of the Dodgers for a record price. And the reason I have been focusing on this is because Magic Johnson became a billionaire because of an insurance company called EquiTrust from his good friend and fellow Dodgers co-owner Mark Walter. But when Mark Walter needed to loan himself that more than $300 million, he also made an announcement that I'm selling this thing to Magic. And then, when he went and did it, that transaction had not yet closed. And so one can imagine that part of the whole deal here was, I need to be able to say that I'm not doing this Mark Walter to Mark Walter, and I need you, Magic, I need to wear you as a costume, according to my reporting, in order to avoid what would be a violation of securities law, because I'm not disclosing that this is just me and me doing a deal with myself.
Pablo Torre Finds Out: INVESTIGATION: Before Mark Walter sold the Lakers, he bought the Dodgers. Then came $350M via Magic Johnson — and hidden deals with each other. "Magic Johnson helped him out with the Dodgers deal," insider reveals. "They're trying to...put him on the map of being a billionaire."
Advertisement
Jay Wagers: "Byron, you experienced the organization when Dr. Jerry Buss was alive. So, what did Jerry Buss create culturally that made the Lakers different from any other NBA franchise?" Byron Scott: "I think the main thing is he made us feel a very much of a sense of pride of wearing purple and gold, that it meant something different than being in any organization, that it was more of a family organization than most organizations that were either hobbies for some of the owners or that was their money maker. I think Jerry really wanted it to be more of a family-oriented organization and he made that point clear from day one. And he also hired the people to do their jobs. He hired Jerry West to be the general manager, make decisions. He didn't go behind his back or go in and say, 'No, no, we're not doing this, we're not doing that.' He hired these guys to do their job and he allowed them to do their jobs. He was just first of all, a very unique owner, still to me, one of the best owners in any sport that you can imagine. And he treated all of us the same. He treated every player the same. He treated Magic Johnson no different than he treated Wes Matthews. He would come in the locker room and he talked to everybody. He was one of the most humble owners that I've ever met."
ClutchPoints: Lance Stephenson names his top 5 point guards of all time: Isiah Thomas, Jason Kidd, Magic Johnson, Steph Curry, Luka Doncic. Do you agree with his top 5?
Jorge Sierra: This Magic Johnson record is going to be hard to beat.
This Magic Johnson record is going to be hard to beat.
— HoopsHype (@hoopshypeofficial.bsky.social) 2026-08-31T21:32:31.941Z
Johnson earned about $40 million during his NBA career. He built a successful business with theater, restaurant, and healthcare assets under the banner of Magic Johnson Enterprises. But when Forbes declared him a billionaire in 2023, it attributed most of his fortune to one investment: EquiTrust Life Insurance Company. EquiTrust was not a classic Magic Johnson business. It sells annuities and life insurance to ordinary Americans, then invests their premiums to meet promises that could stretch decades into the future. Johnson bought control of it from the same group that brought him into baseball: Guggenheim Partners, the firm co-founded and run by Dodgers and Lakers owner Mark Walter. Guggenheim continued managing EquiTrust’s investments after the sale.
A Hunterbrook Media review of EquiTrust’s statements, insurance statutory filings, and SEC documents found that Johnson’s insurer invested in businesses tied to Johnson and Holoman, EquiTrust’s longtime CEO. This includes an investment of more than $100 million in JLC Infrastructure, a fund whose principals are Johnson and Holoman. EquiTrust also holds $350 million of debt issued by the television company that has the media rights for the Dodgers, an MLB team co-owned by Johnson and Walter. These positions are listed in EquiTrust’s filings as unaffiliated investments.
Advertisement
But across EquiTrust filings reviewed by Hunterbrook, this transaction was not disclosed as being between related parties. And according to an analysis from Mispriced Assets author Nick Nemeth, it wasn’t just EquiTrust buying debt from Walter’s television holding company. In total, five insurers tied to Walter reportedly held approximately $1.45 billion of AMP notes. None of this establishes wrongdoing. Johnson may not have known of or approved the deal, which predated his ownership of EquiTrust. And because Johnson owns just a minority interest in the Dodgers, and does not control the team, this investment may indeed have been properly categorized as unaffiliated.
Last year, EquiTrust was sold to Amistad, one of the companies reportedly caught up in the DOJ investigation. Amistad’s managing founder is Holoman, who used to run Magic Johnson Enterprises and has been Johnson’s longtime business partner, including as governor of the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks and as his partner in JLC Infrastructure. The deal appears to have been debt-financed.
Speaking exclusively with ScoopB.com on the red carpet Thursday night at The Harold & Carole Pump Foundation Gala at The Beverly Hilton, Hall of Fame point guard and NBA legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson shared his perspective on how the 20-time All-Star will mesh alongside Philadelphia’s core, which features Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid and newly acquired wing Jaylen Brown. When asked how James will navigate sharing the floor with high-usage offensive focal points in Philadelphia, Johnson dismissed any concerns regarding dynamic chemistry. “Well, it’s going to be easy when you’re a playmaker, you know,” Johnson told me. “He gets everybody involved in the game, he gets people easy buckets and shots.”
Johnson emphasized that LeBron’s influence extends far beyond mere distribution on the stat sheet, highlighting his innate ability to unify elite talent. “When you think about Maxey, Embiid… all those guys, now Jaylen Brown,” Johnson noted. “One thing that he knows how to do is also bring everybody together.”