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.) 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. It would be decades later, at age 34, when Jerry made his first million. Dr. Buss knew his team needed more wins than losses, but he also knew they needed to entertain. Have you ever seen anybody win the lottery? Whos your favorite band? We owned a box at the Forum as a family, so we went to a lot of events, and it was the beginning of him seeing an opportunity and pursuing it with a passion that when you own these kinds of teams, you feel, as an owner, that the team is going to somebody who cares about it as much as you do. Pat Riley, myself, Dr. Buss and one of his friends. Thats why its such an important part of his formula for success, and why its important to find that winning formula and to continue to keep the team focused on winning, and thats what Im trying to do. Or to USC football games. Since Joey and Jesse were little, wed go to the card shop and buy basketball cards, and (Dr. Buss) would love to quiz them on the players. Its about bringing out the best from that person. I worked with Jeanie and Linda trying to get a place, get as much content as we can, and to discuss how we could make it tasteful what we should give to this man and to the community. 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. Slow down. He was very patient and he loved timing things out, but not necessarily rushing to places. His father, Lydus, was an accountant who went on to teach statistics at Berkeley. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. They all mean a lot, but some mean a little bit more than others. I believe I've accomplished that.". That was a big thing for both of us. I remember when he explained it to me we all knew Wrigley Field, where the Cubs played. *Jan. 11, 1980: the Lakers won 123-100. Fans could see celebrities sitting along the sidelines, live bands playing music and the famous "Laker Girls" doing their dance routines. We all felt very comfortable around him because he treated us all as human beings. "When you think New York, you think Yankees. And he would tell me where to go get the information. A few times a year, especially if Dr. Buss traveled with the team, wed sit down and hed ask my opinion about certain things with the team, which I really appreciated his confidence in me. There was a lot of pressure, but Dr. Buss I think took a lot of that pressure off of us. We had growth within our own team, like Andrew Bynum, to go with Kobe and Lamar. He was so cool when he introduced himself, so laid back. When he approached a problem, he never panicked, he never screamed, he was methodical in his approach. USC Band. Magic was worth every accolade or attention he got, because he carried us. Very happy.*L.A. Donald Trump. In 2002, when the WNBA was restructured to give its teams individual owners, Buss took ownership of the Sparks. Winning drove both of us. I love him, and his family, and I thank him to this day for the opportunity. He was not nearly as animated in the other championships as he was in that one, for obvious reasons. If it wasnt for Dr. Buss, thered be no Jerry Jones. 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. Thats when I learned, in my life, you can tell a lot about someone with how they treat someone else that can do nothing for them. At the end of the day, I said, I think we have better players around you here than you do in Orlando. He revealed that he wasnt very interested in the familys sports ownership business, and his interest further diminished after his fathers death. It was an honor to be able to be asked to say some words. That was wonderful, to get my game back in gear for the next five games (after the Memorial Day Massacre). His two things he was mainly focused on was winning championships, getting the Lakers back to that level, and being a family man, being a father to his children. *In the 2004 Finals, Detroit beat L.A. 4-1. He always was that kind of an owner. 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. I remember being in the Finals against Philadelphia, and we were at the hotel bar of the team hotel. The team folded in 1989 and the league folded three years later. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Powered by Standing Stone Designs | They wanted him to be happy with them. That was part of the floor seat program. Despite some setbacks in the years since she took over, with only one NBA Championship win in 2020, Jeanie is still the undisputed boss of the franchise. We would go to Italy a lot, and we were staying at the Hotel Le Boulevard in Venice on the island of Lido when we had to trade Shaq. And what Jerry Buss always wanted to accomplish was to have one of those players on his team, the Showtime part of it. He was really a very nice guy who enjoyed the fun things in life. Everybodys been calling, but this is the call Ive been waiting on. So when you talk about him not being a person who would yell or be a tyrant or throw things to motivate, he was a teacher, and he knew how to motivate people. He was a great man and an incredible friend. Dr. Buss was my boss in a completely different way from what happened later. When you add all those things up, you come up with why that series and that championships mean so much. At the time, they only had a dial up internet connection, and a lot of data needed to be presented to my dad from the front office, so theyd use the fax machine. That helped save this league. It was California Pizza Kitchen wed always order out and wed meet for a couple of hours. I had to prove that I could play in the NBA. And he really wanted me to listen. He made good observations about the game, and personnel and so forth. It really became overwhelming to see just how much he put into seeing every single little detail of that trade. So Jerry Buss does not still own the Lakers, but his children do. We all love this sport, basketball, but there are other things to enjoy in life as well, and he certainly enjoyed them all. Wed celebrate, have the parade, have a party, and then hed go to Vegas. I gave him Jerrys number. His vision really helped make these moments possible. That was really kind of troubled times for us as a franchise, and I didnt think they were doing whatever it took to win, and passed on some really good deals to get top players in. I have my head down, and he says, Coop, you know it was a great year for us, a lot of people didnt think that we could get this done, but here we are finally and we did it. So I said, Doc, what team am I going to? He goes, What are you talking about? I go, Doc, what team am I going to? Hed get a chuckle out of it, and a lot of satisfaction. (Fast forward to the Finals) against Indiana, and in the 4th quarter and my dad grabs me and Jesse with a minute left in the game, and he says, We gotta go! He just took us down to the court. And guess what, a few months later, it ended up happening, and our paths crossed and we had an incredible run and were able to win championships. Now, after a public legal fight that split the siblings, Johnny is even more ready to move on. Our 1987 team was just loaded, so we expected to win every game in the playoffs. So a sports writer for the Los Angeles Herald named Frank Grady, he got ahold of me, and I was really still upset and emotional and I just went ballistic. You can. After an apparent conflict with his siblings, Johnny resigned from the Buss Family Trusts and the Board of directors of the Lakers. A prayer was held on Tuesday, February 28th 2023 at 9:45 AM at the St. John Lutheran Church (701 N 6th St, Beatrice, NE 68310). The Buss family owns . Its just him! With Dr. Buss in particular, I had surgery on my left wrist after my rookie year. He was the majority owner of the Los Angeles Lakers professional basketball team in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning 10 league championships that were highlighted by the team's Showtime era during the 1980s. Finally, during the draft, Charlotte took him, and we were able to acquire Kobes rights. With his franchise point guard at the helm, Dr. Buss saw to the creation of Showtime, an all-time great sports dynasty that saw the Lakers go to the NBA Finals nine times in 12 years, amassing five championships with their owner front and center. Joey Buss accepts the Larry O'Brien Trophy from David Stern, Jeanie Buss, Magic Johnson, Dr. Jerry Buss, and Phil Jackson. I remember him saying, You know how cool it would be for the Buss family to own the Lakers for 100 years? Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Dennis Schroder leads depleted Lakers to crucial win over Thunder, LeBron-less Lakers cant keep pace with Ja Morant, Grizzlies, LeBron James to miss Lakers game Tuesday and possibly more, We keep progressing: Lakers takeaways after beating Dallas, Before and after photos from space show storms effect on California reservoirs, Dramatic before and after photos from space show epic snow blanketing SoCal mountains, The chance of a lifetime: Five friends ski the tallest mountain in Los Angeles, Best coffee city in the world? [2] The Lakers quickly became a dynasty, as the dynamic duo of Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar led Los Angeles to five championships in the 1980s. I remember once getting a math, or maybe I should call it a business lesson. It seems like thatd be something that would be below his pay grade, but it wasnt. In 1978, they moved to the Forum from the Sports Arena, and my dad was a big sports fan, so hed go to Laker games. And thats how I recollect my relationship with him. 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). He says hes tried to apologize. I was a dominant player in Games 2 through 6, and we got over the hump finally. From my standpoint, when I got in, Magic had been in the league for a few years and they were really close. So I became obsessed with it, and how that process worked. In 2013, after Jerry Buss passed away, all six Buss siblings were given an equal shareholding in the LA Lakers franchise. Naming rights. And he would wander off into other aspects of life, and he was so smart, and so brilliant, so well read in a lot of different areas that it was truly intriguing for me at that time, unbeknownst to me what was going on, that I was getting the education of a lifetime as a head coach and also as a man. Im sure he had a lot of good conversations with Kobe at that time that helped him get his feet on the ground. The one (free agent) that was really the star on top of the Christmas tree was Shaquille ONeal. I went there in the morning, and it was rare, because Pau never wakes up in the morning to work out! Write your message of sympathy today. Image. Youre going too fast. I dont know if its Jerry West, or if its Magic, I dont know whats going on. I just couldnt believe it. Jerry always planned to pass down the Lakers to his children via a trust. Buss said that. Im sitting there wondering what the hell is going on. Magic was perfect for that. He had to liquidate everything, practically, to get it. Gerald Hatten "Jerry" Buss (January 27, 1933 February 18, 2013) was an American businessman, real estate investor, and chemist. He would empower the people that worked for him, and hed be a problem solver. Jerry's 66 percent ownership of the team passed to each of his six children via a trust, equating to 11 percent per child. He gave the OK to pursue it. But Jerry West and Jerry Buss nurtured me, they mentored me. Even that youd think, well how can a guy (that processed things so fast) not make a mistake? The 10-part documentary series, which is set to premiere with two episodes on Monday, Aug. 15, will detail the rise of the Lakers after Buss' purchase of the franchise. I thought we had a great professional relationship, and over the years I got to know him and be friends with him. 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. He is survived by sons Johnny, Jim, Joey and Jesse and daughters Jeanie Buss and Janie Drexel, all of Southern California; eight grandchildren; former wife JoAnn of Las Vegas; half sister Susan. Life is funny that way. His first investment in the 1960s was $1,000 in a West Los Angeles apartment building. Just go out there and play. I thought he was kidding. 9018 Balboa Blvd., #620, Northridge, CA 91325 In lieu of flowers a memorial has been established to St. John Lutheran Church and Cottonwood Hospice both in Beatrice and Gold Crest Center in Adams. Dr. Buss was one of those guys. One story showed how appreciative he was for the work that he did, and for playing hard for the city of Los Angeles. When Jack Kent Cooke sold the Lakers, the Kings, the Forum and a 13,000-acre ranch in Kern County, Jerry Buss met him at an office in Palos Verdes. A true genius from a business standpoint, Dr. Buss built his wealth by mastering the real estate game, and quickly applied what hed learned over the years to his sports and entertainment properties. And I remember a nice gesture from him, when I signed my extension during my third year, and I had to have a back surgery. Where is Jerry Buss Daughter Jeanie Buss Now. Im super thankful how Kobe wanted me on board, how Dr. Buss also was in favor and supportive of getting me and doing what it took to get me to the Lakers. I dont remember a whole lot about the podium when Dr. Buss accepted the championship, but I do remember that Kareem stuck a towel in Pat Rileys mouth so he wouldnt say wed win it again next year. Buss was an inaugural member of the USC College Board of Councilors. This was like brothers. Then he wanted to work out for us one more time, so Michael Cooper, whod been retired for a year or two, we asked him to come out and participate. My relationship with him, I think, became so close as Id try to explain to him how important each position was and what you would expect from those different positions, and how theyd fit. He did everything in his head. But he wouldnt want us to watch as fans, hed be asking what we thought about specific players, how we thought certain free agents might fit on the team. He was a very special man to me. He has put the Lakers right up there with the New York Yankees as the top brands in sports. With me, he was always classy. We thought it was great. At the time of his death, a Buss family spokesperson declared that the children had "no interest in ever selling the team.". In 1979, Buss bought the Lakers, the NHL's Kings and The Forum, where the Lakers and Kings played their games, from Cooke in exchange for $67.5 million, the Chrysler Building and other properties. Under the ownership of the Buss family, the franchise won 10 championships with Jerry leading the pack and one with his daughter, Jeanie Buss. 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. At the end of the conversation he pushed that over, and he said, What I want to do Pat, is to take care of you and to be fair with you. So he pushed the number towards me, and I turned it over and I said, Thats more than fair, Dr. Buss. Shook his hand, and we had a deal on a new 3-year contract. You dont realize these things until you get my age, that you have these kinds of people, that theyre not just your boss. And especially on airplanes, hed always ask me what I was reading, because he was an avid reader. 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. You saw his mannerisms go with every little gyration that was going on. The 11 years that I was coaching as an assistant and head coach, that team went to the NBA Finals eight or nine times and we won five championships, probably should have won two more. I didnt think we were going to get a chance to draft Kobe. We werent getting better to the point that I needed our team to be. It was everything that you would hope for in a new teammate thats going to make a significant contribution to the team. He talked to the janitors, the people that cleaned Staples Center. (818) 892-7093 / There is no good answer for the loss of a loved one. In exchange, Cooke received a lease to the Chrysler Building in New York City, along with properties in Virginia, Massachusetts, and Maryland. He just said he was going to get (expletive) done. And we just talked about how cool it would be if we could actually end up playing together, but I hardly gave it a thought, because I thought there was no way they would trade me to the Lakers. Hulu's "Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers" is taking a different approach. He was an incredibly visionary. I remember his comments in the locker room, you can look it up, about removing a certain sentence in the English language. We took a little bit longer to know each other, but he was great for me and for my family. I was a nervous wreck the entire game, and we won the game, and I delivered the best that I could at the time. They traded their starting center for a guard. Buss died of cancer on Feb. 18, 2013. He put his imprint on the league fast, and then we win the championship too? After a brief stint in the aerospace industry, Buss began working as a professor at the University of Southern California in the Chemistry department. It will feature "exclusive access to the Buss family and probing, revealing interview with players, coach and front office execs.". *L.A. won 3-0 against Denver, 4-1 against Golden State and 4-0 against Seattle. I didnt have firsthand memories of winning a championship, and felt like wed never get one, because it seemed so hard. Dr. Buss never sat and waited a month or two. He said, I think the desire to be an owner left when my dad passed away. He would just sit there, empty desk, and Id go through the business with him and vary rarely would he say, Let me think about that and get back to you. It was almost always he had an opinion or a decision right then and there. We all know that Dr. Buss was the first to bring in a dance team, and he felt it was equal opportunity. Mentored me Showtime part of it, and hed be a problem solver to move on both of us playoffs! He would empower the people that worked for him, and for my family that things... West and Jerry Buss jerry buss grandchildren me, they mentored me after my year. Sat and waited a month or two took ownership of the Lakers for 100 years very comfortable him... 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Of Councilors Wrigley Field, where the Cubs played with why that series and that championships mean much. 2 through 6, and we were going to he put into seeing every single little detail of trade!
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