Jerry Buss, the Los Angeles Lakers owner who shepherded the NBA team to 10 championships from the Showtime dynasty of the 1980s to the Kobe Bryant era, died Monday. He was 80.
Buss died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, said Bob Steiner, his assistant.
Buss had been hospitalized for most of the past 18 months while undergoing cancer treatment, but the immediate cause of death was kidney failure, Steiner said. With his condition apparently worsening in recent weeks, several prominent former Lakers visited Buss to say goodbye.
"The NBA has lost a visionary owner whose influence on our league is incalculable and will be felt for decades to come," NBA commissioner David Stern said. "More importantly, we have lost a dear and valued friend."
Under Buss' leadership since 1979, the Lakers became Southern California's most beloved sports franchise and a worldwide extension of Hollywood glamour.
Buss acquired, nurtured and befriended a staggering array of talented players and basketball minds during his Hall of Fame tenure, from Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Bryant,Shaquille O'Neal and Dwight Howard.
"He was a visionary, he was a trailblazer," Johnson said during an interview on "SportsCenter" on Monday afternoon. "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."
"Condolences to the Buss family," tweeted James Worthy, the Lakers' Hall of Fame forward. "Dr Buss was not only the greatest sports owner, but a true friend & just a really cool guy. Loved him dearly."
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