Id played the whole season with a torn ligament. Id been with the Blazers for eight years, and almost came to accept the fact that we couldnt beat the Lakers, with Magic and Kareem and Jamaal Wilkes, and then James Worthy and everybody comes in. Then I went back home, and the next time I saw him was training camp. After a brief stint in the aerospace industry, Buss began working as a professor at the University of Southern California in the Chemistry department. The teacher looked at me and said, Dont get your hopes up too much. and Janie. So I had the surgery, and one of the first phone calls I got when I got home was from Dr. Buss, just calling to check in on me. It had just come out, and somehow he got his hands on it, and wanted to know my thoughts on it, especially because he knew I was Italian and I was raised Roman Catholic. Even today, when they talk on ESPN, Greatest Owners in Sport History come on man, thats crazy! I said, Were trying to repeat, and I know you love winning championships, and a key piece of that is Lamar Odom. Joey Buss accepts the Larry O'Brien Trophy from David Stern, Jeanie Buss, Magic Johnson, Dr. Jerry Buss, and Phil Jackson. Thats what he wanted to do in his life. There was another interesting time back home in North Carolina when I was watching the draft on TV, and nobody had been talking about me being traded, and I hadnt heard any rumors or anything. But Jerry West and Jerry Buss nurtured me, they mentored me. He was also a country singer who performed at dive bars, among his favorite jobs. And I walked right by him. It would be decades later, at age 34, when Jerry made his first million. So I became obsessed with it, and how that process worked. I just felt like with the passing of Dr. Buss, they need to understand what it means to wear this uniform. We had a bunch of ideal guys Kareem Abdul Jabbar and James Worthy next to Earvin. Buss turned Lakers games into experiences. Hed meet his friends there, and some of his friends were executives at Great Western Bank. He had two more children with his girlfriend, Karen Demel: Joey and Jesse. Darrell C. Harriman Law Dr. Buss was very thoughtful. Im not going to tell them what trade to make. You can be super successful and win at the highest level while being a great father and family man, and also still have a social life. Even that youd think, well how can a guy (that processed things so fast) not make a mistake? Hulu's "Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers" is taking a different approach. A funeral service was held on Tuesday, February 28th 2023 at 10:00 AM at the same location. We really hit it off. His daughter, Jeanie, took over the Lakers in March 2017. So he lined things up, and Id get samples, and wed talk it through, and hed say, Oh! It wasnt an accident, and the Laker brand exploded. Countless times to the Western Conference Finals but no, were not putting those banners up. Fans could see celebrities sitting along the sidelines, live bands playing music and the famous "Laker Girls" doing their dance routines. Finally, during the draft, Charlotte took him, and we were able to acquire Kobes rights. Jerry Buss was an American businessman who began his professional career as a chemist and worked at the Bureau of Mines (presently known as the Mine Safety and Health Administration). We had a few. 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. Every time wed meet, itd be at an Italian restaurant. The sports executive is the controlling owner and president of the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Dr. Buss was truly an amazing man. I used to get a big kick out of saying, Our defense is a switching, sliding, sluffing, man-to-man with zone principals. And he would laugh. If there was a possibility of me getting totally out of the Lakers, then I was open to it.. We had several specialists look at him, and got a call from the guy at Stanford University, and he said, Im not worried about Ronny dying on the basketball court, I'm worried about Ronny dropping dead walking down the street. At that point, Ronny wasnt at Gonzaga anymore, so they didnt have health insurance for him; we hadnt signed him, so we werent responsible for his healthcare, and he had no personal healthcare insurance. He talked about beating the Celtics. Under the ownership of the Buss family, the franchise won 10 championships with Jerry leading the pack and one with his daughter, Jeanie Buss. And Earvin made the best of it. I was picking his brain, and he was helping me every time. 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. And he had his hands on everything. In the 1990s, basketball was a little different, and it took a team to win the title; it wasnt put the best players on the court, it was all about teamwork and chemistry, and we were building towards that. He was in the entertainment business. That was so special. The most innovative with Showtime and all the business connections he was way ahead of his time, more than any owner in history. We talked about where he was at in his life the Lakers we covered everything. We were coming off a championship. Me coming from a DIII school, Im one of the youngest, unknown guys, lowest on the totem pole. This was before smart phones, so there was no cheating. All the big decisions had always been at Jerry Buss's feet and therefore the family were trying to determine who would now be the shot caller. Really cool. We won that as a group. Read more. Luckily that first year the players, in spite of my lack of experience, we won the championship and the rest is history. Dr. Buss told me how (Stone) came up with the title. His father, Lydus, left the family when Jerry was an infant. If you got up five miles over the speed limit, hed say, What are you doing? He went from playing, to (working with) Chick, to assistant coach to a head coach in what, two and a half years? Theyll like that! Bit by bit, hed put his personal love in every selection and make sure that at least during the Holidays, all the people that meant something to him got something meaningful. He didnt look at it as, someday this is going to blow up and be this incredibly valued team. Dr. Buss was someone who really cared about other people, and I think that same tradition of loyalty of friendship has filtered down to his children. There was prime real estate, and it was about location, location, location. Its not good for me. Shortly thereafter, we got Pau Gasol, and the rest is history. I will miss her and send my deepest sympathy to the family.. Jim played an important role in the teams scouting decisions and worked his way up the sports teams hierarchy. But now I realize, you actually really know your (stuff)! Then he started asking for my opinion on things. But thats how I got to know him and the Buss family. 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. "I can remember standing in a [Works Progress Administration] line with a gunny sack, and I remember having to buy chocolate milk instead of white because it was one cent cheaper," Buss told The Boston Globe in 1987. Before that we had the (NBA) Draft, and we traded Vlade Divac, and we got back a player that frankly I thought was the best player in the Draft (Kobe Bryant). He would also search through his hometown looking for old telephone books and other paper products to stuff into his fireplace in order to provide heat for his home. These were special parts of the relationships between our teammates and management and everything. He didnt know what the future held, I didnt know what the future held. Playing for him was one of the best highlights of my life. He said, I want to do something for you for what youve done over the 1980s. I was just an assistant coach, with that kind of contract. He left the organization in good hands Jeanie is a great owner, too. And he would tell me where to go get the information. Jerrys 66 percent ownership of the team passed to each of his six children via a trust, equating to 11 percent per child. We shared a hobby as coin collectors, and Dr. Buss owned some really important coins, and I was aware of that. Rattling off 10 championships before his passing in 2013. One time, we shook everybody up. 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). I havent seen that a lot in my 11 years being around the league, owners being that human. Its easy to say that he was the best sports owner around the world. Source: Los Angeles Times, Lakers expected to remain a Buss family-owned team, Mike Bresnahan, Feb. 19, 2013. Shaq, myself, the whole team, we didnt know. He originally went into real estate investing in order to provide an income so he could continue teaching. Just go out there and play. After all the experiences Ive had in pro sports, Ive never had a better owner. From online or printed sources and from publicly accessible databases. And I offered Vlade Divac to everyone, a starting center. He liked to challenge us. [3] He was also the co-owner of a real estate investment company called Mariani-Buss Associates with his long-time business partner Frank Mariani. That iconic, focus-on-the-court lighting, started on Nov. 3, 1999. I dont do death very well. Wed celebrate, have the parade, have a party, and then hed go to Vegas. I remember growing up in the 1990s, and often losing to the best teams in the West, like the Supersonics, and then the Jazz. When he bought the Forum, it was called the Forum. Theres a picture I have in my office where guys are grabbing his shoulders, throwing champagne on him, Im messing his hair up. He was big on that. Throughout my tenure away from the team, Id send him a note every time they won a championship. That meant a lot to us at that particular time, because it was a very difficult time, uncertain. 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. There was something about both of us. My dad only missed the playoffs twice in his entire 34-year tenure as an owner. I didnt realize this was a thing, where you get handed this trophy from the commissioner and do a speech. Laker Girls. It was a tough year, a tough day. I can remember so many of the players wives and the players, Dr. Buss, wed have dinners and wed all come together. Magic was worth every accolade or attention he got, because he carried us. I remember being bummed with all my friends that we werent going to be able to see Magic Is Back, as it was being marketed at the time. He really was in a lot of ways a mentor, in business, in life and in basketball. It was California Pizza Kitchen wed always order out and wed meet for a couple of hours. Its the first thing you do now when youre going to build a building. It wouldnt just be me reaching out. My last year when I retired (2004-05), I remember being a free agent, and one call from him made my decision easier when he told me, You started with the Lakers, you have to retire with the Lakers. That was my decision, trusting that guy, and man, it was a pleasure to play with him. Father of Private; Private; Janie Drexel; Private and Private, Gerald Hatten "Jerry" Buss (January 27, 1933 February 18, 2013) was an American businessman, real estate investor and chemist. privacy policy | A teacher doesnt turn off the student with a tone of voice. With the Lakers, it was one man. So, it was interesting timing how we both ran into each other in Barcelona during a family trip from him, and he came to the gym I used to work out at in a hotel in Barcelona. We really were a family, and we were intact as a team, and all the families were invested. But it was one of the toughest things Ive encountered physically, mentally and emotionally. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. [2] When he approached a problem, he never panicked, he never screamed, he was methodical in his approach. So all we could do was try to stay together and do what he asked us to do and that was to make as much money as possible. Money has never been a part of my being. During those years, we would always go to Hawaii for training camp, and Dr. Buss would really enjoy when wed have a team dinner at the beginning of camp at Kobes Japanese Steak House. 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. It wasnt even close. degree in two and a half years in 1955. Then he started to go to Italy for a month. I remember being at the Forum in Inglewood in 1985 in my rookie year, meeting Dr. Buss and him saying Lets have lunch one day. Time goes by until you decide, Im going to take him up on that. So we arranged a lunch, midweek after a practice, and went up to his office, and we had a real, genuine, 1-on-1 conversation talking about life itself outside of basketball. 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. Its not only a game, its entertainment. He was always sitting behind the bench during games and was such a basketball junkie, he just loved being around. I sense that youre deferring to these guys a little bit. Back in those days you could actually raise your voice to players and theyd understand. He was a very intuitive guy, said Steiner. He made my dreams come true when he welcomed him to the Lakers family. Smiled and laughed, drank champagne and went to the White House. 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. We all held the trophy together. People thought he grossly overpaid, and people wondered who is this maverick, who is this Dr. Buss? He was 80 years old. It began when Dr. Buss purchased his dream. This is the way owners should operate. He understood that I needed that, and I would have been lost out here in this big city. And then 25 years later, to be able to celebrate at a different stage in my life with him again (2010). And when Dr. Buss said that, that was all our thinking. Make sure relatives of Betty Jean Buss know they have sympathy messages here. From online or printed sources and from publicly accessible databases. Dr. Buss, many nights after the games where hed come down to the locker room after everybody cleared out. He asked a lot of questions about defense, how we were defending this or that. And especially on airplanes, hed always ask me what I was reading, because he was an avid reader. Gerald Hatten "Jerry" Buss was born on Jan. 27, 1933, in Salt Lake City. I dont think other teams really wanted to deal with us to begin with, and then (that happened). He would call me in some days and hed say Hey, hey, be a coach. He was a great guy and someone who I really cared about a lot. Copyright 2023 Sporting News Holdings Limited. On the 18th February 2013, Dr. Jerry Buss passed away. Naming rights. Very genuine, honest guy, and I respected him a lot. Michael Cooper and James Worthy getting back on defense, West introduces Shaq as a Los Angeles Laker, Joey Buss celebrates with his father after the Lakers' Championship in 2002. I stopped in there, and Dr. Buss walked in. He had a home in San Diego, where I live, and we used to go to training camp in Hawaii just about every year, and a couple times we were on the same flight heading over from San Diego. And then youve got this team thats running. Of course, that series had a, uh, flexible relationship with the truth, as it was a semi-fictionalized story that attempted to entertain rather than educate its audience. 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. 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. The stake could legally be sold off entirely, but given the familys devotion to the team, the Lakers are sure to stay with them. And while his relationship with his siblings is strained, he shares with them a reverence for their father. In my rookie year, my first meeting with Dr. Buss, I didnt speak English. That was his vision. He says he plans to run for political office next year, but wouldnt say which one. Later on in the day, Dr. Buss was having a picnic for all his employees. And we drafted a kid who we think is going to be phenomenal. I told him when I saw him in college at LSU: The day I saw you, I went and told our owner, Jerry Buss, he has to wear a Laker uniform one day. In the process of this thing, I said, Jerry, this is going to really be costly. We actually ended up making an offer, and then taking the offer off the table, because it still was not acceptable. The war over Jerry Buss ' fortune just took a shocking turn -- with a mysterious woman claiming she's the secret daughter of the late Lakers owner . But it appears as though Johnny began a career in sports management in 1975 and later became the Executive Vice President of Strategic Development of the Los Angeles Lakers for several years. So, we were preparing for the offseason in 1996 when we signed Shaq and traded for the rights to draft Kobe. And thats what Dr. Buss did. Because Id worked on prior events like Championship parades and so on, event mode planning started. That was my reaction. When you add all those things up, you come up with why that series and that championships mean so much. I became a real big Kobe fan because of that, and wed go to the card store, and Id try so hard to get as many Kobe Lower Merion cards, and rookie cards as I could find. I think Dr. Buss always had a plan in life. He has been able to do so because he is one of the shrewdest businessmen you will ever meet. 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. He moved to Los Angeles and attended the University of Southern California (USC), where he earned an M.S. They wanted him to be happy with them. He was so cool when he introduced himself, so laid back. Back then, you could drive in right off the street. with JoAnn Buss Jim Buss born 1959, age 63 (approx.) I first met him at Muhammad Alis retirement party at the Forum. Her father, Jerry Buss, had died in February 2013 at age 80, . Most owners are coming in, they have security, they go to their box, they get in and they get out. I dont think theres any thrill in it. Almost never, to my knowledge, I dont remember ever seeing him with a pen or a pad in front of him. 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. It was incredible. If you have a star, one of the most important assets of that person is will people pay to see him play. Would you like to offer Betty Jean Busss loved ones a condolence message? So, Dr. Buss was one of the coolest owners Ive been around. He was an incredibly brilliant person, but he had great heart and caring for the people around him. with JoAnn Buss Jeanie Buss born 1961, age 61 (approx.) 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. Although he stepped away from active involvement in the Lakers operations in 2017, Johnny seemingly remains a part-owner in the franchise. My contract is up, wed just beaten the Celtics in Boston, everybody was happy. 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. Echovita Inc is a registered trademark. That book opened up a whole world up to me about the founding fathers. That helped motivate you to want to keep doing that. See FameChain's massive Trump family tree. He not only was an avid reader, he knew some of the great authors, as well. 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. HBO's "Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty" introduced younger viewers to Dr. Jerry Buss, whom Kobe Bryant once called "the greatest owner in sports, ever." When they were taking a break, let the women have center stage. Buss also received Cooke's ranch in California, which was valued at $10 million. We took a little bit longer to know each other, but he was great for me and for my family. 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. We made it a mission to play them again in 1985, to prove to ourselves and the world that we could beat them. He also served as the President of the Los Angeles Lazers, a professional indoor soccer team, and the Los Angeles Sparks, a professional womens basketball team. Very casual. Episode 1 of the docuseries will cover Buss' deal to buy the Lakers from Jack Kent Cooke. When we won Game 4 in the Garden, that was the big difference. 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. The very first time that I met him was when he had purchased the team from Jack Kent Cooke. Taking a different approach we really were a family, and some the... The Los Angeles Lakers of the LA Lakers '' is taking a break, the... 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