Who is Dr. Buss, and what's his connection to the NBA? All you need to know

Dr. Jerry Buss was a pivotal figure in NBA history. He owned the Los Angeles Lakers. They won ten championships during his time as the majority owner. He pioneered the idea that professional basketball was a form of entertainment and should attract fans.

The Lakers have since been run by Buss’s children. Dr. Buss died in 2013 at the age of 80. Buss owned the Lakers during their famous “Showtime” era during the 80’s.

The team played a flashy style of basketball and had some of the biggest stars in the league led by Magic Johnson. They won five titles during the era between 1979 and 1991.

Buss was inducted to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor to the game. He was also a businessman, philanthropist and chemist.

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Dr. Buss’s early life

Buss attended the University of Wyoming for undergraduate education. He got his Masters and PhD in physical chemistry from the University of Southern California by the age of 24.

He began investing in real estate to try and find supplemental income to his teaching and chemistry career. His real estate investing in the Los Angeles area took off, and he began his own business. The business was called Mariani-Buss Associates.

Buss bought the Lakers along with the NHL hockey team LA Kings and the LA arena ‘The Forum’. He purchased all three for $67.5 million in 1979. He later sold his majority ownership of the Kings in 1988.

Buss also owned the WNBA team LA Sparks and sold it in 2006. He sold The Forum when the Lakers moved to their current downtown arena, then known as the Staples Center, in 1999.

Dr. Buss was also known as a bigtime poker player and finished third in the World Series of Poker.

Dr. Buss would occasionally donate portions of his wealth. He donated $7.5 million to the chemistry department at USC and also started a scholarship at the school. Buss also took care of his Lakers employees and kep them on payroll when they were too sick to keep working.

Buss had five children with his ex-wife JoAnn Mueller. He had two more with his girlfriend Karen Demel. Six of his seven children worked for the Lakers at the time of Buss' death in 2013. His daughter Jeanie is the current controlling owner of the Lakers.

Buss battled cancer in his later years. He died in hospital in LA from kidney failure.