The Lakers are entering a new era, one signified by Saturday’s press conference announcing Luka Dončić’s extension.
While he’ll be the face of that new era, an equally important part will be majority-owner-to-be Mark Walter. A significant aspect of the chaotic 2025 for the Lakers was Walter’s acquisition of a majority stake in the franchise from the Buss family.
Officially, he will not own that majority stake until later in 2025. However, considering the role he’s about to play in the franchise, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that he’s been an active part of the negotiations on Luka’s extensions.
During the press conference on Saturday, both President of Basketball Operations Rob Pelinka and Luka mentioned Walter as part of their opening statements.
Shams Charania and Ramona Shelburne, both of ESPN, also mentioned Walter being part of the discussions.
I cannot overstate how important it was for Luka Doncic to extend with the Lakers today. They had no financial advantage over other teams after the trade, which meant they had to sell him on the franchise in the six months since acquiring him. There’s been a whirlwind courtship…
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) August 2, 2025
All that happened before Saturday night when Walter was pictured with Lakers players, head coach JJ Redick, Pelinka and Jeanie Buss at a Backstreet Boys concert.
Then, on Sunday, longtime NBA reporter Marc Stein revealed that Walter had face-to-face meetings with Luka over the last week.
The week also included his first face-to-face meetings with new Lakers owner Mark Walter, who is said to be a huge Dončić fan.
Most of this shouldn’t be a surprise, as it’s how owners typically operate, but it does give some insight into how Walter will run things. He clearly appears to be pretty involved in things and if he’s going on trips with the team to Vegas to celebrate an extension, it sure makes it seem like he’s going to be an active participant in the team.
There’s still a lot to be determined about how things will look with the Lakers under Walter, but this is an encouraging first sign.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
