Los Angeles Lakers buyer, ex-Disney chief Bob Iger once said rooting for team was 'not in my DNA'

The Los Angeles Lakers just sold for $12.5 billion to an ownership group that includes a guy who once openly admitted he couldn't bring himself to root for them.

Former Disney CEO Bob Iger teamed up with Josh Kushner to buy the Lakers, which is a pretty wild turn for a guy who spent decades sitting courtside rooting for their little brother, the Clippers .

When news of the Lakers sale broke Wednesday, fans quickly resurfaced Iger's old comments about why he could never root for the team.

BOB IGER BREAKS SILENCE ON DISNEY'S SUSPENSION OF JIMMY KIMMEL OVER CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSINATION COMMENTS Back in January 2021, Iger explained his Lakers problem during an appearance on The Old Man and the Three podcast , hosted by none other than current Lakers head coach JJ Redick.

Iger told Redick why, after moving to California in 2000, he simply couldn't bring himself to root for the Lakers.

"I couldn't root for the Lakers very easily," Iger told Redick.

"It just was not in my DNA." Iger explained that growing up a New York Knicks fan made backing the Lakers an absolute non-starter.

Instead, he adopted the Clippers to get his basketball fix.

His other reason for picking the Clippers over LA's powerhouse was even simpler: price.

JOSH HART CALLS FINALS TICKET PRICES AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN 'RIDICULOUS' AS FANS PRICED OUT BEFORE GAME 3 Iger explicitly told Redick that "their seats were a lot cheaper than the Lakers." The man who just helped buy the Lakers for $12.5 billion originally chose the Clippers because the tickets were cheaper.

Iger once said rooting for the purple and gold wasn't in his DNA.

Now he owns a piece of the franchise.

The timing of the blockbuster deal is where things get even more interesting.

Billionaire Mark Walter agreed to buy the Buss family's controlling stake in June 2025 at a roughly $10 billion valuation.