Lakers Owner Jerry Buss Hospitalized
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Kevin Reece/WireImage(NEW YORK) — Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss is hospitalized, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation.
The Los Angeles Times reported that Buss, 80, has an undisclosed form of cancer.
“He’s extremely, extremely intelligent and extremely patient,” Lakers forward Kobe Bryant said of Buss on Thursday. “He has his goals. He knows exactly what he wants to do and how he wants to construct the ball club.”
The Lakers have won 10 championships and made 16 NBA Finals appearances since Buss purchased the team in 1979. The Lakers were recently valued at $1 billion by Forbes magazine, the second most valuable NBA team behind the New York Knicks.
“I think if you look at the impact that he’s had globally on the game, some of the decisions that he’s made and the brand of basketball that he brought and the impact that’s had on the sport as a whole — his vibrations were felt all the way to a kid in Italy at 6 years old, before the sport was even global. His impact is worldwide,” Bryant continued.
The Lakers have declined to comment on the situation out of respect for the family’s privacy.
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