The Los Angeles Lakers dropped a bombshell this week when reports came out that the Buss family was selling their majority stake in the franchise to Mark Walter, who already was a minority owner.
Walter is also the majority owner of the L.A. Dodgers and now that he owns both organizations, there is expected to be increased synergy between them.
That does not mean they will be sharing players, however. The Dodgers do have one potential player who would interest the Lakers and that is Shohei Ohtani, the two-way sensation who can arguably accomplish any athletic feat.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts made sure to get out in front of the potential issue by joking that Ohtani is off limits to the Lakers.
“Yes, that’s my message. Hands off of Shohei,” Roberts recently said. “They’ve got enough superstars wearing the purple and gold. Leave him alone.”
The Lakers do have a Japanese star of their own in Rui Hachimura, which Roberts feels is good enough for the historic basketball team.
“I think Hachimura is taking care of the Japanese thing. He’s got that and we’ll have Shohei on the baseball side,” Roberts added.
Roberts’ comments didn’t appear to stop the Lakers from making a bit of a recruiting pitch as Ohtani took to Instagram to show off the gift basket the organization sent him.
Let the recruitment begin 👀 https://t.co/ixTnDsMbjc pic.twitter.com/IXd7UtT0Ug
— Lakers Nation (@LakersNation) June 21, 2025
While Ohtani would never realistically play for the Lakers, this is the synergy between the two organizations that a sale like this should create. The Lakers and Dodgers will always be linked in L.A., but now with Walter running both teams, it’s reasonable to expect more Dodgers players at Lakers games next season and vice versa.
Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts explains why Mark Walter will be good for Lakers
With Mark Walter having been the owner of the Dodgers since 2012, Dave Roberts is well aware of the positive effects he can have. And Dave Roberts is very excited about what Walter will bring to the Lakers.
“I think it’s a very exciting day for the Lakers, for the city of Los Angeles,” Roberts said. “Speaking as a Dodger employee, he’s very competitive and he’s going to do everything he can to produce a championship-caliber team every single year and make sure the city feels proud about the Lakers and the legacy they’ve already built with the Buss family.”
