Add The California Post on Google Metta Sandiford-Artest said he tried to buy a 1% minority ownership stake in the Lakers under Mark Walter, but his bid was declined.
Sandiford-Artest said he reached out to Walter after the businessman bought the Buss family’s majority stake in the Lakers for a $10 billion valuation in 2025.
“I sent the email the next day, I tried to get in at $100 [million], and they didn’t let me in,” Sandiford-Artest told the California Post. “But I wish he had let me in. That would’ve been great to have a former Laker as an owner, especially with the Buss family gone. It would’ve been great to have a Laker, a champion like Metta World Peace.”
Less than a year after Walter bought the Lakers for what was then the highest valuation ever for a U.S. professional sports franchise, he agreed to sell his stake to former Disney CEO Bob Iger and venture capitalist Josh Kushner for a record $12.5 billion valuation on Aug. 12. The deal is pending approval from the NBA Board of Governors.
Walter is being investigated by federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding potential loan fraud.
Sandiford-Artest, who played for the Lakers for six seasons over two separate stints and won a championship alongside Kobe Bryant in 2010, said he had a feeling that the Lakers’ eye-popping valuation was going to skyrocket.
“Once it sold, the next day I tried to buy in for 1%,” Sandiford-Artest told The Post. “I knew it was going to [go up in value]. I knew it. I said the Lakers are going to be valued at $14 [billion]. I thought it was going to be a $14 billion value within like 18 months.”
Sandiford-Artest said he wasn’t sure why Walter declined his offer.
“They didn’t respond, and then they were like no,” Sandiford-Artest told The Post. “The reason why I tried to is I knew the value was going to go up, so I missed out. I was kind of bummed about it. You have a former player who wants to put in $100 [million].”
Under the Lakers’ new ownership, Sandiford-Artest believes the valuation of the 17-time championship franchise is going to soar even more.
“The Lakers are going to be just as big as Disney, honestly,” Sandiford-Artest told The Post.
Sandiford-Artest said he similarly tried to buy a stake in the BIG3, a 3-on-3 half-court professional basketball league founded in 2017 by rapper and actor Ice Cube and businessman Jeff Kwatinetz.
Sandiford-Artest, who played in the BIG3 in 2018, said his offer was declined. The league is expecting a $290 million valuation when it plans to go public later this year.
“I would’ve seven-exed my money,” Sandiford-Artest told The Post. “I was a little bit bummed, But it goes to show you the foresight that I had.”
Sandiford-Artest retired from the NBA in 2017. He was an All-Star and Defensive Player of the Year in 2004. He was a four-time All Defensive Team selectee over his 17-season career.
As for the Lakers, Sandiford-Artest has nothing but gratitude for his two stints with the franchise from 2009-2013 and 2015-2017.
They transformed him into a champion after he feared he would be out of the league following the infamous “Malice at the Palace” brawl in November 2004, which led to him being suspended for 86 games when he was with the Pistons.
“I was surprised to be a Laker, honestly,” Sandiford-Artest told The Post. “I didn’t think that was going to happen. They helped me out by letting me play on their team and helping me get a ring. That was something I always wanted.”
Sandiford-Artest famously made a game-sealing 3-pointer for the Lakers with 1:01 left in Game 7 of the Finals against the Celtics in 2010.
Sandiford-Artest was especially grateful for his time under the Buss family, which is embroiled in a battle over its remaining 17.8% minority stake in the Lakers. Five of the Buss siblings voted to sell their share in the team on Aug. 17, while Jeanie Buss is contesting the sale and wants to remain the team’s governor.
“Just the way they involved me in the organization,” Sandiford-Artest told The Post. “That stands out a lot. It was like a family.”
Sandiford-Artest praised Jeanie Buss and the Lakers’ executives for supporting his advocacy for mental health awareness among athletes.
“They created a platform as they got involved with UCLA Health, adding a psychologist, all of the stuff like that,” Sandiford-Artest told The Post. “I think that was a great compliment. I was already bringing that stuff to the forefront, and I think Jeanie had an interest in it.”
Jerry Buss initially bought the Lakers as part of a larger financial deal for $67.5 million in 1979 before leaving his stake in the franchise to his children after he died in 2013.
Under the Buss family, Sandiford-Artest said the Lakers felt like a “mom and pop” organization.
“They just always made it feel like home,” he said.
