The Los Angeles Lakers, one of the most recognizable brands in world sport, look set to change hands in a deal reported by the Guardian to be worth $12.5bn. The prospective buyers are former Disney chief executive Bob Iger and venture capitalist Josh Kushner, the brother of Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

The sale marks a dramatic transformation in both value and ownership model. Real estate investor Jerry Buss bought the Lakers for $16m in 1979 and remained the majority owner until his death in 2013, when his children assumed control of the franchise. At the time of his death, the Lakers were valued at $1bn.

Under Buss, the Lakers came to define an era of the NBA. Through the Showtime teams of the 1980s and the later dominance of the Shaq-Kobe years, the franchise became a benchmark for the league’s global ambitions, blending athleticism with celebrity. The Laker Girls, Magic Johnson’s no-look passes, Shaquille O’Neal’s power and courtside regulars such as Jack Nicholson turned the team into a cultural touchstone.

According to the Guardian, that on-court spectacle rested on a stable and patient ownership arrangement off the court. Through front office recruitment, coaching and the harnessing of Hollywood star power, the Lakers evolved from a team into a brand, establishing a template that virtually every other NBA franchise has since felt compelled to imitate.

The Guardian frames the prospective Iger-Kushner purchase as evidence that NBA teams are no longer treated as family dynasties handed down through generations, but increasingly as assets attractive to private equity and venture capital investors. The involvement of high-profile financial and media figures underscores how far the ownership landscape has moved from the era of Jerry Buss.

The reported $12.5bn valuation represents an enormous increase from the $1bn figure attached to the franchise in 2013, illustrating the scale at which top-tier sports assets are now priced.