The Buss family's decision to sell a controlling stake in the Los Angeles Lakers at an eye-popping franchise valuation of 10 billion marks the end of nearly a half-century when one of the most valuable properties in the sports world was run by an eccentric father and his sometimes squabbling children.
With high-living playboy Jerry Buss and current team governor Jeanie Buss in charge, the glamorous Lakers essentially have been the professional sports equivalent of a quirky family business for two generations.
Sports became increasingly corporate and monolithic in the 21st century while franchise values skyrocketed and ever-more-wealthy titans seized control of this perpetual growth industry.
Just not around Hollywood's favorite basketball team, with its gold uniforms and 17 golden trophies.
"The majority of businesses in this country are family-owned businesses," Jeanie Buss told NPR earlier this year in a rare interview to promote a Netflix comedy series based on her career. "And everybody has a family. If you're in business with them, disagreements happen. But at the end of the day, what brings you together is the team or the business, and you want to build something successful."