While I have often joked that the Lakers are a “family business” that is run like a mom and pop shop, it’s really just a running gag I use to describe an organization that is still controlled by the Buss family and not venture capitalist/big tech money that so many of the new NBA ownership groups.
What was not a joke, though, was applying for and then receiving a stimulus loan from the federal government meant for small businesses. But, that is exactly what the Lakers did, receiving $4.6 million from the government, per a report from ESPN’s Kevin Arnovitz.