3 Point Buzzer: Issue 01

In this week's issue: What an NBA title would mean for Oklahoma City's economy, the underrated subplot of billionaire Mark Walter buying the Lakers, LeBron & Amazon's relationship, YouTube dominance & UFC's next media deal.

Author

Isaiah Freedman
June 22, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes

🌟 Editor's Note
Welcome to the 3 Point Buzzer, your quick hit for sports business, media, marketing and technology news.

🏆 A Thunder Championship Could Mean +$500 Million for Oklahoma City

The Oklahoma City Thunder are the Apple of the NBA. They have a pristine record and a winning culture, and they’ve evolved their strategy over the years to achieve greatness (maybe we’ll stop the analogy there after seeing Apple’s liquid glass announcement).

Over the last 13 years, the Thunder have:

  • A Top 2 winning percentage in the NBA

  • 4x MVPs (Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander)

  • 14 playoff appearances in 17 seasons

  • A pristine draft record

But they’ve never won the championship, which really crystallizes just how difficult reaching the pinnacle can be. Yes, like everything in life, it requires some luck. The words “Patrick Beverley” and “crashing into Russell Westbrook’s knee” may haunt Thunder fans in their sleep.

The Thunder are in a bottom-five TV market, and always have been. Which means winning a championship would have an even greater impact on the economy.

Overall, the total estimated economic value would be roughly $500M over the long term for Oklahoma City. That impact is profound, a true indicator of how sports can help transform what was once a smaller city into a burgeoning powerhouse.

The Thunder’s relationship with their fans is special. General Manager Sam Presti is essentially the mayor, fans are known for waiting at the airport until past midnight to welcome the Thunder home after a road trip & the arena is arguably the loudest in the NBA.

Let’s see if OKC can bring it home on Sunday at 5pm PT on ABC.

🚀 The Underrated Subplot of Mark Walter Buying the Lakers for a $10B Valuation

Everyone and their mother has heard the news by now: Dodgers owner Mark Walter, the CEO and chairman of diversified holding company TWG Global who has been a Lakers minority owner since 2021, is buying the team.

Yes, that is massive news, and based on his track record with the Dodgers, the Lakers are poised to be a juggernaut in areas they simply haven’t been for years. A quick rundown of the improvement that is going to take place:

  • Beefed Up Staff: It’s been whispered around the league for years the Lakers don’t have a fully-equipped analytics staff.

    • Coach JJ Redick has improved this area of the franchise since joining, but by all accounts, they’re behind the rest of the league

  • Spending on the margins: Losing defensive stud Alex Caruso because they didn’t want to fork over a four-year, $37M contract was just one example of purse strings being tightened.

    • The Ringer’s Zach Lowe reported the Lakers were the only team in the league to not pay for Synergy Sports, (now called Genius Sports), the sports analytics platform providing valuable data for teams. Sheesh.

    • ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported that a Lakers coach was unable to expense a night at the same hotel as the player he was traveling to work out with in the offseason because the room was too expensive. Yikes.

Walter and his team will eventually upgrade all that. But what intrigues me the most is the Game of Thrones-esque subplot that has been bubbling for years, and could be poised to take another twist: Magic Johnson & Rob Pelinka’s power struggle.

Way back in 2018-19, when LeBron James had joined the Lakers, they were led by the 1-2 punch of Johnson and Pelinka. By the end of 2019, after Johnson stepped down from the Lakers in an official front office capacity, he didn’t have the most glowing review of his buddy Pelinka.

“If you are going to talk betrayal, it's only with Rob,” Johnson said after he left the Lakers. “People around the Lakers office were telling me Rob was saying things, and I didn't like those things being said behind my back, that I wasn't in the office enough.”

Pelinka may very well have had a point, as Magic is a business mogul and likely had other interests pulling at him during his time with the Lakers. One of those interests was casually being a minority owner of the Dodgers, with Walter, since 2012.

Magic and Walter are close, so don’t you think that once Walter buys the team, he won’t ask Magic about the inner workings of the organization, and how it could be improved? What do you think Magic will say when asked about the front office?

The Lakers have been run like a mom-and-pop shop since Jerry Buss bought the team in 1979 (my favorite fun fact is though the overall transaction was valued at $67 million, Buss acquired the Forum for $33.5 million, the Lakers for $16 million, and the Kings for $8 million. He also got a $10-million ranch in California.) Talk about a good deal!

With Walter set to take over, the front office could be in for a complete overhaul in the next several years. And Magic Johnson may or may not have anything to do with it.

🔥 Sports Biz News Roundup

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