Los Angeles Lakers owner Jeanie Buss brought in Magic Johnson as the team’s president of basketball operations last season with one goal in mind: To lead the Lakers back to prominence, and away from the league laughing stock status they had attained under Mitch Kupchak and Jim Buss.
So far the results have been mixed on the floor, where the Lakers are currently firmly out of the playoff hunt but boast promising young talents such as Lonzo Ball and Kyle Kuzma while playing some of the staunchest defense in the NBA.
Off the floor though, there is no question that Johnson and Jeanie Buss have radically shifted the perception of the Lakers around a league that now sees them as a threat to land superstar free agents like LeBron James and Kevin Durant.