RIP Jerry Buss: The Best Owners in Sports

Longtime Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss died this week at the age of 80. Buss owned the team since 1979, and was wildly successful and influential as the NBA exploded in popularity. His team won 10 titles and was the marquee franchise of the 1980s and 2000s. He set the bar for all other NBA owners in terms of franchise stability and continuity. In fact, the Lakers have only begun to drop off as Buss' influence has waned and his son Jim has taken the reins.

In fact, the Lakers have been one of the most successful sports franchise of the last 30 years, and Buss has been a huge reason. He took over the Lakers just two years before his Staples Center mate, Donald Sterling, and the two franchises have been... well, pretty divergent.

Who else has been a stalwart in the other major sports?

Owner Peter Holt, GM R.C. Buford and head coach Gregg Popovich have had a magical run in San Antonio. Holt has owned the team since 1993, and the Spurs have won four titles in that time and been a top contendor since drafted Tim Duncan in 1997. Sometimes it's as simple as the right coach and the right draft pick.

Yep, that applies here too. Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf is a two-sport star: he's the Deion Sanders of owners. The Bulls won six titles since Jerry took over in 1985 (coincidentally around the same time that someone named Michael Jordan made the team), and won a World Series title in 2005 with the Chicago White Sox. Not too shabby.

Micky Arison owes a lot of his success to Dwyane Wade and Pat Riley, but two titles since 1995 is nothing to sniff at. He's also the owner of Carnival Cruise, so... maybe not the best month for him but still.

The Steinbrenner family has dominated baseball for the last 20+ years, and George was the biggest reason. He bought the team in 1973, won seven titles, and made untold billions in changing the way sports work as a business.

Bob Kraft has owned the Pats since 1994, and they've been the most successful NFL team for the last decade-plus. Three titles and contention nearly every year - definitely with a big hat tip to Tom Brady and Bill Belichick.

John Mara and Steve Tisch took control of the Giants in 2005 and have won two Super Bowls since then. However, the team has been in their respective families seemingly forever, and they have helped the team win big at various times over the last few decades.