[From ESPN]

It's not every day that an NBA team is sold. And, prior to Wednesday afternoon, no NBA team had ever been sold for $10 billion -- or anywhere close to it.

But no NBA team is like the Los Angeles Lakers, which is what made Wednesday's news from ESPN's Shams Charania that the majority stake in the franchise would be sold by the Buss family to businessman Mark Walter for a record $10 billion valuation such a massive story, to go along with a massive number.

There is no bigger brand in the NBA -- and possibly all of North American sports -- than the Lakers, whose purple and gold colors are worn around the world and are synonymous with some of the sport's biggest names and most iconic teams. Since Jerry Buss purchased the team in 1979, the Lakers have won 11 titles and won more than 60% of their games, both the best of any NBA franchise over that span.

But there is also no team that has been more identified with the past, from an ownership standpoint, than the Lakers, who haven't confirmed the sale and have declined to comment on it. Buss' six children -- led by the team's governor, Jeanie, whom sources told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne will remain the governor for "at least a number of years" -- have tried to carry their father's legacy forward as the sport has changed around them.

Read more of ESPN's story HERE