TMZSports.com
The Lakers’ rivalry with the Celtics apparently extends way further than the hardwood — as Byron Scott was all smiles on Thursday realizing the sale of L.A.’s NBA franchise this week topped Boston’s by nearly $4 billion!!!
The former Lakers player and head coach was thrilled to see Jeanie Buss get $10 billion for her beloved team on Wednesday … happily gloating that it bested Boston’s $6.1 billion sale in March.
“That’s all that matters,” Scott said of the price difference with a big grin. “We topped them. We topped them! We beat them by $3.9 billion!”
Scott, of course, knows the rivalry perhaps better than anyone on the planet — he played for the Lakers for 11 years, then coached them for a handful during the 2010s as well. And, clearly, he’s taking any edge over Boston he can get.
All jokes aside, Scott did say he was “extremely happy” for the Buss family, whom he’s known for decades. He did admit, though, Jeanie’s decision to sell did surprise him a little.
“We all know at the end of the day it is a business,” he said. “And business is always in business to try to make money. But I think the Buss family has done it right for so many years, led by Dr. Jerry Buss, who, in my mind, is still to this day the best owner I’ve ever seen in professional sports.”
As for the team’s new owner, Mark Walter — Scott had no qualms with him … explaining Jeanie “wouldn’t consider selling unless she sold to somebody who she trusted and who she had a lot of faith in to continue to carry on that Purple and Gold tradition.”
