Jack McKinney was appointed to lead the L.A. Lakers before the 1979-80 season. Upon his arrival in the City of Angels, he was immediately captivated by the vibrant new environment surrounding him.
However, it wasn't until the rookie NBA head coach got to know the womanizer Jerry Buss that he truly grasped how much Hollywood had entered his life. McKinney shared a description of the Lakers' owner with his old friend from Portland days, Jack Ramsay.
“Jack, he’s never with the same girl twice. None of them over twenty-five. Hard to remember their names because they’re never back. You see and try and figure out the name, and then she’s gone. Hard on my wife. She’s stopped trying to get the names right,” McKinney recounted, according to the book ‘ The Breaks of the Game .’
The playboy mogul
In 1959, Buss made a significant move by purchasing an apartment building in Los Angeles with a friend. That initial $1,000 investment eventually blossomed into a vast empire, with Jerry becoming a major player in the Southern California real estate market.
During this period, his first marriage to JoAnn Mueller came to an end. However, the Utah native quickly adjusted to his new life as a wealthy bachelor, mingling with influential figures in high society and returning the interest of women who were eager to be by his side.
Jerry married his second wife, Veronica Hoff, in 1972 while allegedly still married to JoAnn. After acquiring the Lakers in 1979, he fully embraced his notorious promiscuous lifestyle, dating, among others, former Playboy bunnies Debbie Zafrani, Karen Demel, and Puppi Buss. This preference for younger women continued until his death in 2013; at that time, the 80-year-old was reportedly dating a student in her late 20s named Delia Cortez.
Related: "That's not a goal I want to achieve. That's not something I think I'll be good at" - Allen Iverson on why he would never want to be a coach
Buss knew how to invest effectively
Buss's journey from a modest, single-parent home in Salt Lake City to becoming a successful mogul and sports franchise owner taught him that investments, despite their risks, can lead to significant rewards. This sentiment about the owner was echoed by McKinney, who had previously served as an assistant coach for the 1979 championship-winning Blazers.
“You’ve just never seen an owner like that,” he told Ramsay. “All he wants to do is spend money. Wants all the players in the league to know how much he’s going to spend so that when compensation ends next year they’ll all end up in Los Angeles.”
While other front offices meticulously scrutinized every dollar and sometimes felt financial pressure to do so, Buss took a different approach. Though he sometimes faced criticism for that, even from within the organization, he recognized the Lakers' immense potential for growth on both the sporting and commercial sides—provided sufficient investments were made.
It's safe to say that this strategy was effective. During Jerry's 33-year tenure, the Purple and Gold made it to the NBA Finals 16 times and secured 10 championship titles. Today, the late Buss is remembered as one of the greatest owners in professional sports history.
Related: Kobe Bryant on why Jerry Buss picked him over Shaq in 2004: "You got to bet on the horse that you know is obsessive about what they do"
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