New Delhi, Aug. 12 -- In one of the most significant ownership shifts in NBA history, the Los Angeles Lakers are being sold for more than $12 billion to a pair of high-profile figures from the technology and entertainment worlds. The buyers are Josh Kushner, founder of the venture firm Thrive Capital, and Bob Iger, the former chief executive of Disney. If completed, the transaction would set a new benchmark for the price of any professional sports franchise and mark a dramatic change for one of basketball's most storied teams.

Josh Kushner has spent the better part of two decades building one of the strongest investment track records in American venture capital. While his older brother Jared became a public figure through politics and re...