Lakers' Jerry Buss 'beyond measure,' says Kobe Bryant 
 
 As Lakers owner remains hospitalized with cancer, Bryant talks of Buss' impact on the sport globally and says that Buss has 'meant everything' to him. 
 
 "You think about the rivalry that took place between the Lakers and the Celtics and what that did for the global outreach of the game. I mean, it reached me and I was all the way in Italy and I was only 6 years old," Bryant said. 
 
 Several current and former Lakers players, including Bryant, Pau Gasol and Magic Johnson, have visited Buss. A Lakers spokesman said the team has no plans to comment on Buss' health. 
 
 The Times reported Thursday that Buss, 79, is in the intensive care unit at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. 
 
 "He's meant everything to me in my career in terms of taking a risk on a 17-year-old kid coming out of high school and then believing in me my entire career. And then for the game itself, the brand of basketball that he implemented in Showtime carried the league," Bryant said at a news conference during the NBA's All-Star weekend. 
 
 HOUSTON — Kobe Bryant was reflective Friday when talking about Lakers owner Jerry Buss, who is hospitalized with an undisclosed form of cancer. 
 
 Bryant spent many of his formative years in Italy as his father, Joe "Jelly Bean" Bryant, played overseas. 
 
 The Lakers in 1996 traded Vlade Divac to Charlotte for Bryant, shortly after he'd been drafted out of high school. The Lakers have gone to seven NBA Finals with Bryant, winning five titles. 
 
 Bryant was asked Friday about Buss' overall imprint on the game. "It's beyond measure. There's nothing you can do to really define it. What he's done consistently, it's tough to really find a match for that in any sport. He's been a model of consistency," Bryant said. 
 
 Bryant also had high praise for Buss on Thursday night at Staples Center. 
 
 "He's extremely, extremely intelligent and extremely patient," Bryant said. "He has his goals. He knows exactly what he wants to do and how he wants to construct the ballclub." 
 
 The Lakers have won 10 championships since Buss purchased the team in 1979. 
 
 "He's just extremely, extremely smart going about it," Bryant said Thursday. "It's very rare to find that kind of owner that can seemingly not make any mistakes. It's pretty impressive." 
 
 Meanwhile, there was the problem of the Lakers' play on the court Thursday, as they were blasted by the Clippers in a 125-101 loss. During and after the game, Bryant was livid. 
 
 "It's not a good feeling at all," Bryant said in the Lakers' locker room. "Once things got difficult, we didn't step up to meet that challenge, and I'm not very happy right now and hopefully my teammates feel the same way." 
 
 Bryant scored 20 points Thursday while dishing 11 assists, but he struggled with six turnovers. "We've just got to sit over the [All-Star] break and just kind of reflect and think on how important this is to you and what it means to you," he said. 
 
 The Lakers (25-29) are in 10th place in the Western Conference. 
 
 "We lose by 20 or 30 points, we definitely can't be laughing and joking around," said Bryant, without specifying who he meant. 
 
 Bryant seemed to question his teammates' commitment several times. 
 
 "If it's important to us, we'll show up ready to play," said Bryant. "We can still put together something pretty special, I think — but there's a lot of work ahead to do." 
 
 Times staff writer Bolch reported from Houston. Correspondent Pincus reported from Los Angeles. 
 
 ben.bolch@latimes.com ||||| Los Angeles Laker owner Jerry Buss is in the hospital, according to multiple reports. (Photo: Robert Hanashiro USA TODAY Sports) Story Highlights Lakers owner Jerry Buss hospitalized with undisclosed form of cancer, USA TODAY Sports has learned 
 
 Buss has been hospitalized for few months, but family kept it private until recent report 
 
 Lakers past and present hoping for best for Buss, with many tweeting in support 
 
 Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss has been hospitalized for a few months with an undisclosed form of cancer, someone with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports. 
 
 The person spoke on the condition of anonymity to respect the wishes of the family. 
 
 Buss, 79, has spent time in the intensive care unit at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, according to the Los Angeles Times, which quoted Buss' son, Jim, on Thursday saying his father was "doing fine." 
 
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 Some former players have been giving high praise to Buss for his accomplishments as owner. 
 
 "Yeah, (Buss) has been on my mind, that's been on my mind for a while," Lakers star Kobe Bryant told USA TODAY Sports at All-Star weekend in Houston. "I'm just trying to stay, gotta stay positive." 
 
 Asked if he knew Dr. Buss' status, he said, "I don't know. I haven't gotten an update." 
 
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 Bryant credits Buss for helping him early on. 
 
 "He means everything to me," he said. "He took a chance on a 17-year-old kid coming out of Philadelphia when nobody really saw that potential. He believed in me the entire way." 
 
 In a tweet, former Lakers center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said, "Dr. Buss is an important part of the Laker family so I hope his stay in the hospital is short and he has a speedy recovery. #Jerrybuss." 
 
 "Dr. Jerry Buss, thinking about u & wish I could be there, get well soon," former Lakers center Shaquille O'Neal tweeted Thursday. "I cant wait 2 see u on 4/2/13 #LoveYou." 
 
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 Former Los Angeles Lakers player Robert Horry said his relationship with Buss is professional. But he had praise for what Buss' teams have accomplished. 
 
 "You've got to think about it. He owned the Lakers what, 30 years? And they've won championships or been in the championships half that — that's incredible," Horry told USA TODAY Sports. 
 
 "They bring in the right people. And the thing about it is you've got certain organizations around professional sports where you just say their name and guys want to play for them. They're going to go to that organization. The Lakers are one of those organizations where somehow, someway, they've got a rabbit's foot and they keep getting players to come there, and that's the Lakers. The Lakers are one of the best professional organizations in the world." 
 
 Bryant has been a part of five championships with the Lakers. 
 
 "You'd be hard-pressed to find another owner who has had that kind of success," he said. "He's been able to construct championship teams, regroup, reconstruct them again, regroup, reconstruct them again and build them in a very, very quick order. That's tough to find. " 
 
 Lakers spokesman John Black said the team has no plans to comment on Buss' health out of respect for the family's wishes. Buss spokesman Bob Steiner said information would have to come from the Lakers. 
 
 
 
 Buss has been hospitalized several times in recent years, including a stint last July for dehydration. He was treated for blood clots in his legs in December 2011. 
 
 Buss' son Jim Buss has taken over the basketball operations and daughter Jeanie is running the business side and is engaged to former Lakers coach Phil Jackson. Buss was involved with the firing of coach Mike Brown and hiring of Mike D'Antoni in early November, after the Lakers went 0-8 in preseason games and 1-4 to start the regular season. 
 
 It was Buss who wanted the Lakers to be an up-tempo team, like the 'Showtime' Lakers of the 1980s. He pushed for D'Antoni, although Jackson thought he had a good chance to come back as coach, former player and coach Kurt Rambis told USA TODAY Sports shortly after D'Antoni was hired. 
 
 A former aerospace engineer and real-estate developer, Buss has been a prominent name in American sports since he bought the Lakers, the NHL's Los Angeles Kings and the Forum from Jack Kent Cooke in 1979. Buss immediately transformed the Lakers into the NBA's most glamorous franchise, winning 10 NBA championships under his watch. 
 
 The Lakers won five titles in nine years during the 1980s, earning a reputation as basketball's most exciting team with their glamorous style led by Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson, who was Buss' first draft pick. O'Neal and Bryant then led the Lakers to a three-peat from 2000 to 2002 under Jackson before Bryant and Pau Gasol won two more titles in 2009 and 2010. 
 
 Contributing: The Associated Press ||||| Jerry Buss, the longtime owner of the Lakers whose penchant for showmanship helped turn the game of basketball into “Showtime” and who led the team to 10 NBA championships, died Monday. He was 80. 
 
 A self-made millionaire who built his fortune in real estate, Buss bought the Lakers in 1979. He charted his successful course with marquee players Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, Hall of Fame coaches Pat Riley and Phil Jackson, celebrities sitting courtside and Laker Girls dancing during timeouts. 
 
 "I really tried to create a Laker image, a distinct identity," Buss said. "I mean, the Lakers are pretty damn Hollywood." 
 
 PHOTOS: Jerry Buss through the years 
 
 It was a remarkable winning streak for a man who dug his way out of a hardscrabble youth. 
 
 A Depression-era baby, Jerry Hatten Buss was born Jan. 27, 1933, in Salt Lake City. His parents divorced when he was an infant. 
 
 His mother struggled to make ends meet as a waitress in tiny Evanston, Wyo., and Buss remembered standing in food lines in the bitter cold. 
 
 Later, Buss earned a science scholarship to the University of Wyoming. At 19 he married a coed named JoAnn Mueller, and they would eventually have four children: John, Jim, Jeanie and Janie. 
 
 By the mid-1950s, the couple had moved to Southern California, where Buss earned a doctorate in chemistry at USC. He worked briefly in the aerospace industry, and in the late 1950s, he and a colleague, Frank Mariani, tried their hand at real estate. 
 
 They scraped together a few thousand dollars to buy a 14-unit apartment house in West Los Angeles and, to save money, did all the repairs themselves. Their real estate company kept growing as they invested in residential properties, hotels and office buildings. 
 
 TIMELINE: Jerry Buss' path 
 
 In 1979, Buss and his partners bought the Lakers (along with the Forum in Inglewood), the NHL’s Kings and a 13,000-acre ranch in Kern County for $67 million from Jack Kent Cooke. 
 
 At the time, the NBA had fallen by the wayside and several teams stood on the brink of bankruptcy. 
 
 But to Buss, the Lakers looked like a gem in the coal bin. They had a dominant center in Abdul-Jabbar, and the team picked the effervescent Johnson out of Michigan State in the 1979 NBA draft. 
 
 Success came quickly. With former Lakers star Jerry West maturing into one of the most gifted general managers in the league, the team won an NBA championship in Buss’ first season. Johnson, Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Cooper guided the Lakers to five titles. 
 
 The Lakers' next title era came with O’Neal; the precocious Bryant, whom they traded for after he was drafted out of high school; and Jackson as coach. The Lakers won three consecutive championships from 2000 through 2002. 
 
 The team then flamed out in the 2004 NBA Finals against the Detroit Pistons and traded O’Neal to the Miami Heat. At the same time, Jackson walked away. 
 
 After a few more disappointing seasons, Bryant demanded a trade, but Buss stood firm. 
 
 The Lakers, with Jackson back as coach and with Pau Gasol added to the team, defeated Orlando for the 2008-09 title. The following season, they beat Boston for another championship. It was their 10th and final title under Buss. 
 
 "Jerry Buss helped set the league on the course it is on today," NBA Commissioner David Stern said. "Remember, he showed us it was about 'Showtime,' the notion that an arena can become the focal point for not just basketball, but entertainment. He made it the place to see and be seen." 
 
 Former Times staff writer Mark Heisler contributed to this report. 
 
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 Jerry Buss Dead -- Lakers Owner Dies After Battle with Cancer 
 
 Breaking News 
 
 -- owner of the-- died early this morning at the age of 80.Buss had been hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in L.A. for the past few months due to a previously undisclosed intestinal problem ... though it was revealed yesterday he'd been battling cancer the entire time.After starting his career as a chemist, Buss soon found his true calling in the real estate biz ... snapping up properties all over L.A. before moving on to the sporting world.In 1979, Buss made history when he purchased the Lakers, theandfor $67.5 million -- at that time, the largest transaction in sports.Under his ownership, Buss watched dozens of all-time greats -- includingand-- win the Lakers 10 NBA Championships. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.Buss was also an avid poker player ... and appeared on several TV shows, including "" and "."He is survived by his six children.
– Lakers owner Jerry Buss died this morning at age 79, after a secret hospital stay, TMZ reports. News broke last week that Buss had for months been hospitalized for an undisclosed form of cancer, though at the time family members said he was "doing fine," USA Today reports. Buss, who made his fortune in real estate, has owned the Lakers since 1979, a span that includes 10 championships and the celebrated "Showtime" era, an LA Times obituary observes. "He's meant everything to me," Kobe Bryant reflected on Friday, "in terms of taking a risk on a 17-year-old kid coming out of high school and then believing in me my entire career. And then for the game itself, the brand of basketball that he implemented in Showtime carried the league."