Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss died Monday, February 18, a hospital spokeswoman said. Buss, 80, had long been a fixture in the NBA though he increasingly left day-to-day operations of the Lakers to his children in recent years. With 10 NBA championships and 16 Western Conference titles, Buss was nothing if not a winner. Credited with procuring the likes of Earvin "Magic" Johnson, James Worthy, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, it's inarguable that he was instrumental in cementing the Lakers' claim to being the second-best NBA team of all time, behind the Boston Celtics.
(CNN) -- Basketball Hall of Fame member Jerry Buss, who had owned the Los Angeles Lakers since the National Basketball Association franchise's resurgence and dominance began in 1979, died in Los Angeles on Monday morning, a Cedars-Sinai hospital spokeswoman said. He was 80.
Buss died at 5:55 a.m., said the spokeswoman, Nicole White. He had been in poor health, suffering from an unspecified type of cancer.
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Photos: People we lost in 2013
The Lakers won 10 NBA titles under Buss' ownership. Those championship teams featured such all-time greats as Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant.
"The NBA has lost a visionary owner whose influence on our league is incalculable and will be felt for decades to come. More importantly, we have lost a dear and valued friend," NBA Commissioner David Stern said in a statement.
"He was a dear friend, keen mentor and brilliant businessman," said O'Neal, who played eight seasons for the Lakers. "He'll always be remembered for his dedication in bringing the best to the purple and gold and I'm proud to have been part of his honorable legacy."
The franchise will remain in the hands of the Buss family, the team said in a statement.
Buss is survived by four sons and two daughters, among others.
People we've lost in 2013: The lives they lived
CNN's Paul Vercammen contributed to this report from Los Angeles, and Mark Morgenstein wrote it in Atlanta.
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After finishing his chemistry degree from the University of Wyoming in 2½ years, Buss went on to receive his master's in chemistry at the University of Southern California and completed his doctorate by age 24. Pictured, Buss watches USC play Arizona State in 2009 in Los Angeles.
Buss, who found success in the real estate industry, purchased the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Kings hockey team for $67.5 million, a record transaction for any franchise at the time. Forbes now values the Lakers alone at $1 billion, making the team the second most valuable franchise in the NBA behind the New York Knicks. Pictured, Buss, bottom left, sits for a team portrait in 1980.
The Lakers won their first of 10 championships under Buss. Veteran center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar averaged a monstrous 32 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks during the playoffs, but he had to share the stage with a 20-year-old rookie who would soon become a legend himself, Earvin "Magic" Johnson. Pictured, Johnson dumps champagne on Buss after winning a game in the 1980 series.
After the Lakers' first championship under Buss, either the Lakers or Boston Celtics played in the next four championship series. The Celtics won the 1984 championship in seven games, reigniting a storied rivalry between the two teams that had waned after the championship contests of the 1960s. Pictured, "Magic" Johnson and the Boston Celtics' Larry Bird in the NBA Finals in 1984.
The Lakers took back the title from the Celtics in 1985. During the series, Larry Bird averaged 26 points and nine rebounds to Johnson's 18 points and 15 assists. The series marked the pinnacle of a rivalry that helped boost the NBA's attendance and television ratings. Pictured, Buss and his team celebrate winning the 1985 Finals.
The so-called Showtime Lakers won their last championship of the era. The team couldn't keep up with Detroit's Motor City Bad Boys, who went on to back-to-back championships in 1989 and 1990. Pictured, Abdul-Jabbar of the Lakers defends against Bill Laimbeer of the Detroit Pistons during a 1988 NBA Finals game.
Buss' Lakers got their last whiff of a championship during this era, winning the first game of the series before losing to Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls in four straight games. With Abdul-Jabbar retired, the other Lakers began showing their age. The Lakers didn't make another championship until 2000. Pictured, "Magic" Johnson faces off against Jordan in the '91 finals.
Buss had stellar finishes in back-to-back World Series of Poker competitions. He finished third in a 1991 seven-card stud tournament and followed that up with a 15th-place finish in the 1992 No Limit Hold'em competition. He won a collective $189,241 between 1991 and 2011, according to pokerpages.com. Pictured, Buss plays poker with actress Bai Ling at a 2006 event.
After the WNBA is formed, Buss operated the Los Angeles Sparks franchise. Lisa Leslie joined the inaugural team in 1997, proving Buss' reputation for snaring supreme talent knew no gender boundary. Leslie's storied career included seven All-Star appearances, four Olympic gold medals and two WNBA titles. Pictured, Leslie grabs a rebound during a 1997 WNBA game against the Houston Comets.
The Lakers and Sparks moved into the $375 million Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles in 1999. Pictured, Lakers fans crowd the center during the Lakers' NBA championship parade in June 2001.
In their fourth season together, Shaquille O'Neal, a 7-foot-1 center acquired from the Orlando Magic, and Kobe Byrant, a young phenom straight out of high school in the 1996 draft, began to gel. They beat Indiana in six games as O'Neal racked up his first of three consecutive NBA Finals MVP honors.
Not only did Buss' Lakers win their third-straight championship, but his Sparks racked up their second consecutive title. Pictured, the Lakers' team portrait in 2002.
The Lakers won their first championship since 2002. It was the first post-O'Neal championship for star Kobe Bryant, who was always considered a standout but was criticized for his inability to win a championship without the big man. Pictured, Bryant shoots during a 2009 NBA Finals game against the Orlando Magic.
Buss was inducted in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010. Pictured, he speaks at the Class of 2010 induction ceremony in August of that year.
Daughter Jeanie Buss, executive vice president of business operations for the Lakers, got engaged to Lakers' head coach Phil Jackson, the architect of five of the team's championships, in 2012. Pictured, the two watch a game together in 2007.
NASCAR legend Dick Trickle died Thursday, May 16, of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was 71.
Popular American psychologist and television personality Dr. Joyce Brothers died at 85, her daughter said Monday, May 13. Brothers gained fame as a frequent guest on television talk shows and as an advice columnist for Good Housekeeping magazine and newspapers throughout the United States.
Jeanne Cooper, who played Katherine Chancellor, the "Dame of Genoa City," on "The Young and the Restless," died on May 8. She was 84.
Ray Harryhausen, the stop-motion animation and special-effects master whose work influenced such directors as Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson and George Lucas, died on May 7 at age 92, according to the Facebook page of the Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation.
Grammy-winning guitarist Jeff Hanneman, a founding member of the heavy metal band Slayer, died on May 2 of liver failure. He was 49.
Chris Kelly, one-half of the 1990s rap duo Kris Kross, died on May 1 at an Atlanta hospital after being found unresponsive at his home, the Fulton County medical examiner's office told CNN.
Kelly, right, and Chris Smith shot to stardom in 1992 with the hit "Jump."
George Jones, the country music legend whose graceful, evocative voice gave depth to some of the greatest songs in country music -- including "She Thinks I Still Care," "The Grand Tour" and "He Stopped Loving Her Today" -- died on April 26 at age 81, according to his public relations firm.
Actor Allan Arbus poses for a portrait with his daughter photographer Amy Arbus in 2007. Allan Arbus, who played psychiatrist Maj. Sidney Freedman in the M*A*S*H television series, died at age 95, his daughter's representative said April 23.
Folk singer Richie Havens, the opening act at the 1969 Woodstock music festival, died on April 22 of a heart attack, his publicist said. He was 72.
Australian rocker Chrissy Amphlett, the Divinyls lead singer whose group scored an international hit with the sexually charged "I Touch Myself" in the early 1990s, died on April 21 from breast cancer and multiple sclerosis, her husband said. She was 53.
Pat Summerall, the NFL football player turned legendary play-by-play announcer, was best known as a broadcaster who teamed up with former NFL coach John Madden. Summerall died April 16 at the age of 82.
Comedian Jonathan Winters died on April 11 at age 87. Known for his comic irreverence, he had a major influence on a generation of comedians. Here he appears on "The Jonathan Winters Show" in 1956.
Sir Robert Edwards, a "co-pioneer" of the in vitro fertilization technique and Nobel Prize winner, died April 10 in his sleep after a long illness, the University of Cambridge said. He was 87. He is pictured on July 25, 1978, holding the world's first "test-tube baby," Louise Joy Brown, alongside the midwife and Dr. Patrick Steptoe, who helped develop the fertility treatment.
Annette Funicello, one of the best-known members of the original 1950s "Mickey Mouse Club" and a star of 1960s "beach party" movies, died at age 70 on April 8. Pictured, Funicello performs with Jimmie Dodd on "The Mickey Mouse Club" in1957.
Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, a towering figure in postwar British and world politics and the only woman to become British prime minister, died at the age of 87 on Monday, April 8.
Designer Lilly Pulitzer, right, died on April 7 at age 81, according to her company's Facebook page. The Palm Beach socialite was known for making sleeveless dresses from bright floral prints that became known as the "Lilly" design.
Film critic Roger Ebert died on April 4, according to his employer, the Chicago Sun-Times. He was 70. Ebert had taken a leave of absence on April 2 after a hip fracture was revealed to be cancer.
Jane Nebel Henson, wife of the late Muppets creator Jim Henson and instrumental in the development of the world-famous puppets, died April 2 after a long battle with cancer. She was 78.
Shain Gandee, one of the stars of the MTV reality show "Buckwild," was found dead with two other people in Kanawha County, West Virginia, on April 1. He was 21.
Music producer and innovator Phil Ramone, right, with Paul Shaffer, left, and Billy Joel at the Song Writers Hall of Fame Awards in New York in 2001. Ramone died March 30 at the age of 72.
Writer/producer Don Payne, one of the creative minds behind "The Simpsons," died March 26 at his home in Los Angeles after losing a battle with bone cancer, reports say. He was 48.
Gordon Stoker, left, who as part of the vocal group the Jordanaires sang backup on hits by Elvis Presley, died March 27 at 88.
Deke Richards, center, died March 24 at age 68. Richards was a producer and songwriter who was part of the team responsible for Motown hits such as "I Want You Back" and "Maybe Tomorrow." He had been battling esophageal cancer.
Legendary publisher, promoter and weightlifter Joe Weider, who created the Mr. Olympia contest and brought California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to the United States, died at age 93 on March 23.
Playboy magazine's 1962 "Playmate of the Year," Christa Speck Krofft, died March 22 of natural causes at the age of 70.
Rena Golden, who held top positions at CNN, died at age 51 after battling lymphoma for two years on March 21.
Harry Reems, the porn star best known for playing Dr. Young in the 1972 adult film classic "Deep Throat," died March 19, according to a spokeswoman at a Salt Lake City hospital. Reems, whose real name is Herbert Streicher, was 65.
Bobbie Smith, who as a member of the Spinners sang lead on such hits as "I'll Be Around" and "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love," died on March 16 at age 76. Pictured clockwise from left, Spinners band member Pervis Jackson, Billy Henderson, Jonathan Edwards, Bobbie Smith and Henry Fambrough, 1977.
Sweden's Princess Lilian, the Welsh-born model who lived with her lover Prince Bertil for 30 years before they were married, has died at the age of 97, the Swedish Royal Court said in a statement.
Alvin Lee, the speed-fingered British guitarist who lit up Woodstock with a monumental 11-minute version of his song "I'm Going Home," died on March 6, according to his website. He was 68.
Hugo Chavez, the polarizing president of Venezuela who cast himself as a "21st century socialist" and foe of the United States, died March 5, said Vice President Nicolas Maduro.
Bobby Rogers, one of the original members of Motown staple The Miracles, died on Sunday, March 3, at 73. From left: Bobby Rogers, Ronald White, Smokey Robinson and Pete Moore circa 1965.
Actress Bonnie Franklin, star of the TV show "One Day at a Time," died at the age of 69 on March 1 of complications from pancreatic cancer.
Actor Dale Robertson, who was popular for his western TV shows and movies, died at age 89 on Thursday, February 28.
Richard Street, former member of the Temptations, died at age 70 on February 27. Street, second from the left, poses for a portrait with fellow members of the Temptations circa 1973.
Van Cliburn, the legendary pianist honored with a New York ticker-tape parade for winning a major Moscow competition in 1958, died on February 27 after a battle with bone cancer, his publicist said. He was 78.
Former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop died on February 25. He was 96. Koop served as surgeon general from 1982 to 1989, under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
Damon Harris, former member of the Motown group the Temptations, died at age 62 on February 18. Harris, center on the stool, poses for a portrait with fellow members of The Temptations circa 1974.
Lou Myers, a stage, film and TV actor who memorably portrayed Mr. Gaines on the comedy "A Different World," died on February 19 at the age of 75.
Country singer Mindy McCready was found dead on February 17 of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said. She was 37. During her career, McCready landed 14 songs and six albums on the Billboard country charts.
Ed Koch, the brash former New York mayor, died February 1 of congestive heart failure at 88, his spokesman said.
Patty Andrews, center, the last surviving member of the Andrews Sisters, died at her Northridge, California, home on January 30, her publicist Alan Eichler said. She was 94. Patty is seen in this 1948 photograph with her sisters Maxene, left, and Laverne.
Baseball Hall of Famer and St. Louis Cardinals great Stan Musial died on January 19, according to his former team. He was 92.
Baseball Hall of Fame manager Earl Sidney Weaver, who led the Baltimore Orioles to four pennants and a World Series title with a pugnacity toward umpires, died January 19 of an apparent heart attack at age 82, Major League Baseball said.
Pauline Phillips, better known to millions of newspaper readers as the original Dear Abby advice columnist, has died after a long battle with Alzheimer's Disease. She died January 16 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, at age 94.
Aaron Swartz, the Internet activist who co-wrote the initial specification for RSS, committed suicide, a relative told CNN on January 12. He was 26. Swartz also co-founded Demand Progress, a political action group that campaigns against Internet censorship.
Claude Nobs, the founder of the Montreux Jazz Festival, died aged 76 following a skiing accident.
Richard Ben Cramer, the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer whose 1992 book "What It Takes" remains one of the most detailed and passionate of all presidential campaign chronicles, died January 7, according to his longtime agent. He was 62.
Director and stuntman David R. Ellis died on January 7. He directed "Snakes on a Plane."
Tony Lip, who played mob figures in the hit cable show "The Sopranos" and several critically acclaimed movies, died January 4, a funeral home official said. Lip, whose real name was Frank Vallelonga, was 82.
Character actor Ned Wertimer, known to fans of "The Jeffersons" as the doorman Ralph Hart, died on January 2. He was 89.
Pop-country singer Patti Page died on January 1 in Encinitas, California. She was 85. Born Clara Ann Fowler, Page was the best-selling female artist of the 1950s and had 19 gold and 14 platinum singles.
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