Jerry Buss Memorial Held Thursday

The memorial service for former L.A. Lakers owner Jerry Buss will be held Thursday at 3 p.m. at the Nokia Theatre in L.A. Live.

Jerry Buss owned several teams throughout his life, including the L.A. Kings and the WNBA L.A. Sparks.

Many of the Lakers' greatest players are expected to speak at the private memorial service, including Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabar and Shaquille O'Neal. The USC Marching Band, Randy Newman, and Davis Gaines will perform at the ceremony.

Before the Lakers' game Wednesday night, the team paid tribute to Buss. They played a two-minute slideshow of photos from his life and more than 30 years as the owner of the Lakers. Bryant spoke to the at-capacity Staples Center.

"He was a brilliant and incredible owner," Bryant said. "But he was an even better person with a great heart."

While Buss owned the Lakers, the team won 10 NBA championships. Buss is credited with transforming the team by operating on the principle that basketball games should be entertaining.

Buss received his bachelor's degree from the University of Wyoming, and his Master's and Doctoral degrees from USC.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.