Huffington Magazine Issue 80 | Page 57

BRAVE NEW WORLD Proud of his achievements but restless for more, Soon-Shiong has decided that visibility means business and more attention for his holistic approach to medical care. A dedicated sports fan, he bid on, but failed to win, the Dodgers. He bid on, but failed to win, rights to a new National Football League team in LA. But he did manage to buy Magic Johnson’s interest in the NBA’s Lakers. When the Lakers are at home, you often can see Soon-Shiong (usually with his wife) in his courtside seat in the Staples Center. He watches with a player’s appreciation of the game, having started shooting on netless hoops back in South Africa when he was 10. When he arrived in LA in 1980, he was able to play pickup games at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion, and became a rabid Lakers’ fan. The Lakers were then reemerging with a fast-paced, flowing but disciplined style of play they called “Showtime.” Soon-Shiong fell in love with “Showtime.” Lakers games, he says, are “a sacred space” for him — the only time he isn’t thinking of his work. But of course there is a science and a pattern involved even in being a fan. It has to do with where HUFFINGTON 12.22.13 he sits. Given his net worth, many years as a fan and close ties to the team, he could have any seat, with the possible exception of Jack Nicholson’s. Soon-Shiong chose seats at the end of the court, halfway between the basket and the corner. It’s the end of the court on which, as the home team, the Lakers play the last quarter. So Soon-Shiong can “In the past, the scientific, technological and digital pieces did not in exist to assemble the whole. Now they do.” watch the action under the basket and study fast breaks as they come toward him. There are other angles. The seats are close to the Lakers bench, which he can observe and eavesdrop — or visit during breaks. He is visible in the arena — political and business leaders know where to find him — but isn’t center court, with the Hollywood crowd. He is near the tunnel through which the Lakers enter and leave. “This is the perfect place to sit,” he explains at a recent game. “I see everything.” Howard Fineman is the editorial director of The Huffington Post.