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When the Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA championship in 2020, Jeanie Buss became the first female controlling owner to lead an NBA team to the title. Buss also owns _WOW: Women of

Wrestling_, and she’ll land herself another big first when the new season_ _airs this fall in Canada, Australia and Indonesia, making_ _it the only all-female wrestling organization with an

international TV footprint. WHAT DO NBA PLAYERS HAVE IN COMMON WITH THE WOMEN OF WRESTLING? First and foremost would be larger-than-life personalities that attract attention. They transcend

the court or the ring that they’re placed in. Therefore, when you have a star like [NBA player] LeBron James and a star like [_WOW_’s] Candy Crush, they’re very watchable. They’re easy for

the audience to cheer on. IF YOU WERE A PROFESSIONAL WRESTLER, WHAT WOULD YOUR CHARACTER BE? I grew up collecting comic books, and so to me these girls are superheroes. I was the kid that

would take a towel and tie it around my neck and be Supergirl. So I would definitely want to be a superhero type. SO THE WORLD — AT LONG LAST — IS READY FOR SUPERWOMEN? When I went to see

the [2017] _Wonder Woman_ movie, I was in tears during the opening credits because as a kid I had a Wonder Woman doll and I created a whole movie myself with this doll. This was the ’70s,

and to think now a woman could lead a franchise movie and be successful at the box office … to deliver that audience that some people doubted. The time is right for women’s sports. HOW

ACCURATELY DOES THE NETFLIX SHOW _GLOW _DEPICT THE WORLD OF WOMEN’S WRESTLING? They captured a lot of the camaraderie that exists in women’s sports. Also, their hopes and dreams. Women want

to be center stage. They want to perform for an audience. There’s just not a lot of opportunities for women, and that’s what drew me to this [_WOW_] project. IS [ACTRESS AND WRITER] MINDY

KALING STILL WORKING ON A SCRIPTED NETFLIX COMEDY THAT’S A FICTIONAL VERSION OF YOUR LIFE?  Yes. We’ve been in development. It’s a comedy based on a family that owns a basketball team. It’s

the fun side of things, the quirky things. Some of the stories I shared with her — that have given her inspiration — are hard for her to even believe. Even a creative writer like her

couldn’t come up with it. I think there’s enough wacky things happening off the court that it will be a very entertaining show. Buss talks with Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant at a Los Angeles

Lakers game in 2019. Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE SPORTS MOVIE? I love _Jerry Maguire. _I even sent tweets to [director] Cameron Crowe telling him, “You

need to make a sequel,” because what I would love to see is how the Jerry Maguire character — who started off as an agent who has this epiphany about being better — has evolved in his role

as general manager in today’s environment in terms of treating the athlete as a whole human being and not just a paycheck.