Buss siblings rally in opposition to sister Jeanie with assertion confirming intentions to promote stake to Bob Iger, Josh Kushner
The off-course drama is shortly turning into the messiest subplot of the NBA offseason, replete with a years-in-the-making sibling rivalries, petty backstabbing and sufficient authorized maneuvering for somebody to make a killing off billable hours.
The inciting incident of the saga got here practically a decade in the past when Jeanie, the Lakers governor since her father’s dying, eliminated Jim as president of basketball of operations and fought off a failed coup attempt by him and Johnny, going so far as to request a brief restraining order in opposition to the 2 in March 2017.
“I wish to be sure that they do not attempt to do that once more,” Jeanie’s lawyer stated on the time. “We simply need the workforce and the followers to have the steadiness and success they deserve.”
The state of affairs bought messier final yr when the household offered a majority stake of the franchise to Walter. In November 2025, the three youngest Buss siblings, Janie, Joey and Jesse, have been all pressured out, leaving Jeanie because the lone remaining Buss member of the family with an lively function within the group.
“I do not suppose my dad could be pleased with the way in which issues simply went down,” Janie told ESPN’s Baxter Holmes.
After alienating her siblings, Jeanie cannot be too stunned they’ve rallied in opposition to her, threatening to strike the place they know it could damage probably the most. NBA bylaws state a workforce governor should personal not less than a 15 % stake within the franchise, and if the Buss household’s sale goes by, Jeanie would wish to relinquish her title.
In an ESPN Magazine piece by Ramona Shelburne from March 2017, Jeanie mentioned the turmoil and acknowledged that the Lakers have been her prime precedence.
“[Dad] wished us all to fulfill collectively and construct this workforce collectively. However in the case of the Lakers, I am like a mama bear,” she stated. “It isn’t about Jeanie. It is about what’s finest for the Lakers. That is the child.”
Because the Buss household drama spills out past the basketball court docket, there could come a time when their involvement is not within the franchise’s finest curiosity. However we do not count on Jeanie to go down with no struggle.
Keep tuned for the following episode.
