The Buss siblings are not backing down following a legal challenge from their sister Jeanie to their plan to sell the family’s remaining share of the Los Angeles Lakers.
A day after the initial sale announcement, Jim, Johnny, Janie, Jesse and Joey Buss released a statement thru Shams Charania of ESPN that they intend to move forward with their plan to sell their collective 17.8% share of the Los Angeles Lakers despite Jeanie’s objection.
Buss siblings ‘remain united in decision’ to sell
Tuesday’s statement is a response to Jeanie, who challenged that plan in a letter from her lawyer Monday declaring that any sale of the Buss family share was “void.”
“The Los Angeles Lakers have never been just a basketball team,” the statement from the five Buss siblings reads, per Charania. “They have been one of the greatest privileges of our lives. Our focus has always been on what we believe is best for the Lakers, the fans who have supported this franchise for generations and the greater Los Angeles community.
“Johnny, Jimmy, Janie, Joey and Jesse have made the decision to sell the family’s remaining stake, and we remain united in that decision. We intend to move forward thoughtfully, respectfully and through the appropriate process.
“We have tremendous respect for Bob Iger and Josh Kushner and believe they understand what the Lakers represent to Los Angeles and our incredibly loyal fan base. We are confident they will honor everything this franchise stands for while building upon the foundation our father created.”
Jeanie has been the Lakers’ governor since the 2013 death of their father, Jerry Buss, who had held majority ownership of the Lakers since he bought the team in 1979. Buss left his 66% majority stake in the Lakers in equal parts to his six children upon his death, and Jeanie took over as team governor.
The Busses sold their majority share to Mark Walter in 2025 at a $10 billion valuation, but retained a collective 17.8% ownership via multiple trusts. Walter then agreed to sell his majority share to Iger and Kushner at a $12.5 billion valuation last week.
Does Jeanie have any legal standing?
On Monday, the five Buss siblings not named Jeanie announced their intent to sell that remaining 17.8% share in a statement they shared with Charania. If the sale goes through, Jeanie would lose her seat as team governor per NBA rules that require a minimum 15% ownership stake to act as governor.
Hours after that announcement, Jeanie issued a scathing response through her attorney Adam Streisand challenging the planned sale.
“No sale … can be effectuated without approval by the current co-trustees, i.e., Jeanie, Janie and Joey Buss,” Streisand wrote. “On behalf of Jeanie Buss, I demand that your clients make clear publicly that Jeanie Buss is the Controlling Owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and that your clients shall take no action on this supposed ‘vote’ to sell the 17.8% stake.”
While the six Buss siblings collectively hold the 17.8% ownership stake, only Jeanie, Janie and Joey are trustees. Jeanie would still lose a 2-1 vote to Janie and Joey among the trustees. It’s not clear if she has any legal standing block the sale from going through.
Ongoing Buss family feud
The dispute continues years of squabbling and legal maneuvering among the Buss siblings in the aftermath of their father’s death. This includes a 2017 front-office and executive shakeup within the Lakers in which they fired Jim from his role as executive vice president of basketball operations under Jeanie’s watch as governor and team president.
Jim and Johnny reportedly responded with an attempted maneuver to remove Jeanie from her role as controlling owner via a vote for new board of directors that didn’t include her. Jeanie squashed this plan, and Jim surrendered his role as a trustee in the aftermath.
After years of resistance to selling, Jeanie eventually agreed to cast a vote to sell the siblings’ majority to share to Walter in 2025. But she retained her role as team govenor as the Bussess held on to their 17.8% stake. All of that will be gone if the sale of the remaining share goes through.
Lakers have suffered since Jerry Buss’ death
The Lakers have largely been a mess through all of this. A franchise that went to 16 NBA Finals, won 10 NBA championships and made the playoffs 32 times in 34 years under Jerry’s ownership has fallen off considerably since.
The Lakers posted losing records and missed the playoffs in the six consecutive seasons following Jerry’s death. In total they’ve missed the playoff seven times in 13 seasons since Jerry died and have secured a single NBA title in their only trip to the finals since.
They’re currently under significant pressure to optimize Luka Dončić’s prime and compete for championships in the aftermath of the exit of LeBron James in free agency to the Philadelphia 76ers. They’ll seek to do so with their third ownership group in less than two years with uncertainly looming over the state of the front office.
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