Editor’s note: This story has been updated since it appeared in print.
The deal that values the Los Angeles Lakers at a record-breaking $12.5 billion has exposed a deep-rooted rift within the Buss family – its long-lasting warden that may completely exit the celebrated franchise.
Following Mark Walter’s agreement to sell his majority stake to Bob Iger and Joshua Kushner Aug. 12, the Buss family told ESPN that they would sell their family trust’s remaining 17.8% stake to the duo. That would essentially remove Jeanie Buss as the governor, according to NBA regulations that say the position-holder has to own no less than 15% stake in the franchise.
“We have decided as a family to sell the remaining Buss Family Trust shares to the Bob Iger group as part of the ongoing transaction,” the family said in a statement obtained by ESPN. “We love the Lakers, Laker fans and will continue to support Los Angeles; but it is time to use this opportunity to move on and exit gracefully while we still can.”
Not so fast. While at least five of the six siblings agreed to sell the stake, according to ESPN, Jeanie Buss will not back down easily. The governor, who has held the role for 13 years after her father Jerry Buss’ death in 2013, made a stance through her lawyer Adam Streisand. In a Monday letter to the siblings’ attorneys, Streisand said that the governor has not approved the sale. Because she is a controlling shareholder with siblings Janie and Joey Buss, there will be no deal without her consent.
“Shams Charania of ESPN falsely reported that the six Buss siblings voted to sell the 17.8% ownership stake in the Lakers to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger, and that my client, Jeanie Buss, is ‘out’ as controlling owner,” Streisand wrote in the letter. “This is just the latest instance of a years-long pattern whereby Joey and Jesse Buss leak false, defamatory and pernicious ‘information’ to Mr. Charania for the malicious purpose of doing harm to the Los Angeles Lakers so long as Dr. Buss’s chosen successor, Jeanie Buss, carries out her father’s wishes.”
The siblings have responded in a Tuesday statement that they “remain united in that decision.” Meanwhile, the NBA board would likely reach a decision about the sale by Walter in September.
Joel Montminy, chief executive of Santa Monica-based investment bank Montminy & Co., wrote to the Business Journal that beyond sibling strife, the price right now presented a good opportunity for the family to make a substantial return.
“If they have a tag-along provision, then they can sell at the valuation of the control deal,” wrote Montminy, who had experience advising professional sports franchises such as English football club Queens Park Rangers and Scotland’s Rangers Football Club. “This a rare ‘clean exit’ opportunity. Holding on has real risk that the valuation appreciation run and influence they currently exert through Jeanie may not continue.”
NBA succession
The family chasm appeared long before the latest jab. Jerry Buss first purchased the Lakers from Jack Kent Cooke for $67.5 million in 1979, leading the franchise to win 10 championships until his death. Before that, he handpicked Jeanie Buss as his successor and controlling owner of the celebrated team – forever, according to terms in his trust.
Armed with a seemingly ironclad will, Jeanie Buss subsequently fired her older brother Jim Buss in 2017, and then sister Janie Buss, half-brothers Joey Buss and Jesse Buss in 2025, right after the majority stake sale to Walter.
“I don’t think my dad would be happy with the way things just went down,” Janie Buss said in an interview with ESPN in January, regarding Walter’s purchase and the firings. “Not at all.”
In his letter this month, Streisand noted that he in 2017 fended off a coup attempt by Jim and Johnny Buss, who had unsuccessfully staged a boardroom maneuver to strip Jeanie Buss of her role on the board of directors. As such, she remains the only Buss family member at the forefront for the celebrated team, which is also at a transformative time.
Its star player LeBron James announced his departure to join the Philadelphia 76ers in June, and it is trying to optimize younger players such as Luka Dončić for upcoming NBA championships. Having made the playoffs 32 times under Jerry Buss’ 34-year leadership but missed seven out of 13 seasons since 2013, the Lakers would have to navigate a comeback – amid the familial strife over the sale of the team.
