Jeanie Buss to contest siblings'
plan to sell their Lakers minority ownership stake to Kushner, Iger
[August 18, 2026]
By GREG BEACHAM
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles Lakers governor Jeanie Buss is
legally contesting her siblings' plan to sell the family's remaining
17.8% minority ownership stake in the team to Josh Kushner and Bob
Iger, according to a letter obtained Monday by The Associated Press.
ESPN and The Athletic first reported that the siblings had voted to
sell the family trust's remaining interest in the 17-time NBA
champion team purchased by their father, Jerry Buss, in 1979. The
decision would end Jeanie Buss' tenure as the Lakers' governor
because that job requires at least 15% ownership of the team.
Jeannie Buss' attorney, Adam Streisand, wrote to representatives for
her five siblings to state that any decision to sell the family
trust's ownership stake could not be “effectuated without approval
of the current co-trustees, Jeanie, Janie and Joey Buss.”
The letter further states that the co-trustees “are bound to vote
the Los Angeles Lakers, Inc. shares to ensure that the minimum 15%
ownership requirement is maintained in order to ensure that Jeanie
Buss may remain Controlling Owner. Any attempt by the co-trustees to
do otherwise, and any attempt to aid or abet the co-trustees as
such, would constitute a breach of trust, breach of fiduciary duty
and be in contempt of court.”
Jeanie Buss has been the Lakers’ governor since Jerry Buss’ death in
2013, and she led the family’s decision to sell a controlling stake
in the Lakers to Dodgers owner Mark Walter last year at a valuation
of $10 billion. Walter, who is under federal investigation for tax
issues, abruptly reached a deal earlier this month to flip the
Lakers to Kushner and Iger at a valuation of $12.5 billion, another
record for a pro sports team.
Venture capitalist Kushner and former Disney CEO Iger are reportedly
buying about 65% of the team from Walter. They would own about 83%
if they reach a deal with the Buss siblings — and Jeanie Buss would
lose the governor role that she had been slated to keep at least
through 2030 under the deal with Walter.
The Buss siblings have been in frequent conflict since their
father’s death, with Jeanie firing Jim from his job as the Lakers’
head of basketball operations in 2017, followed a week later by a
lawsuit against her brothers amid an attempt by Jim and Johnny to
oust Jeanie from her role as the Lakers’ controlling owner.
Not all of the six Buss siblings were in favor of the sale to
Walter, and Joey and Jesse were fired from their front-office jobs
with the team last November.
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Los Angeles Lakers owner Jeanie Buss attends the team's NBA
preseason basketball game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Oct.
12, 2022, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
The siblings say they voted this month to sell
their family's remaining interest in the Lakers, but Jeanie Buss
claims any vote is void. ESPN reported that Jeanie Buss was the only
sibling who didn't support the final sale.
“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 Buss family said in a statement. “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.”
In his letter, Streisand said Joey and Jesse Buss have leaked
information to ESPN for many years “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.”
Jerry Buss was a chemist and real estate investor who bought the
Lakers, the NHL's Los Angeles Kings and the Forum arena from Jack
Kent Cooke for $67.5 million. The Lakers quickly entered a
renaissance in which they became known for their flashy “Showtime”
style of play while winning five NBA titles between 1980 and 1988
behind Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
While the NBA and professional sports became increasingly more
corporate, the Lakers remained essentially a family business despite
their massive profile and steady success. Jerry Buss and the Lakers
have employed many of the basketball world's greatest players and
coaches of the past five decades, and Kobe Bryant led the Lakers to
five additional championships between 2000 and 2010 before LeBron
James added the 17th in 2020.
The sale agreement with Kushner and Iger still must be approved by
the NBA's board of governors, and the process could take months.
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