Key Takeaways
- Jeanie Buss asked a court to block the Buss Family Trust from selling its remaining 17.82% Lakers stake, arguing that the move violates the trust and would end her role as controlling governor.
- Her five siblings called the petition “legally and factually baseless,” saying their two-thirds majority authorized the estimated $2.2 billion transaction and accusing Jeanie of protecting her personal interests.
- The dispute could complicate Mark Walter’s reported $12.5 billion sale of the Lakers to an ownership group led by Bob Iger and Joshua Kushner.
The Buss family’s fight over the Los Angeles Lakers has moved deeper into court, with Jeanie Buss’ five siblings formally opposing her attempt to block the sale of the family trust’s remaining stake in the franchise.
Per The Los Angeles Times, Jimmy, Johnny, Janie, Joey and Jesse Buss called their sister’s petition “legally and factually baseless” as they pushed to keep the estimated $2.2 billion transaction on schedule.
The five siblings filed their opposition in Los Angeles Superior Court after voting in August to include the Buss Family Trust’s 17.82% interest in the Lakers in the proposed $12.5 billion sale from Mark Walter to an ownership group led by Bob Iger and Joshua Kushner.
“While discussions among the siblings continue, their focus remains on facilitating the proposed transaction and the Trust’s participation in it, while ensuring that all beneficiaries, including Jeanie, are treated equally,” the five siblings said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times. “Today’s filing is a necessary step to protect those interests and ensure the transaction proceeds on schedule.”
At the center of the dispute is Jeanie’s position as the Lakers’ controlling governor. The family trust directs Jeanie and co-trustees Janie and Joey Buss to take reasonably available steps to preserve that role annually throughout her lifetime.
However, NBA rules require a team governor to maintain at least a 15% ownership interest. Selling the trust’s entire 17.82% stake would therefore make Jeanie ineligible to continue in the position.
Her siblings contend that the trust permits the sale because five of Jerry Buss’ six living children approved it, giving them the two-thirds majority required to make the decision.
In their court filing, they accused Jeanie of attempting to stop the deal “in order to protect her own personal interests” and argued that her conduct “constitute[s] a breach of her fiduciary duties as a trustee.”
The legal battle follows a rapid series of ownership changes for one of basketball’s most valuable franchises. The Buss family ended more than four decades of majority control in 2025 when it sold the Lakers to Walter at a then-record valuation of approximately $10 billion.
As part of that arrangement, Jeanie was expected to remain the team’s controlling governor for at least five years.
In August, Walter agreed to sell the franchise to Iger and Kushner for a reported $12.5 billion. Magic Johnson quickly endorsed the incoming owners, telling Lakers fans they “couldn’t have two better” people taking charge.
Johnson said he had known Iger for more than 40 years and predicted the former Disney chief would “bring championships back to LA.”
Iger and Kushner described themselves as “lifelong NBA fans” and pledged to build on Jerry and Jeanie Buss’s leadership while competing at the highest level.
