Buss Family Dispute Unfolds Over Reported Plan To Sell Stake In Lakers

Buss family dispute unfolds over reported plan to sell stake in Lakers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The latest Buss family dispute emerged Monday following a report that the family will sell its remaining stake in the Los Angeles Lakers to new majority owners Bob Iger and Josh Kushner.

The move to sell off the remaining 17.8% ownership stake, reported Monday morning by ESPN, would mark the end of the Buss family era with the 17-time NBA championship franchise.

In a statement reported by ESPN, the Buss family said. “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. 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.”

The sale would mean Jeanie Buss would no longer be the team’s governor, which requires a qualifying 15% ownership stake in a franchise. She has been team governor since 2013, following the death of her father Jerry Buss.

But later Monday, CNBC reported that Jeanie Buss is opposing the potential sale of her family’s stake, citing a letter addressed to law firms representing Jeanie Buss’s siblings. The letter said Jeanie Buss has not agreed to sell the team and a vote suggesting the family is selling “would be and is void,” CNBC reported.

Attorney Adam Streisand argued in the letter that Jeanie Buss remains the controlling shareholder, CNBC reported.

The siblings have been in frequent conflict since their father’s death. Jeanie Buss fired Jim Buss from his job as the Lakers’ head of basketball operations in 2017. A week later, she filed a lawsuit against her brothers during an attempt by Jim and Johnny to oust Jeanie from her role as the Lakers’ controlling owner.

Iger is the former CEO of the Walt Disney Co. Kushner is the younger brother of Jared Kushner, who is married to President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka. They confirmed last week that they had reached an agreement to purchase the Lakers for a record $12.5 billion.

The deal was announced about 10 months after Dodgers owner Mark Walter purchased a majority stake in the team from the Buss family for $10 billion.

ESPN reported that a majority of the Buss siblings, Jeanie, Jim, Johnny, Janie, Joey and Jesse, voted to sell off the family’s remaining stake in the team. According to the ESPN report, Jeanie Buss’ agreement under the sale to Walter would have kept her as governor of the franchise through 2030.

The team sale must still go before the NBA Board of Governors for approval. The board’s next meeting is Sept. 15-16 in New York.

Jerry Buss bought the Lakers in 1979 for $67.5 million. The deal included the NHL’s Kings and The Forum in Inglewood.

Following his death in 2013, Lakers ownership passed to his children, with Jeanie Buss serving as team governor ever since.

Under the Buss family, the Lakers captured 11 NBA championships, the last coming during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.