The Buss Los Angeles Lakers: From dynasty building under Jerry to a family feud with Jeanie and her siblings

It’s the end of an era, not just in Los Angeles, but for basketball and the NBA.

Maybe.

After nearly 50 years in the business of running the Los Angeles Lakers, the Buss family announced Monday that it’s fully divesting its stake in the franchise.

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In a statement shared with ESPN’s Shams Charania Monday, the Busses announced that they’re selling their remaining 17.8% share in the Lakers as part of the $12.5 billion sale of the team to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner.

“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 statement reads. “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.”

Jeanie Buss: Not so fast

But Jeanie Buss, the team’s governor and the face of Lakers ownership since her father Jerry’s death in 2013, did not sign on with the statement or the reported sale agreement.

Per a letter from her attorney, Adam Streisand, that’s addressed to her siblings’ lawyers, Jeanie considers the reported sale of the Buss stake “void.” The letter was obtained and reported by multiple media outlets Monday.

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Per Streisand, any sale of the Buss stake requires approval from Jeanie, which this does not.

“No sale of the JAB Trusts’s 17.8% ownership interest in the Los Angeles Lakers, Inc. can be effected without approval by the current co-trustees, i.e. Jeanie, Janie and Joey Buss,” the letter reads.

Thus stands the state of the Buss family and its relationship with the Lakers, which started with dynasty building under Jerry and has devolved into legal battles and a family feud among his six children.

Here’s a look back at how they got here.

1959: Jerry Buss makes his fortune

Jerry Buss was not born into wealth. The son of a divorced mother who worked as a waitress, Buss was born in 1933 in Salt Lake City in the midst of the Great Depression and then raised in Los Angeles and Wyoming.

From those beginnings, Buss earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wyoming and a masters degree and PhD in physical…

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Author : Jason Owens

Publish date : 2026-08-18 02:38:00

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