Jeanie Buss Challenges Family Vote to Sell Remaining Lakers Stake

Jeanie Buss is fighting her siblings’ move to sell the Buss family’s remaining Lakers stake, opening another ownership battle around one of the NBA’s most valuable franchises.

Jeanie Buss is contesting the Buss family’s decision to sell its remaining 17.8% stake in the Los Angeles Lakers to the ownership group led by Bob Iger and Josh Kushner. According to Reuters, Buss is opposing the transaction after her five siblings backed the sale while she did not.

The dispute centers on whether the family can complete the transaction without Buss’ approval. Her attorney, Adam Streisand, argues that a 2017 court ruling and the terms governing the family trust require approval from co-trustees Jeanie, Janie and Joey Buss, and that a sale proceeding without that consent would be invalid.

The other side is relying on a tag-along provision connected to the family’s earlier deal with Mark Walter, according to reporting on the dispute. The five siblings who supported selling the remaining shares believe that provision gives the family the right to participate in Walter’s subsequent sale at the valuation he secured, setting up a disagreement over how the trust and prior agreement should be interpreted.

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The fight follows another dramatic change in Lakers ownership. Iger and Kushner agreed to acquire the franchise at a reported $12.5 billion valuation, less than a year after Walter took control in a transaction valuing the Lakers at $10 billion, with the newest deal still requiring NBA approval.

For Buss, the remaining family stake is also tied directly to her position with the franchise. The trust has maintained enough ownership for her to satisfy the 15% threshold connected to remaining the Lakers’ controlling owner, meaning a complete sale of the family’s shares could bring her long run as the team’s governor to an end.

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The disagreement revives the Buss family’s history of internal battles over control of the Lakers, including the 2017 dispute that ultimately reinforced Jeanie’s leadership position. Her challenge now adds another layer of uncertainty to a transaction that would otherwise end the family’s ownership connection to the franchise founded under Jerry Buss’ stewardship in 1979.