Inside the Buss family's long history of Lakers drama
Los Angeles Times • • sports
Key Points:
- Jerry Buss purchased the Lakers in 1979 for $67.5 million, building the franchise into a championship-winning, Hollywood-glamorous NBA team while involving his six children in the family business.
- After Buss’ death in 2013, family infighting escalated, with siblings clashing over control of the team; Jeanie Buss emerged as the controlling owner and governor, but faced legal and personal battles with her brothers and sisters.
- The family’s majority stake was sold to Mark Walter in 2025, followed by Jeanie firing five siblings from team roles, sparking further disputes and lawsuits over governance and ownership rights.
- Recently, five siblings approved selling the family’s remaining 17.8% minority stake to Bob Iger and Joshua Kushner, which would remove Jeanie from her governor role, leading to renewed legal challenges citing a 2017 court ruling protecting Jeanie’s control.
- The ongoing Buss family feud mirrors the HBO show “Succession” and has inspired multiple documentaries, with the future of their Lakers ownership likely to be decided in court amid competing visions for the franchise’s direction.
