What we’re hearing about the Buss family battle and Jeanie’s Lakers future

Key Points:

• The Buss family is embroiled in a dispute over the sale of their shares in the Los Angeles Lakers, with Jeanie Buss opposing the majority vote by her five siblings to sell the family’s stake in the team.
• Despite the family conflict, sources indicate that Mark Walter’s $12.5 billion sale of the Lakers to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner is expected to proceed without disruption.
• Jeanie Buss’s legal team cites a 2017 court order requiring approval from all current co-trustees, including Jeanie, to validate any sale of the family’s shares, challenging the legitimacy of the recent majority vote.
• The NBA requires team governors to own at least 15% of the franchise, so if Jeanie’s siblings enforce the sale, she could lose her position as team governor, though she is reportedly open to negotiating a scenario where she retains enough ownership to remain in control.
• The ongoing family feud, marked by recent firings and legal posturing, threatens to prolong uncertainty, but the Lakers’ new ownership deal includes Jeanie Buss remaining governor for the next four years, with Bob Iger publicly supporting her role for now.