An emergency meeting meant to secure the Buss family’s future with the Lakers instead left several siblings “spooked” and set off a push to sell the family’s remaining stake. What followed could bring the family’s ownership era to a much messier end than anyone expected.
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The development came days after Mark Walter agreed to sell his controlling interest in the Lakers to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner for a record $12.5 billion. The Buss family still holds a 17.8% stake, and five of the six siblings moved to sell it as part of the transaction. The deal, however, is not yet closed.
ESPN senior NBA insider Shams Charania first reported the family’s decision, with five siblings saying, “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.” Jeanie Buss was the lone sibling who did not support the sale. Her attorney, Adam Streisand, then said, “No sale of the JAB Trust’s 17.8% ownership interest in the Los Angeles Lakers, Inc. can be effectuated without approval by the current co-trustees, i.e., Jeanie, Janie and Joey Buss.”
Statement from Jim, Johnny, Janie, Joey and Jesse Buss after attorney of Jeanie Buss made clear she will battle her family members on selling their remaining 17.8% Lakers ownership stake: The Los Angeles Lakers have never been just a basketball team. They have been one of the Show more
Streisand’s argument centers on a 2017 Los Angeles County Superior Court order tied to the Jerry Buss Family Trust, or JAB Trust. The order made Jeanie, Janie and Joey the permanent co-trustees and requires the trust’s shares to be used to preserve Jeanie’s position as Controlling Owner. Streisand argues that makes the five-sibling decision ineffective because the 17.8% stake is held by the trust, rather than as separate shares owned by each sibling.
The push to sell did not come out of nowhere. On August 10, Lakers senior vice president of finance Joe McCormack called an emergency meeting of the six Buss siblings to discuss dissolving the existing family trust and locking the remaining shares in a new trust for four years. The meeting raised concerns among several family members and was followed by new calls among the five siblings to sell their stake.
Walter entered a definitive agreement on August 12 to sell his majority controlling interest to an investment group led by Iger and Kushner at a $12.5 billion valuation. The transaction is still pending and requires NBA Board of Governors approval, among other closing conditions. The Buss family’s separate 17.8% stake is being contested as the five siblings seek to sell it alongside Walter’s controlling interest.
The 15% figure is where Jeanie’s future with the Lakers becomes central to the dispute. The NBA requires a Governor to hold or directly control at least 15% equity, while Walter’s 2025 agreement guaranteed Jeanie’s position through 2030 as long as the Buss family’s 17.8% stake remained above that threshold. Jeanie does not separately own a personal 15% stake; her authority comes through the JAB Trust’s 17.8% block.
If the entire 17.8% trust stake is sold, Jeanie would fall below the NBA’s ownership requirement and lose her Governor eligibility. That matters because the Governor holds the team’s formal league and organizational authority, including sign-off over major basketball and executive decisions.
The current split also comes after years of changes inside the Buss family. In February 2017, Jeanie terminated Jim Buss as President of Basketball Operations, while Jim and Johnny later challenged her position as Governor. That dispute led to the court settlement that placed Jeanie, Janie and Joey in control of the JAB Trust.
More recently, Walter’s 2025 restructuring removed Joey and Jesse from their Lakers executive roles while Jeanie remained Governor. The change added to the tension inside the family before five siblings moved to sell the remaining stake.
The five siblings presented the move as a clean break from Lakers ownership, saying it was time to “move on and exit gracefully while we still can.” That position directly clashes with Streisand’s claim that the trust’s shares cannot be sold without approval from Jeanie, Janie and Joey as co-trustees.
The family dispute is not the only hurdle before the new ownership group. The NBA Board of Governors must approve the Iger-Kushner transaction, with a 75% approval threshold for the vote expected in September. Kushner must also complete the divestment of his minority stake in the Miami Heat before the Lakers transaction can formally close.
For now, the five-sibling announcement does not settle the question at the heart of the Lakers’ ownership fight: can the Buss family’s 17.8% trust stake be sold without Jeanie Buss’s approval? Streisand says it cannot, while the five siblings are relying on their tag-along rights to exit alongside Walter’s sale. The answer could decide whether Jeanie remains the Lakers’ Governor after the family’s final stake is sold.