The Los Angeles Lakers are arguably one of the most storied franchises in the history of the NBA. The 17-time champions transformed basketball forever. And the man behind the revolution was none other than Dr.Jerry Buss. After taking the team over in 1979, he brought in critical changes that made the Lakers ‘Showtime’. The Buss family has become one of the most celebrated sporting dynasties. Currently, Jeanie Buss runs the Lakers. However, while she is the only Buss in office now, that wasn’t always the case. Notably, before Jeanie Buss, her elder brother Jim was in charge of the team. While he led the franchise to two championships with Kobe Bryant, famous analyst Stephen A. Smith believes he had no talent for the job.

Jim Buss began working in the purple and gold’s front office back in 1998. Watching the work of his father, he was next in line to take over the franchise. Likewise, his era began in 2005. There were several highs during his reign, however, some moves the second-oldest son of the Buss family arguably didn’t adapt well to change. Notably, in his 12 years in office, the Lakers posted four seasons with over 65 wins. Jim Buss also sowed the seeds for Kobe Bryant’s last two championships with the franchise.

However, the success soon would turn to misery. The Lakers plunged into the bottom recording four consecutive years with at least 55 losses. Jeanie Buss went over the edge in 2017 when she fired her own brother as the vice president of basketball operations. According to Smith, that should never have been his place to take.

Stephen A. Smith rips into Jim Buss for Lakers tenure

The 55-year-old sports personality had Jeanie Buss on his show ‘Know Mercy’. The two had conversations about the iconic history of the Lakers franchise, Kobe Bryant, and their current state. Stephen A. Smith even believes Jeanie Buss had the ‘it’ factor for the business. The ESPN analyst told his viewers she is special. But his opinions on her elder brother were anything but in the same breath. Smith said he only got the position due to his “daddy”.

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Speaking on his podcast ‘Know Mercy’, Smith said, “Jim Buss used to run basketball operations for the Los Angeles Lakers. I am no fan. The hell with what he did I know what he didn’t do. I am no fan. He had no business running basketball operations. He was there because of his daddy.” 

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Smith’s take might be a little harsh considering Jim Buss was the man in charge during the Lakers’ back-to-back championship runs. However, his later moves arguably didn’t put the franchise in a place to rise from the bottom. Notably, in 2014, he let championship-winning center Pau Gasol walk in free agency. The running mate of Kobe Bryant went on to make All-NBA second team that season. In addition, he made two lucrative signings that never held up. Those were signing Luol Deng ($72M/4yrs) and Timofey Mozgov ($64M/4yrs). Both players wouldn’t play past the 2018-19 season.

That was probably also the moment Jeanie Buss reached her boiling point. In 2017, she shocked the NBA world by firing her own brother. His place was taken over by Magic Johnson and she also brought in Rob Pelinka. While Johnson quit in 2019, he made the star signing of Anthony Davis. The Purple and Gold rose back to the top in 2020 winning a championship in the LeBron James era.

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Today, the organization is struggling owing to a few poor moves on the part of Pelinka. However, Buss remains strong. She became the first woman to lead a sports franchise to glory. And it doesn’t look like she wants to stop at one. Do you think the lady boss can live up to her father’s legacy? Let us know your views in the comments below.