Jeanie Buss challenges proposed sale of family’s remaining Lakers stake

Jeanie Buss is challenging an attempt by her siblings to sell the Buss Family Trust’s remaining interest in the Los Angeles Lakers, according to reporting by The Guardian, CNBC and ESPN. The family announced plans to transfer its 17.8% stake to a group involving Bob Iger and Josh Kushner, but Buss’s lawyer subsequently sought to stop the transaction on legal grounds.

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The dispute is tied to Buss’s position as controlling owner, or governor, of the Lakers. NBA rules require the person in that role to hold at least 15% of a franchise. A letter sent on Buss’s behalf argues that selling the trust’s remaining shares would conflict with obligations intended to preserve the minimum ownership level needed for her to remain in control.

The Guardian reports that attorney Adam Streisand addressed the letter to Buss’s five siblings: Jim, Johnny, Janie, Joey and Jesse. His argument relies on the JAB Trust and a 2017 court order, which he says require co-trustee approval for a sale and bind the trustees to vote the Lakers shares in a way that maintains Jeanie Buss’s qualifying stake. The letter alleges that proceeding otherwise could breach the trust and fiduciary duties and amount to contempt of court.

The proposed sale follows a period of rapid ownership change. Fourteen months ago, the Buss family trust, comprising Jerry Buss’s six children, voted to sell the franchise to Mark Walter for $10 billion. That agreement provided for Jeanie Buss to remain governor through 2030, while her siblings later left their organizational roles. The Guardian says Walter sold the Lakers last week to Iger and Kushner for $12.5 billion, although that transaction still requires NBA approval.

The Buss family had not publicly signaled Jeanie Buss’s opposition when it released its Monday statement saying the family had chosen to sell its remaining shares as part of the ongoing transaction. The family has held either a primary or minority ownership position in the Lakers since 1979. Jeanie Buss became the franchise’s governor in 2013 after the death of her father.

If the deal is completed, Iger and Kushner would own approximately 83% of the Lakers, The Guardian reported. The NBA’s board of governors must approve the sale and is not scheduled to meet until September 15 in New York. Until then, both the wider ownership transfer and the family trust’s proposed exit remain unresolved, with Buss’s legal challenge placing her controlling status at the center of the process.