Lakers Ownership Crisis: Jeanie Buss Fights Siblings In $12.5 Billion Sale

Jeanie Buss is challenging her siblings’ decision to sell the Buss family’s remaining 17.8% Lakers stake to incoming owners Josh Kushner and Bob Iger, escalating a dispute over control of the NBA franchise. ESPN reported Monday that five siblings supported selling the stake at the same $12.5 billion valuation attached to Kushner and Iger’s proposed acquisition from Mark Walter. Buss’s attorney, Adam Streisand, later disputed the transaction, arguing that a 2017 court order and the family trust require approval from co-trustees Jeanie, Janie and Joey Buss and require preservation of enough ownership for Jeanie to remain controlling owner. The Lakers transaction still requires NBA Board of Governors approval, scheduled for September 15-16. The proposed purchase would give Kushner and Iger about 83% ownership if completed. The dispute could determine whether the Buss family ends its 47-year association with the Lakers, which began when Jerry Buss purchased the team in 1979.