2 weeks ago
Jeanie Buss exits Lakers governor role as family sells stake
The Buss family has owned the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team for a very long time.
Jerry Buss bought the team in 1979, and his family ran it for decades.
His daughter Jeanie Buss has been in charge since 2013.
Now the family has decided to sell the rest of their shares in the team.
The new owners will be Josh Kushner and Bob Iger.
Because Jeanie will no longer own enough of the team, she cannot be the governor anymore.
The NBA has a rule that the governor must own at least 15 percent of the team.
The sale still needs approval from the NBA's Board of Governors.
If it is approved, the Buss family's time with the Lakers will come to an end.
The Buss family will sell its remaining 17.8 percent stake in the Los Angeles Lakers to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger.
Jeanie Buss will step down as Lakers governor because she will fall below the NBA's 15 percent ownership requirement.
Kushner and Iger are acquiring about 65 percent from current majority owner Mark Walter, pushing their combined ownership near 83 percent.
The group valued the Lakers at $12.5 billion; the NBA Board of Governors must approve the deal at its September 15-16 meeting in New York.
The Buss family has controlled the Lakers since Jerry Buss bought the team in 1979, winning 11 NBA titles during that era.
- Who
- Jeanie Buss and the Buss family, who are selling their remaining stake; buyers Josh Kushner and Bob Iger; and current majority owner Mark Walter.
- What
- The Buss family is selling its remaining 17.8 percent stake in the Los Angeles Lakers, ending Jeanie Buss's role as team governor.
- Where
- Los Angeles, California; the NBA Board of Governors meeting will take place in New York.
- When
- The sale is pending NBA Board of Governors approval at a meeting scheduled for September 15-16; the earlier Walter deal closed in late October 2025.
- Why
- Jeanie Buss will fall below the NBA's 15 percent ownership threshold required to serve as governor, and the family decided it was time to exit gracefully.
Jeanie Buss's position
Siblings' perspective
Sale to Mark Walter
Jeanie Buss's position
Jeanie told her siblings the sale to Walter was in the best interest of the long term.
Siblings' perspective
Some siblings felt the process moved too fast and that they had been pressured.
Reason for selling now
Jeanie Buss's position
The family said it is time to use the opportunity to move on and exit gracefully while it still can.
Siblings' perspective
A person familiar with the talks said the Walter sale ended up being an embarrassing one, making it time to move on cleanly.
Key facts
- Remaining Buss family stake
- 17.8 percent
- Lakers valuation
- $12.5 billion
- Kushner-Iger combined ownership
- Near 83 percent
- Jeanie Buss governor since
- 2013
- Jerry Buss purchase year
- 1979
- NBA titles under Buss era
- 11 (most recent in 2020)
- NBA Board of Governors meeting
- September 15-16 in New York
- Walter deal valuation
- $10 billion (June 2025)
Quotes
Buss Family
Family spokesperson representing Jeanie Buss and her siblings
“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.”
livemint.com
“Jeanie told [her siblings] this sale to [Walter] was in the best interest of the long term, but it ended up being an embarrassing one, and it was time to move on cleanly.”
livemint.com
Sources
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