Two of her siblings are now onboard with the San Diego Padres ownership, but Jeanie Buss is clearly nowhere near an agreement with them when it comes to the Los Angeles Lakers.
“Jeanie never agreed to any sale, was never consulted, and was never even informed,” declares a petition filed Wednesday in L.A. Superior Court by the Running Point EP and Lakers governor to stop the five other children of Dr. Jerry Buss from selling the family’s remaining 17.8% in the championship-winning team they owned for decades. In fact, anointed heir and her lawyers argue it’s actually bad business for the competitive siblings to sell right now as the Lakers are a growth asset with “continuously skyrocketing value.”
Back on August 17, just a few days after Bob Iger and Josh Kushner snagged over 63% of the fabled franchise for $12.5 billion from short-term owner Mark Walter, the other Buss children said it was “time to use this opportunity to move on and exit gracefully while we still can.” Within hours, Jeanie Buss and her lawyers issued a rebuttal, and today they made it court-stamped official
In the five-claim document, Buss not only wants the family fire sale stopped, but siblings Joey and Janie Buss tossed out as co-trustees of the clan’s stake. She also asks for a “contempt of court” measure to be brought down hard on her siblings for their “defiant” behavior. With the 2026/2027 NBA season starting on October 20, a hearing on Buss’ petition is currently on the LASC calendar for November 15.
If the Busses do sell, Jeanie will lose her governor role at the Lakers (gotta have at least 15% of the team to qualify) and controlling owner mantel.
Even though the family sold most of its Lakers holding to the now federally investigated Walter in June 2025 for a hefty $10 billion, Jeanie Buss (who got a five year governor term out of the deal) is taking all this family drama very personally. “Their conduct is not driven by financial necessity but by animosity toward Jeanie and in willful disregard for the (Trust), this Court’s 2017 Order, their fiduciary duties, and Dr. Buss’s express intent,” today’s petition says of Jeanie Buss’ siblings
If present posturing continues and Buss holds hard to a previous court order from 2017 when the family last starting playing legal dodge ball, that post-midterms hearing won’t be pretty. It also may see some big names pulled on to the court, literally and figuratively.
Giving a shout out to August 12 minted Lakers majority stakeholders Iger and Kushner, Buss’ filing states “indeed, other owners of stakes in the Lakers have expressed their support for Jeanie remaining Controlling Owner, and have voiced their intent to hold, not sell, their stakes in the Lakers.”
It’s true, when the ex-Disney boss and Thrive Capital founder made their deal with Dodgers boss Walter, Iger made a point of proclaiming Jeanie Buss was part of the package in his eyes.
We have enormous respect and appreciation for Jeanie, her father and what they’ve contributed to this franchise,” Iger told Rupert Murdoch’s The California Post on August “And we have every intention to honor the agreement that was made between Mark and Jeanie. If things change, they’ll change, but we’re going into this with enormous respect and appreciation for who she is and what she represents in the organization.”
Now, as Iger and Kushner await a near sure approval of their Lakers purchase at the NBA Board of Governors’ September 15/16 meeting, the presence of the Buss family won’t change their sway over the 11-championship winning team — but it will leave a court side stink on the whole thing.
Reps for Iger and Kushner did not respond to Deadline’s request for comment on the latest Buss family squabble.
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