Buss Family ‘Infighting’ Before Historic $10B Sale of Lakers Detailed in Latest NBA Rumors
Members of the Buss family profited handsomely from the $10 billion sale of the Los Angeles Lakers, but the transaction exacerbated longstanding tension within the group, according to ESPN’s Baxter Holmes.
“Interviews with current and former Lakers staffers with direct knowledge of key events and sources close to and within the Buss family reveal the post-Jerry Buss era with the Lakers has been defined largely by sibling infighting and subterfuge, attempted coups and deep familial distrust,” Holmes wrote. “Even after the sale closed, questions linger among some family members about whether the sale was in line with the family trust. And whether a sibling quietly took financial care of her allies and friends — at the expense of her own family.”
After the death of Jerry Buss in 2013, majority control of the Lakers was passed down to his six children. Jeanie Buss effectively became the face of the new ownership regime as she succeeded her father as the team governor.
The palace intrigue started almost immediately. Holmes described the patriarch as “the glue that was holding a broken family together.” Without his unifying presence, the cracks started to emerge.
Only a week after Jerry’s death, Jim and Johnny Buss signaled a willingness to sell the Lakers. Then came a power struggle in 2017 that resulted in Jeanie consolidating her authority.
According to Holmes, a sense of unease remained, with one inciting incident unfolding in 2019.
Jeanie learned from her mother, JoAnn Mueller, that Jerry had promised Mueller he wouldn’t have any more children after they had their fourth together. Buss and Mueller divorced in 1972, and he had two more sons, Joey and Jesse, with partner Karen Demel.
During a 2019 conversation with Jesse, Jeanie purportedly told him he “should’ve never been born.”
“An obvious but ominous dynamic had revealed itself from that call, people close to the family told ESPN — the remark was perhaps a sign of something more, a deep-rooted resentment that for decades had lingered,” Holmes reported.
The internal drama seemed to subside until the prospect of a sale became real in 2024. The children voted unanimously in favor of a deal making Mark Walter the majority stakeholder, but Joey and Jesse had reservations, per Holmes.
According to the report, the trio of Janie, Joey and Jesse Buss were promised that “nothing would change for five years.” This past November, the Lakers fired Joey and Jesse. Joey was an alternate govenor and vice president of research and development, while Jesse was the assistant general manager. Janie was dismissed as well.
