This week ESPN’s Baxter Holmes dropped an explosive expose on the Los Angeles Lakers and the Succession style infighting between the Buss family.
The highlights of the story include how the family fell apart after the death of Lakers owner Jerry Buss in 2013, who built the franchise into one of the most glamorous in all of professional sports. Jeanie Buss ended up winning the power struggle, firing siblings and reportedly telling a half-brother, “You should’ve never been born.”
Another major news story that came from the lengthy piece was how Buss has seen her relationship with LeBron James turn south. After winning a championship in his second season with the team in 2020, LeBron and the Lakers have reached one conference finals and failed to make it out of the first round of the playoffs every season since.
Whether it is how LeBron has been viewed, personnel moves, or the drafting of Bronny James, the article paints the picture of a disconnect between the Lakers CEO and one of the two greatest players of all-time.
After the piece was published on Wednesday, Jeanie Buss made her first public comment to Sam Amick at The Athletic. And in a fascinating statement, she didn’t deny anything revealed in the article, including her feelings about James. However, she said “it’s really not right” that he was pulled into the wider Buss family drama.
Lakers governor Jeanie Buss issued this statement to @TheAthletic in response to today’s ESPN story, which includes reporting about her relationship with LeBron James.
“It’s really not right, given all the great things LeBron has done for the Lakers, that he has to be pulled…
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) January 21, 2026
“It’s really not right, given all the great things LeBron has done for the Lakers, that he has to be pulled into my family drama,” Buss said. “To say that it wasn’t appreciated is just not true and completely unfair to him.”
It’s been clear to anyone watching that something has been off with LeBron James and the Lakers this year. After a good start to the season, the team has struggled through the last month. However, they still sit on top of the Pacific Division even as they are 9.5 games behind the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference.
But throughout the season, the body language of LeBron James has been more scrutinized than ever before. And given everything unearthed in the ESPN feature, it’s obvious that there is major dysfunction behind the scenes almost everywhere throughout the Lakers organization, including with Jeanie Buss at the top. James is still performing at a ridiculously high level at 41 years of age in his 23rd season. But given what we see and what we know, it’s hard to imagine a Hollywood ending coming at the end of his tenure with the Lakers.
