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Buss siblings push back on Jeanie Buss as Lakers sale nears NBA vote

Los Angeles Lakers governor Jeanie Buss. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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Buss siblings push back on Jeanie Buss as Lakers sale nears NBA vote

By Olamilekan Ajayi | Last updated Oct 7, 2026 8:48 PM ET

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Five of Jerry Buss' six children filed their formal opposition in court on Wednesday to Jeanie Buss' petition to stop the sale of the family trust's remaining stake in the Los Angeles Lakers. The 36-page response from Jim, Johnny, Janie, Joey and Jesse Buss came after settlement discussions among the siblings ended without a deal.

The trust holds 17.8% of the franchise. The five siblings voted to sell it to the group led by Josh Kushner and Bob Iger, which agreed to buy majority owner Mark Walter's stake at a reported $12.5 billion valuation. They are using a "tag-along provision" that lets the trust join that sale, and their filing says the trust stands to earn $2.2 billion from it.

"Jimmy, Johnny, Janie, Joey and Jesse Buss, the five of six siblings who voted to sell the Trust's shares in the Lakers, today filed their formal opposition, demonstrating that Jeanie Buss's petition is legally and factually baseless. While discussions among the siblings continue, their focus remains on facilitating the proposed transaction and the Trust's participation in it, while ensuring that all beneficiaries, including Jeanie, are treated equally. Today's filing is a necessary step to protect those interests and ensure the transaction proceeds on schedule," the siblings said in a statement.

The five Buss siblings who voted to sell the family trust’s Lakers shares – Jim, Johnny, Janie, Joey and Jesse – filed in courts their formal opposition Wednesday to Jeanie Buss’ petition seeking to prevent the sale. This comes after unresolved settlement discussions. Statement: "Jimmy, Johnny, Janie, Joey and Jesse Buss, the five of six siblings who voted to sell the Trust’s shares in the Lakers, today filed their formal opposition, demonstrating that Jeanie Buss’s petition is legally and factually baseless. "While discussions among the siblings continue, their focus remains on facilitating the proposed transaction and the Trust’s participation in it, while ensuring that all beneficiaries, including Jeanie, are treated equally. "Today’s filing is a necessary step to protect those interests and ensure the transaction proceeds on schedule."
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 7, 2026

What the five Buss siblings argue in their filing against Jeanie Buss

Jeanie's 97-page petition, filed in August through attorney Adam Streisand, leans on a 2017 court order that required her co-trustees to take all reasonably available actions to keep her as the Lakers' controlling owner. It asks the court to declare the sale vote invalid, remove Joey and Janie as co-trustees and hold them in contempt.

The siblings' response argues that the 2017 order never limited the beneficiaries' right to terminate the trust, and that neither the order nor the stipulation behind it addresses the termination provision they are now using.

They also point to Jeanie's side agreement with Walter, which would keep her as controlling owner for five years pending NBA approval, and argue it shows her acting in her own interest against her duties to the trust.

Under NBA rules, Jeanie needs at least a 15% stake to remain the team's governor, and the trust's 17.8% leaves very little margin above that line.

Selling even one-sixth of the holding would leave about 14.85%, below the threshold, and the five siblings are seeking to sell all of it.

The Kushner and Iger group is expected to take control after an NBA Board of Governors vote in November.

The court hearing on Jeanie's petition was originally set for Nov. 5 but was pushed to Dec. 8 to accommodate Streisand's prior commitments, which puts the hearing on Jeanie's petition after the league vote is expected to happen.

Olamilekan Ajayi

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