Five of the six Buss siblings have formally pushed back against Jeanie Buss’ effort to stop the sale of the family’s remaining 17.82% stake in the Los Angeles Lakers, turning an already messy ownership fight into a sharper legal clash.
Jimmy, Johnny, Janie, Joey and Jesse Buss filed their opposition Wednesday, saying in a statement to ESPN that Jeanie Buss’ petition is “legally and factually baseless.” They added that their aim is to keep the transaction moving and protect the trust’s interests while making sure “all beneficiaries, including Jeanie, are treated equally.”
“While discussions among the siblings continue, their focus remains on facilitating the proposed transaction and the [Buss family] trust's participation in it, while ensuring that all beneficiaries, including Jeanie, are treated equally,” the statement continued. “Today's filing is a necessary step to protect those interests and ensure the transaction proceeds on schedule.”
Jeanie Buss, through attorney Adam Streisand, challenged the sale in August. Her filing took aim at the family’s vote to sell the stake to the ownership group led by Josh Kushner and Bob Iger, who agreed to buy the Lakers from Mark Walter at a $12.5 billion valuation. Sources told ESPN that the Kushner-Iger group is expected to take control of the franchise after an NBA Board of Governors vote in November.
The court fight has already been pushed back once. A hearing that had been set for Nov. 5 was moved to Dec. 8 because of Streisand’s prior commitments.
The siblings’ 36-page response hits several of the points raised in Jeanie Buss’ petition, including the 2017 court order Streisand says should prevent a sale without Jeanie Buss’ approval as controlling owner. That order named Joey and Janie Buss as co-trustees with Jeanie Buss.
Their argument is that the 2017 order required the trustees to take reasonably available steps to keep Jeanie Buss as controlling owner, but did not strip the beneficiaries of their separate power to end the trust. In their view, neither the stipulation nor the order blocks the termination provision they are now invoking.
The filing also points to the $2.2 billion the trust is expected to receive through a tag-along provision tied to the $12.5 billion deal with Walter.
Another part of the response addresses Jeanie Buss’ side agreement with Walter, struck when he took over the team in October 2025, which allowed her to remain director and controlling owner for five years, pending NBA approval. The siblings say she is putting her own interests ahead of the trust by trying to keep that role, and they argue that her desire to preserve her standing with the Lakers conflicts with her fiduciary duties to the trust and its beneficiaries.
The matter is scheduled to return to court on Dec. 8, after the NBA Board of Governors vote expected in November.
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