Jeanie Buss Sues to Stop Lakers Stake Sale

Los Angeles Lakers governor Jeanie Buss has moved to block her siblings from selling the Buss family’s remaining 17.8 percent interest in the franchise to an investment group led by Bob Iger and Josh Kushner, according to statements from her legal counsel. The dispute became public on Monday following a family announcement describing a planned divestment tied to a wider $12.5 billion purchase of the team from current owner Mark Walter. Any deal, including the proposed purchase of the Buss family shares, still requires approval by the NBA.

Her counsel says the fight is about authority and process within the Buss Family Trust and the governance steps needed for any sale of the trust’s holdings. The legal position presented argues that a transaction must be designed to preserve Jeanie Buss’s standing under league rules as the franchise’s controlling owner. Her counsel has described a minimum 15 percent ownership threshold as essential for her to retain that role under NBA regulations.

Trust governance and the minimum-stake requirement

At the center of the case is how At the center of the case is how the Buss Family Trust is administered and what approvals are required before the remaining shares can be sold. Jeanie Buss’s counsel frames the ownership floor as a non-negotiable condition, saying a sale cannot be allowed to reduce her stake below 15 percent if she is to continue as controlling owner under NBA rules. In this account, the terms of any deal involving the trust must accommodate that requirement rather than treat it as optional. Her legal team also points to a reported 2017 court order that, as described by her counsel, requires unanimous agreement among the trust’s co-trustees for transactions of this kind. Based on that premise, her counsel argues the current effort to sell the remaining interest does not satisfy the governing standard. The challenge, as laid out by her legal representatives, focuses on consent and authority rather than on the price attached to the franchise. NBA review schedule and the proposed ownership split Under the proposal described by officials, the investment group led by Iger and Kushner would end up with roughly 83 percent ownership of the Lakers. Officials said the transaction must go to the NBA Board of Governors for review before it can be completed. The board is scheduled to meet in New York on September 15-16 to consider the deal.

Los Angeles Lakers

Until that vote occurs, the acquisition remains pending. Officials indicated unresolved legal questions over whether the trust can proceed without unanimous trustee approval could affect the timeline or terms. The outcome will also shape how the proposed transaction aligns with the NBA’s standards for controlling ownership as presented by Jeanie Buss’s counsel.

Family control history and what remains uncertain

The Buss family has held a primary or minority stake in the Lakers since 1979. Jeanie Buss has served as governor since 2013, and her counsel links that position to maintaining the ownership level needed for controlling status under NBA rules.

Next steps, according to the account provided, include the league’s approval process and the court’s handling of the dispute over consent requirements inside the trust. Whether the planned sale can move forward without unanimous co-trustee approval, and without changing Jeanie Buss’s minimum stake, remains an open question as the NBA review date approaches.