The Lakers, the Buss family and a 47-year ownership that could be nearing its end

The Los Angeles Lakers have undergone an unprecedented series of ownership changes over the past year. The latest — Mark Walter’s agreement to sell his controlling interest in the team to former Disney CEO Bob Iger and venture capitalist Joshua Kushner less than a year after acquiring it from the Buss family — could lead to the end of nearly five decades of Buss family control over one of the most prominent franchises in professional sports.

Jeanie Buss, 64, is one of the late Jerry Buss’ six children, along with Johnny (69), Jim (66), Janie (62), Joey (41) and Jesse (37). The siblings inherited the Lakers through the Buss Family Trust after their father died in 2013, though their ties to the organization extended well beyond ownership. Jeanie, Jim, Joey and Jesse spent significant portions of their careers working for the Lakers, and each was intimately involved in the franchise’s day-to-day operations over the years.

Now, Jeanie is contesting her siblings’ effort to sell the family’s remaining stake to Iger and Kushner. Her attorney has challenged their ability to sell without Jeanie’s consent and asserted that she should remain the Lakers’ team governor.

As that dispute plays out, here’s a timeline of the Buss family’s tenure with the Lakers, from Jerry’s purchase of the team to the potential end of their 47-year run atop the franchise.

Everything we know about the Lakers being sold again

Dan Woike

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Jerry Buss takes over

In May 1979, Jerry bought the Los Angeles Lakers, the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings and the Forum in Inglewood, Calif., from Jack Kent Cooke for $67.5 million. Jerry, a chemist who made a fortune in real estate, needed some last-minute maneuvering to complete the deal. Short on cash, he sold 11 Santa Monica apartments to Donald Sterling, using the proceeds to close the deal. Sterling later bought the San Diego Clippers and moved the franchise to Los Angeles in 1984.

Jerry’s arrival ushered in one of the greatest eras in NBA history. The Lakers drafted Magic Johnson No. 1 in 1979 to pair him with then-five-time MVP Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. When Jerry purchased the Lakers, Jeanie was 17. The Lakers won the NBA championship in his first full season as owner in 1980, launching the Showtime era. The Lakers won five championships during the ’80s and established themselves as the league’s glamour franchise.

Jeanie Buss becomes a Lakers executive

In 1999, Jeanie was named executive vice president of business operations and became an increasingly influential figure inside the franchise. The appointment put her in a leading role with the Lakers for the rest of her father’s life. That season, 1999-2000, was the first of five championship seasons with Phil Jackson as coach.

Jerry Buss dies

Jerry Buss died Feb. 18, 2013, at the age of 80. The Lakers had last won a championship in 2010, the 10th title in his 34 years of ownership. His six children inherited the franchise through a family trust, with Jeanie continuing to oversee the team’s business operations and succeeding her father as the Lakers’ representative on the NBA Board of Governors.

The Lakers made the playoffs in 2013 but were swept by the San Antonio Spurs in the first round, just weeks after Kobe Bryant suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon tear. Dwight Howard left the team in free agency that offseason, and the Lakers began their longest playoff drought in franchise history.

Jeanie Buss fires her siblings, Part 1

Four years after Jerry’s death, Jeanie fired her brother Jim, the Lakers’ executive vice president of player personnel. The team was in the midst of a fourth consecutive losing season when Jeanie removed Jim, general manager Mitch Kupchak and longtime public relations chief John Black in February 2017.

The contrast with their father’s tenure was stark. In Jerry’s time as owner, the team missed the playoffs only twice, in 1994 and 2005. By 2017, the Lakers were headed toward their fourth straight postseason absence. The shakeup also triggered a family power struggle. Jim and Johnny attempted to wrest control of the franchise from Jeanie and remove her as the Lakers’ controlling owner. Jeanie prevailed in the dispute and further consolidated her control of the organization.

She hired Magic Johnson as president of basketball operations while adding former Bryant agent Rob Pelinka as general manager.

LeBron James arrives

In 2018, the Lakers’ playoff drought stretched to five seasons. The team had the NBA’s worst record, 126-284, over that span. LeBron James, fresh off an eight-season run in which his teams reached the NBA Finals every year, including winning two championships with the Miami Heat (2012, 2013) and another with the Cleveland Cavaliers (2016), chose to sign with the Lakers in free agency.

James was the Lakers’ most significant acquisition under Jeanie’s leadership of the franchise, although his arrival did not result in immediate success; the team endured another losing season in 2018-19 and missed the playoffs for a sixth straight year. More organizational turmoil followed when Johnson stepped down as president of basketball operations without first informing Jeanie and later accused Pelinka of “backstabbing” him. The Lakers also fired head coach Luke Walton.

The Bubble

One year later, the Lakers were champions again.

The team ended the NBA’s longest season in October 2020 with the franchise’s 17th title, the crowning achievement of Jeanie’s time as the face of Lakers ownership. The Lakers defeated the Miami Heat in the 2020 NBA Finals, which were played at Walt Disney World during the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, pandemic restrictions on public gatherings meant there was no championship parade, and the title proved to be the lone triumph of James’ Lakers era.

The Lakers won just three playoff series in James’ remaining six years with the franchise. The 2020 championship was the 11th under the Buss family — and potentially, the last.

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Mark Walter becomes a minority owner

In July 2021, Los Angeles Dodgers owners Mark Walter and Todd Boehly acquired Philip Anschutz’s 27 percent minority interest in the Lakers. Walter and Boehly were already familiar with pro basketball ownership through their involvement with Sparks LA Sports, the investment group that purchased the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks in 2014 and still runs the franchise. Walter, the co-founder and CEO of the global financial services firm Guggenheim Partners, praised Jeanie’s leadership of the Lakers, adding that he “couldn’t be more excited to partner with her and the entire management team.”

Buss Family Trust agrees to sell to Walter

In June 2025, the Buss family agreed to sell its controlling interest in the Lakers to Walter in a deal valuing the franchise at $10 billion. The agreement allowed Jeanie to remain as Lakers’ governor.

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NBA approves Walter

The NBA Board of Governors approved the sale of the Lakers to Walter on Oct. 30, 2025. Jeanie was to remain the Lakers governor “for a period of at least five years following the closing of the transaction,” according to a statement the league released announcing approval of the sale. Commissioner Adam Silver expressed gratitude to the Buss family while adding he was “thrilled” Jeanie would continue as team governor.

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Jeanie Buss fires her siblings, Part 2

Less than a month after the NBA approved Walter’s takeover, the Lakers fired Joey and Jesse Buss. Jesse was an assistant general manager and director of scouting, while Joey was president of the G League South Bay Lakers and an alternate governor for the Lakers. Their sister Janie was also removed from her role as charitable services director.

“She’s fired everyone,” Jesse said of Jeanie.

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Walter sells to Bob Iger, Joshua Kushner

A mere 14 months after completing the initial deal to purchase the controlling stake in the Lakers, Walter agreed to sell to Iger and Kushner, with the franchise now valued at $12.5 billion.

Walter’s decision came less than three months after the Lakers conducted a series of layoffs in an effort to integrate the franchise into Walter’s organization. The Lakers are headed toward their second ownership change in just over a year, after spending the previous 46 under the stewardship of one family.

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Buss out?

Now, the question is simple: Can Jeanie hang on as governor?

The Buss Family Trust voted to sell its remaining 17.8 percent share in the franchise to Iger and Kushner, a move that, if completed, would end the family’s run as Lakers owners.

Jeanie is challenging the vote of the trust. In a letter sent to her siblings’ attorneys and obtained by The Athletic, her attorney wrote that their attempt to sell the family’s remaining stake in the team constituted “a breach of trust, breach of fiduciary duty,” and would put them “in contempt of court.” If the family completes the sale, Jeanie would no longer own enough of the franchise to meet the NBA requirements to serve as governor.

The Lakers, the Buss family and a 47-year ownership that could be nearing its end

Jerry Buss takes over

Jeanie Buss becomes a Lakers executive

Jerry Buss dies

Jeanie Buss fires her siblings, Part 1

LeBron James arrives

The Bubble

Mark Walter becomes a minority owner

Buss Family Trust agrees to sell to Walter

NBA approves Walter

Jeanie Buss fires her siblings, Part 2

Walter sells to Bob Iger, Joshua Kushner

Buss out?

Analyse