Jeanie Buss, the Los Angeles Lakers owner who has been the face of the team since the death of her father Jerry Buss in 2013, is reportedly contesting the plan approved by her siblings to sell the family’s remaining 18% stake in the storied NBA franchise to investors Bob Iger and Josh Kushner. ESPN and numerous outlets reported Monday that Buss is challenging her siblings’ right to approve the sale of the team to the former Disney CEO and Kushner, an investor who founded Thrive Capital in 2010 at age 24.
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Jeanie Buss and her five siblings — Jesse, Jim, Johnny, Janie and Joey — have had complicated legal maneuvering around the management of the team. In 2017, following a litigation process, Jeanie was designated the controlling owner of the team through 2030. Jeanie Buss’ attorneys indicated that she asserts that she has the right to approve any sale of the team. Iger reportedly had met with Jeanie and vowed to honor the agreement she had with Mark Walter to remain at the helm through 2030.
Walter, the CEO of Guggenheim Partners, acquired the Lakers from the Buss family in June 2025. The deal was finalized in October 2025, when the NBA distributed a photo of Walter sitting next to a smiling Jeanie Buss.
A representative for Iger and Kushner did not immediately respond to a request for comment late Monday.
Per ESPN, Jeanie Buss’ lawyer, Adam Streisand, has sent correspondence to the five Buss siblings who voted to sell that “a court had ruled in 2017 that no sale could be “effectuated without approval by the co-trustees, i.e. Jeanie, Janie and Joey Buss,” as reported by ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne.
Iger and Kushner surprised the industry and the sports world on Aug. 12 with their deal to acquire the Lakers from Walter for $12.5 billion — a premium from the $10 billion that Walter paid just a year ago. Since then, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and other outlets have reported that Walter is now the focus of a federal probe into how he has handled some of his sports investments in recent years.
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