While all eyes in Los Angeles have been on the LA Clippers and their scandal surrounding Kawhi Leonard and aspiration, the Lakers have suddenly exploded with an arguably bigger drama of their own. This week, an absolute bombshell dropped when it was revealed that the Buss family had decided to sell their remaining 17.8% ownership stake to the Los Angeles Lakers to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner. However, almost immediately, Jeanie Buss put out her own statement, claiming that she was going to put up a fight over the sale. Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images Now, another layer in the drama has unfolded. Jim, Johnny, Janie, Joey, and Jesse Buss have released their own statement after Jeanie's defiance of the sale. What Did the Buss Family Say in Response to Jeanie? The statement from the Buss family was a lengthy one, but it reads exactly as follows: "The Los Angeles Lakers have never been just a basketball team. They have been one of the greatest privileges of our lives. Our focus has always been on what we believe is best for the Lakers, the fans who have supported this franchise for generations and the greater Los Angeles community. Johnny, Jimmy, Janie, Joey and Jesse have made the decision to sell the family's remaining stake, and we remain united in that decision. We intend to move forward thoughtfully, respectfully and through the appropriate process. We have tremendous respect for Bob Iger and Josh Kushner and believe they understand what the Lakers represent to Los Angeles and our incredibly loyal fan base. We are confident they will honor everything this franchise stands for while building upon the foundation our father created." Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports Unfortunately for Jeanie Buss, it really does feel like this is about to be an uphill battle for her. While she has controlled the Los Angeles Lakers for the past several years, it's still a situation where it's essentially five family members against one. How Messy is This Going to Get? Things are about to get incredibly messy for the Los Angeles Lakers. Even aside from the Buss family drama, there's a whole layer of controversy surrounding how Lakers owner Mark Walter sold the team and who it's being sold to.
"It's starting to seem like he might actually go to jail." - Bill Simmons on Mark Walter (Via @ringer ) pic.twitter.com/2BNKK2bXv6 — NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) August 18, 2026 The news surrounding that sale isn't going to slow down anytime soon. Fortunately for the Lakers, they've been having a buffer in the form of Kawhi Leonard and aspiration masking just how messy things actually are. Not only that, but the Lakers are about to deal with the never-ending news cycle of the Buss family divorce. The amount of news that the Lakers are going to have to deal with from multiple angles is about to become very uncomfortable. According to Shams Charania, Jeanie and her lawyer believe that she's the final voice and only voice when it comes to selling her family's shares. However, that's going to be a very tough stance to claim, unless it's legitimately written in an ironclad contract. Even then, it feels like the Buss family opposing Jeanie won't go down easily themselves. Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports Hopefully, all of these never-ending distractions from multiple angles won't affect the Lakers players themselves. Last season, the team had pretty amazing chemistry to close the season; now, they'll have an entirely new team that also navigates the team constantly being in the headlines. All the pressure will be on Luka Doncic and Austin Rivers as they try to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to an NBA championship through it all.