Shams Charania Fires Back After Jeanie Buss’ Legal Team Challenges Lakers Report

The fight over the Buss family’s final piece of the Los Angeles Lakers has spilled from the boardroom into a public dispute over exactly what was reported.

ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania pushed back Tuesday against a letter from Jeanie Buss’ attorney that accused him of falsely reporting the family’s decision to sell its remaining 17.8% stake in the Lakers to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner.

Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show, Charania was unequivocal.

“I fully stand by my reporting,” Charania said.

At issue is a crucial distinction in Charania’s original report. Jeanie’s attorney, Adam Streisand, wrote that Charania “falsely reported that the six Buss siblings voted to sell” the stake. But Charania said that wasn’t what he reported.

“What I reported was that there was a majority vote, at least four of six necessary,” Charania said.

Charania reported Monday that five of the six siblings ultimately voted in favor of selling. Jeanie was the lone holdout.

NBA Insider Says Buss Siblings Dispute Could Reach Court

The disagreement goes well beyond semantics.

Streisand argues the JAB Trust’s shares cannot be sold without approval from its co-trustees — Jeanie, Janie and Joey Buss — and has cited a 2017 court order requiring the trust’s shares to be voted in a way that preserves Jeanie’s status as Lakers governor.

The other five siblings see it differently.

Charania said they believe a tag-along provision connected to Mark Walter’s sale allows them to sell their shares after securing the required majority vote.

“The five other siblings and their lawyers believe that that’s not how the trust works,” Charania said of Jeanie’s interpretation.

And none has backed down.

Jim, Johnny, Janie, Joey and Jesse Buss issued a statement Tuesday saying they “remain united” in their decision to sell and intend to move forward through the appropriate process.

That leaves Charania anticipating a potentially messy resolution.

“My understanding is this could end up being a legal battle,” he said.

The stakes are enormous. At the Lakers’ $12.5 billion valuation in the Iger-Kushner transaction, the family’s remaining 17.8% represents roughly $2.2 billion.

Jeanie Buss’ Lakers Future Hangs Over Family Fight

Getty Los Angeles Lakers governor Jeanie Buss attends the premiere of Netflix’s “Running Point,” Season 2, at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood on April 15, 2026.

Charania also sought to separate two issues that have become intertwined.

“This battle that’s going on right now, to be clear, isn’t about whether she’s governor or not,” he said. “It’s to sell the remaining ownership shares.”

The distinction may eventually become academic.

NBA rules require a governor to maintain a minimum ownership stake. If the family’s remaining interest is sold, Jeanie would no longer hold the percentage necessary to continue in that role.

Charania also revisited another wrinkle from his original reporting: A Lakers finance executive called for a meeting one day before the Iger-Kushner deal surfaced to discuss creating a new trust that would freeze the family’s shares for four years, roughly corresponding with the remainder of Jeanie’s expected governorship. According to Charania, the family did not agree.

Now there are two competing interpretations of what the Buss trust allows, five siblings refusing to retract their vote and Jeanie’s lawyers signaling resistance.

For a franchise seemingly headed toward a clean ownership transition, nothing looks clean anymore.

And after Jeanie’s legal team put his reporting directly in the middle of the dispute, Charania made his position clear.

He isn’t retracting a word.

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