What Will Jeanie Buss’ Role Be Following Lakers’ Sale?

For now, Jeanie Buss’ role with the Los Angeles Lakers seems intact as the team’s Governor.

Shortly after agreeing to purchase Mark Walter’s majority ownership shares for $12.5 billion, former Disney CEO Bob Iger addressed directly whether he and co-owner Joshua Kushner will honor Buss’ agreement that she remains the Lakers’ governor for at least the next five years.

“We have enormous respect and appreciation for Jeanie, her father and what they’ve contributed to this franchise,” Iger told the California Post. “And we have every intention to honor the agreement that was made between Mark and Jeanie. If things change, they’ll change, but we’re going into this with enormous respect and appreciation for who she is and what she represents in the organization.”

Meanwhile, Buss outlined her public support for the Lakers’ new ownership group by quote tweeting Lakers star’ Luka Dončić. Then, Dončić wrote on X that “being a Laker means everything to me, and I’m excited to get back on the court and bring a championship to LA.” Dončić then addressed the fact that he has played for three different ownership groups with the Lakers since they unexpectedly acquired him from the Dallas Mavericks in the middle of the 2024-25 season.

“I’ve gotten used to big changes over these last few years, but I know that no matter what, there is no limit to the potential of this iconic franchise,” Dončić wrote. “I look forward to meeting with Josh and Bob so we can get back to work building something special in LA together.”

Buss then wrote in a separate post,” Perfectly said.” But will this new arrangement yield a perfect partnership? Too early to say. Iger did offer a qualifier saying that “If things change, they’ll change.” Initially, though, there’s a strong belief that Buss’ role would stay the same as it would have under Walter.

First, the transaction technically hasn’t been finalized. The NBA has to approve the sale at the next Board of Governor’s meeting in New York sometime next month. As the Lakers’ Governor, Buss will represent the Lakers at that meeting. She has held that role ever since her father, Dr. Jerry Buss, died in 2013. Before, she attended such meetings as the Lakers’ main person in charge. She won’t be there this time, however, in an ambassador role. She will be needed to guide the Lakers during their transition period.

Iger has a close relationship with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver stemmed from his role with Disney. Disney has been one of the NBA’s key broadcast partners with ABC and ESPN. Iger also helped advise how the NBA could resume its 2019-20 season in a quarantined bubble outside of the Disney campuses near Orlando, Florida during the coronavirus pandemic. But Buss has obviously worked more closely with Silver on league matters. When the NBA approved that the Buss family would sell their majority ownership shares to Walter for $10 billion in Oct. 2025, the league announced then that Jeanie would stay as the Lakers’ governor for at least the next five years. The NBA doesn’t directly influence how teams manage their organizations, including their ownership staffs. But the NBA would like to ensure organizational stability since all 30 NBA teams share its total basketball-related revenue to ensure league-wide parity.

Once Walter purchased the Lakers, Buss’ role certainly changed. Before, Before her father’s passing, Jeanie oversaw the Lakers’ business operations. After Jerry’s passing, his son, Jim, became in charge of the Lakers’ basketball operations. But Jeanie eventually fired Jim and thwarted a lawsuit in 2027 amid her dissatisfaction with his role in the team’s unsuccessful free-agent signings during the team’s worst-stretch in franchise history. Since then, Buss did directly dictate how the team’s front office constructs their coaching staff and roster. But she remained deliberative with budgeting on head coaches, players and team support staff partly since the Lakers’ served as the Buss’ family’s sole revenue stream.

Generally, the Lakers spent lavishly spent on superstars and high-impact players and absorbed luxury tax penalties. The Lakers were more deliberate with role players, head coaches and support staff. Although never perfect, the Lakers sought to strike a healthy balance between spending to ensure a championship-caliber team and staying budget-conscious on priorities that may not significantly alter the team’s title chances.

Walter, who oversees Guggenheim Group with ownership stakes with the Dodgers and Sparks, did not have such spending constraints. The Lakers had expanded the team’s front offices, business staff and other support staff, while also laying off various employees. The Lakers also pursued new sponsorship deals and relocated their G League team to the Palm Springs area. Jeanie Buss still remained a valuable resource for her business relationships in Los Angeles and in the NBA. But she longer dictated the majority of decisions.

Under Iger and Kushner, Jeanie’s role initially appears to be similar. In the short term, Jeanie’s role likely becomes more important with familiarizing both Iger and Kushner with the NBA landscape and consulting them on their direction. In the long term, Iger left that open-ended. Even though new ownership groups inevitably yields to changes, it initially appears more likely that could affect how they evaluate the front office and support staff as well as pursue any initiatives. Although Buss has operated most comfortably under people that she knows well, she has also received praise for how her soft skills and how she collaborates.

Given her personality and background, it wouldn’t be surprising if the the Lakers’ new ownership group lean on her even after the initial transition.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com