Lakers governor Jeanie Buss is contesting the attempt by her five siblings to sell her family\u2019s stake in the team, according to a letter from Buss\u2019s lawyer Adam Streisand<\/a>. Buss, who has more or less taken charge of the organization since the death of her father Jerry in 2013, appears to be pushing back on the stunning move, one that would put an end to the Buss family\u2019s decades-long stewardship of the iconic NBA franchise.<\/p>\n A familiar story. Enter the fictional Roy family. <\/p>\n For all of its rich people satire and classist commentary, Succession can be boiled down to a simple premise: how does a powerful family-run business change hands? Comparing the Roys to the Busses is not fair to the latter, in many ways. The HBO show\u2019s supremely hateable characters are rumored to be inspired by Rupert Murdoch and his family, a real-life media dynasty and global empire whose power dynamics arguably operate at a much different level than that of the Buss household.<\/p>\n Still, there are some eerie similarities between the Roys and Busses that haven\u2019t gone unnoticed. (Warning: spoilers ahead for those who haven\u2019t finished the show).<\/p>\n Rewatching Succession through the lens of the Buss family drama HBO\u2019s drama \u201cSuccession\u201d mirrors what the Buss family is going through amid their reported attempt to sell their Lakers stake. | Emma McIntyre\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Succession\u2019s patriarch Logan Roy dies in Season 4 on the toilet of his private plane. Fitting, perhaps, for a ruthless tycoon who had long prioritized his business interests over the wellbeing of his children. <\/p>\n Immediately, Kendall, Shiv and Roman are thrust into the \u201csuccession\u201d scheme and aren\u2019t afraid of getting their shoes dirty to secure a foothold in Logan\u2019s all-powerful media kingdom. A document from Logan\u2019s safe names Kendall as his successor and simultaneously raises debate among the children over how legitimate Kendall\u2019s claim to the throne is (\u201cDad said so,\u201d Kendall matter-of-factly argues). <\/p>\n Kendall and Roman ultimately decide to take charge of Waystar Royco as co-CEOs while sidelining Shiv but promising to keep her involved in the operations. Feeling jilted, the ever-deceptive Shiv plots to weasel her way back into her dad\u2019s empire, which includes forming an alliance with billionaire tech bro Lukas Matsson to get back at her brothers.<\/p>\n The King Lear-style drama ends with Shiv voting against Kendall\u2019s plan to kill the deal with GoJo (Matsson\u2019s company) and anoint himself, the eldest boy, as CEO. GoJo successfully acquires Waystar, Shiv holds hands with new CEO (and her husband) Tom Wambsgans and Kendall stares off into the setting sun. Absolute cinema.<\/p>\n Over in the NBA, Jerry Buss\u2019s death in 2013 triggered a similar in-house dispute of his family business. At the time, the patriarch owned a whopping 66% share of the Lakers, whose value had exponentially grown in the decades following his purchase. Buss\u2019s dream was always for the Lakers to remain in his family\u2019s name<\/a> and for the generational wealth he created to be passed down the line.<\/p>\n That didn\u2019t happen. <\/p>\n Upon Buss\u2019s death, six equal shares of the Lakers were divided among his six children and bound together by a family trust. Jeanie Buss took over her late father\u2019s role as team governor and, by association, the most face-forward member of the Buss family helming the Lakers franchise, but her siblings weren\u2019t always pleased with how she chose to run the ship.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s an excerpt from ESPN\u2019s tell-all piece<\/a> about how the Buss family\u2019s \u201cinfighting\u201d drove them to sell their controlling majority stake to Mark Walter in late 2025:<\/p>\n Interviews with current and former Lakers staffers with direct knowledge of key events and sources close to and within the Buss family reveal the post-Jerry Buss era with the Lakers has been defined largely by sibling infighting and subterfuge, attempted coups and deep familial distrust.<\/p>\n Buss family tree (listed by seniority)<\/p>\n Jerry Buss<\/p>\n Family patriarch, died in 2013<\/p>\n Johnny Buss<\/p>\n Son<\/p>\n Jim Buss<\/p>\n Son<\/p>\n Jeanie Buss<\/p>\n Daughter<\/p>\n Janie Buss<\/p>\n Daughter<\/p>\n Joey Buss<\/p>\n Half-sibling<\/p>\n Jesse Buss <\/p>\n Half-sibling<\/p>\n One of the most dramatic examples of the Buss family\u2019s years-long infighting came in March 2017 when the Los Angeles Times reported that Johnny and Jim attempted to oust Jeanie as Lakers\u2019 president and controlling owner<\/a>. After Jeanie replaced Jim with new Lakers vice president of basketball operations Magic Johnson, Johnny and Jim formed a plan to sap some of Jeanie\u2019s power via an election for the team\u2019s board of directors. The two brothers submitted four names for the board seats\u2014none of whom were Jeanie. The plotted coup was thwarted by Jeanie, who in response filed a restraining order against her brothers.<\/p>\n \u201cClearly, the intention that my father had in the trust is that I would be named controlling owner, because he wrote the trust exactly the way the judge interpreted it. Those were his wishes,\u201d Jeanie said of her brothers\u2019 actions in a 2022 Hulu docuseries on the Lakers. \u201cAnd they tried to disregard what their father wanted. That’s a betrayal of all the hard work and what he did on our behalf to make this possible. I felt that there was this desire to remove me or stab me in the heart.\u201d<\/p>\n That bitter sibling quarrel proved to be a defining moment during Jeanie\u2019s stewardship of the Lakers, and one that may have changed her relationship with her family for good. <\/p>\n \u201cFrom that point on, I’ve probably talked to Jeanie, I don’t know, four or five times,\u201d Johnny told ESPN<\/a>. \u201cAnd that’s sad.\u201d<\/p>\n Jeanie Buss battles her siblings on contentious Lakers sale: When will it end? Jeanie Buss hopes a 2017 court order will keep her as Lakers\u2019 governor | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n Earlier this week, the Buss family trust received the majority votes to allow trustees to sell its remaining 17.8% stake, according to ESPN<\/a>. The move would strip Jeanie Buss of her title as team governor due to NBA guidelines that require controlling owners or governors to own at least 15% of a franchise.<\/p>\n The sale reportedly required four of six votes, and five of the six siblings voted to sell, per ESPN. Jeanie contested the sale via a letter from her lawyer that argued there can be no sale<\/a> without the approval of the three remaining trustees: Jeanie, Janie and Joey Buss.<\/p>\n MORE: Three Big Questions Circling the Lakers Amid Potential Sale of Buss Family\u2019s Remaining Stake<\/a><\/p>\n The Buss siblings shared a statement on their collective decision to sell to Iger and Kushner shortly after Jeanie\u2019s lawyer\u2019s letter was made public:<\/p>\n \u201cThe 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.<\/p>\n \u201cJohnny, 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Statement from Jim, Johnny, Janie, Joey and Jesse Buss after attorney of Jeanie Buss made clear she will battle her family members on selling their remaining 17.8% Lakers ownership stake: <\/p>\n The Los Angeles Lakers have never been just a basketball team. They have been one of the\u2026<\/p>\n![\"Jeanie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/01m0b5yf3sqvwwb1p30r.jpg\" "\\"Jeanie")
<\/p>\n![\"Jeanie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/01m0bgdcdb6fvhccxcnc.jpg\" "\\"Jeanie")
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