Jeanie Buss and her siblings are cashing out on the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Buss family will sell their remaining 17.8 percent Lakers ownership stake to incoming owners Bob Iger and Josh Kushner. Once the transaction is completed, the Buss family will have no stake in the Lakers for the first time since 1979.
In a statement, the family said they would continue to support the Lakers, but chose to “use this opportunity to move on and exit gracefully while we still can.”
Statement from the Buss family to ESPN: "We have decided as a family to sell the remaining Buss Family Trust shares to the Bob Iger group as part of the ongoing transaction. We love the Lakers, Laker fans and will continue to support Los Angeles; but it is time to use this… https://t.co/JIT4cu2z5n
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 17, 2026
The move also means Jeanie Buss will be out as governor of the franchise. NBA rules mandate that controlling owners and governors must own at least 15 percent of a franchise to remain in that role.
Jerry Buss bought the Lakers in 1979 and the franchise has remained in the family since then, even after he died in 2013. The family sold its majority stake in the franchise last year, but still retained enough to allow Jeanie to continue as the go-to ownership figure, and she planned to remain in her role for at least five years as part of an agreement with new owner Mark Walter.
Initially, the new owners suggested that they would honor the agreement between Buss and Walter and allow her to remain in her role. Things obviously changed quickly. The Buss family is framing it as their own decision, though the final sentence of their statement would certainly imply that they felt the new owners planned to marginalize them either way.
The Lakers will now be firmly in the hands of Iger and Kushner after their stunning deal to purchase the franchise. That could lead to major changes, and there will be widespread speculation about GM Rob Pelinka’s future considering Buss was the one who hired and retained him.
