Los Angeles Lakers Family Sells Ownership to Investors, Pending Governorship Transition
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The Buss family is selling its remaining 17.8% share in the Los Angeles Lakers to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger at a $12.5 million valuation, according 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," the Buss family said in a statement. "We love the Lakers, Laker fans and will continue to support Los Angeles; but it is time to use this opportunity to move on and exit gracefully while we still can."
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Yahoo SportsJeanie Buss and the Los Angeles Lakers grabbed headlines last week for selling the NBA franchise. It was sold to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger. On Monday, the Buss family announced that it will sell its remaining 17.8% ownership stake. However, she reportedly did not agree with her siblings' decision.
Bleacher Report"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," the Buss family said in a statement. "We love the Lakers, Laker fans and will continue to support Los Angeles; but it is time to use this opportunity to move on and exit gracefully while we still can."
ESPNJeanie contending family's sale of stake in Lakers Jeanie Buss is contesting a claim from the rest of the Buss family that they are sharing their remaining stake in the Lakers to new owners Josh Kushner and Bob Iger.
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According to ESPN's Shams Charania, the two businessmen were purchasing the remaining 17.8 percent ownership stake from the Buss family. The Buss family also issued a statement to Charania.
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Now, the family has split completely. When the team sold last year, the contract included a clause saying that Jeanie Buss would remain the team's governor, and Iger told the California Post's Khobi Price that he planned to honor that.
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CBS SportsMere hours after the news broke that Kushner and Iger were buying the team, Iger gave an interview to The California Post in which he said that the plan was for Buss to remain governor, but that "if things change, they'll change." Now that the Buss family no longer owns the requisite 15% of the team necessary to retain governorship, either Iger or Kushner will presumably become the team's governor and lead the team moving forward.
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But if the family does, in fact, sell its shares, it would mean that Buss will no longer meet the required ownership percentage to remain in her position, according to Charania. The NBA requires ownership of at least 15 percent of the team to be a controlling owner or governor.
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CBS SportsWhen the Buss family originally sold the franchise to Walter last summer, Jeanie Buss was allowed to remain the team's governor. NBA rules allow for someone to be a team governor only if they own at least 15% of the team, which the Buss family trust retained despite selling majority control to Walter. When Walter became owner in 2025, the NBA said in a statement that Buss would remain governor for at least a five-year term.
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Kushner and Iger initially were interested in bidding for the league's expansion franchise in Las Vegas, but pivoted once they found out Walter was interested in selling the Lakers.
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A team like the Lakers, one of the most popular sports franchises in the world, is arguably a safer investment.
3 details only one outlet reported
Independent claims that didn't surface elsewhere in our corpus. Treat as supplementary — not corroborated across outlets.
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01 Yahoo Sports Jeanie will need to step down as the Lakers' governor should the transaction push through. The NBA requires that a controlling governor owns at least 15% of the franchise.
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02 Bleacher Report Last week's deal came less than a year after Walter, who also owns the Dodgers, purchased the Lakers at a $10 billion valuation, which was also a record at the time.
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03 CBS Sports The Lakers under Walter had spent most of the past 14 months integrating with his other local professional sports franchise, the more recently successful Dodgers. Now, not only is Walter gone, but so is the Buss family, leaving Kushner and Iger to direct the team as they see fit. What exactly that means for the team's basketball future is not clear, but it is the end of an era for the purple and gold.
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Sources (4)
- yahoosports
- cbssports
- bleacherreport
- espn