LOS ANGELES — The six children of late Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss have agreed to sell their family’s remaining 17.8% stake in the NBA franchise to new majority owners Josh Kushner and Bob Iger, ending the family’s 47-year ownership role with the team.
ESPN and The Athletic reported the decision Monday, citing a statement from the Buss family.
“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 family said.
The sale also appears to end Jeanie Buss’ tenure as the Lakers’ governor. She has held the position since her father’s death in 2013.
Jeanie Buss led the family’s decision last year to sell a controlling stake in the Lakers to Dodgers owner Mark Walter at a $10 billion valuation. Walter later reached an agreement to sell the franchise to Kushner and Iger at a reported $12.5 billion valuation.
Kushner and Iger initially acquired about 65% of the team from Walter. With the Buss family’s shares, their ownership would rise to about 83%.
The NBA requires a team governor to hold at least a 15% ownership stake, meaning Jeanie Buss would apparently no longer qualify for the position after the transaction.
The Buss siblings — Jeanie, Jim, Johnny, Janie, Joey and Jesse — had disagreed over the family’s ownership decisions. Joey and Jesse lost their front-office positions with the Lakers last November.
The family’s ownership dates to 1979, when Jerry Buss bought the Lakers, the Los Angeles Kings and the Forum from Jack Kent Cooke for $67.5 million.
Under Buss, the Lakers won 11 NBA championships, including five during the Showtime era of the 1980s and five more during Kobe Bryant’s tenure. The franchise won its 17th championship in 2020 with LeBron James.
The latest sale still requires approval from the NBA Board of Governors, a process that could take several months.
