Jeanie Buss accuses siblings of 'cloak and dagger' tactics in Lakers' family saga
Baxter HolmesOct 31, 2026, 01:04 PM ET
In a court filing this week, Jeanie Buss accused her siblings of conspiring against her in a "cloak and dagger" campaign through the media, said they were jealous that their father picked her over them to govern the Los Angeles Lakers and asked a judge to block her siblings' attempt to sell the family's shares in the team, which would end her run as the Lakers' governor.
Wednesday's filing, reviewed by ESPN, is the latest salvo in the bitter legal battle playing out between Jeanie and her siblings, namely Joey and Jesse Buss, leading up to a scheduled Dec. 8 hearing in Los Angeles Superior Court.
The filing responds to recent filings by Jeanie's siblings, who are seeking to sell the family's remaining shares of the Lakers to the Bob Iger and Josh Kushner ownership group, who are seeking to buy the team from Mark Walter at a $12.5 billion valuation.
"The conflicts that ensued after Dr. (Jerry) Buss's death (in 2013) were sadly inevitable, and no doubt intensified given that Dr. Buss chose his daughter over four sons to be his successor," Jeanie's lawyers wrote in Wednesday filing.
"Respondents' obsession with tearing down Jeanie and their inability to accept that she would be a part of the Lakers' future is borne of this classic succession parable."
In 2025, Walter bought a majority stake in the Lakers from the Buss family at a $10 billion valuation. During that sale, the Buss family retained a 17.82% stake, just above the NBA's 15% minimum for the family to retain control. The family also received go-along rights. On Aug. 17, ESPN's Shams Charania reported that Johnny, Jim, Janie, Joey and Jesse Buss had voted to sell the remaining family shares to Iger and Kushner using those go-along rights.
Each sibling stands to make an additional $371 million if the family sells the entirety of its shares via the go-along provision.
Jeanie has attempted to block those attempts to sell, saying that her siblings must obey a 2017 court order that required the two co-trustees, Janie and Joey, to always vote to ensure she remained the controlling owner of the team.
In Wednesday's filing, she again asked the court to remove Joey and Janie as co-trustees of the trust for breach of fiduciary duty, hold them in contempt of court, find Jim, Johnny and Jesse liable for aiding and abetting a violation of the 2017 court order and be reimbursed for legal costs.
Sources close to the family have told ESPN that there have been settlement talks between the two sides, but it's unclear how much progress has been made leading up to the scheduled Dec. 8 hearing.
"Jeanie had no choice but to seek court intervention to enforce the clear terms of the trust and this court's 2017 order," Wednesday's filing states. "Respondents respond (by) casting themselves as victims, when in reality, the entire episode is their own false flag operation.
"The cloak and dagger, backroom 'votes' and 'resolutions' shared with ESPN, rather than their co-trustee and sister, and subsequent refusal to discuss the matter, was intended to force Jeanie's hand, cry victim and again smear her in the media by sharing in advance their specious response."
In previous filings, the siblings have said that Jeanie's stance lacks merit and have asked the court to dismiss the claim while arguing that they exercised voting rights expressly granted to them as beneficiaries.
"There is deep irony in [Jeanie] alleging that it is [Joey and Janie] who are putting their self-interests first," an Oct. 16 filing by the siblings stated, as reported by ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "The entire petition [originally filed by Jeanie] is predicated on the notion that rights expressly granted to the beneficiaries by [the trust] should be subjugated to [Jeanie's] personal interest in remaining controlling owner. [Jeanie's] hypocrisy should not go unnoticed."
In Wednesday's filing, Jeanie responded, "It drips with irony that Respondents' thesis is that Jeanie is self-interested. Jeanie's 'self-interest' has been to lead as her father and mother directed in their trusts."
On Friday, ESPN's Ramona Shelburne reported that, technically, go-along rights can be only invoked once Walter officially notifies the family that he has signed a deal to sell.
That same day, Shelburne also reported - citing sources close to the negotiation - that Walter and Kushner have agreed on all outstanding terms of the sale of the team and are expected to sign the formal agreement soon. Once it is signed, it will be reviewed by the NBA.
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