LeBron James and the L.A. Lakers have enjoyed a largely successful spell together, winning the franchise's 17th NBA title in 2020, and bringing the team back to relevance after years in the doldrums.
Prior to James signing a four-year, $154-million contract with Los Angeles in 2018, the Purple & Gold had missed the playoffs for five straight seasons. And while his first season in California was cut short by injury and the team missed the playoffs again, LeBron led the Lakers back to the promised land the following year, helped by superstar acquisition Anthony Davis.
But LA has struggled to climb back up the mountain since lifting the Larry O'Brien trophy in the NBA's Orlando bubble, only making it as far as the Western Conference final in 2023.
The front office swung one of the biggest trades in NBA history a year ago, acquiring guard Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks for Davis, essentially setting a succession plan for the Lakers' post-LeBron era.
Since the trade, questions have been raised about James' future in Southern California, most notably after the Lakers did not offer the 23-year veteran a contract extension last offseason.
And according to a new report, LA's top shot caller has soured over the 41-year-old for some time now.
Lakers Owner Turning on LeBron
Jeanie Buss
According to a report from ESPN's Baxter Holmes, Lakers governor and minority owner Jeanie Buss has been privately unhappy with James for a number of reasons for years now.
Holmes reports that Buss has privately grumbled about LeBron's "outsized ego and the overt control that he and Klutch Sports exerted over the organization at times."
"She didn't like that James was considered a savior for a floundering franchise when he arrived in 2018 and that it was he who chose the Lakers rather than the team's leadership receiving praise for landing him," Holmes writes.
Buss was reportedly not pleased with the decision to trade for star guard Russell Westbrook in 2021 in an effort to appease James. The move backfired, creating a significant roster imbalance and forcing LA to miss the playoffs.
Buss did not appreciate that James did not accept accountability for the disastrous trade, and even privately contemplated moving the four-time NBA champion, before LeBron eventually signed a two-year contract extension in July 2024.
When the Lakers drafted James' son Bronny with the 55th overall pick of the 2024 NBA Draft, Buss didn't believe that LeBron was grateful enough to the franchise for the move, according to Holmes.
Despite being against offering James an extension that summer, "Buss seemed more resigned to the fact that they'd have to do it — almost begrudgingly accepting that they'd take a massive PR hit by not doing so," Holmes reports.
Jeanie took over the Lakers' leadership after her father, Jerry, passed away in 2013. Jerry Buss bought the Lakers for $67.5 million in 1979, and guided Los Angeles 10 NBA titles, off the backs of superstars like Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant.
The Lakers only missed the playoffs twice in 34 years with Jerry Buss at the helm, and owned the NBA's best winning percentage. Under Jeanie's leadership, LA has missed the postseason seven times in 11 years, and have the 26th-best winning percentage in the league.
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