Preserving late Dr. Jerry Buss' legacy, the 2017 court ruling, and her strong emotional attachment to the Lakers are among the significant factors driving Jeanie Buss' fight to maintain her family's presence within the LA franchise.
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Amid ongoing drama surrounding the Buss family and their remaining ownership segment within the Los Angeles Lakers, there are significant reasons why Jeanie Buss is firmly against all of her siblings.
On SiriusXM NBA Radio, Khobi Price of the California Post argued that preserving the legacy built by the late Dr. Jerry Buss is a key reason why Jeanie is not in favor of selling her family’s remaining ownership stake in the Lakers.
"I think that's definitely a part of it, upholding what their father, the late Dr. Jerry Buss, built over the course of 1979 to 2013, before he passed," the Lakers writer said. "Thirty-four years, one of the greatest runs for an owner in all of sports, to be quite honest, not just the NBA, but all the sports.
"So it's upholding that, upholding the wishes when he did pass."
Jeanie Buss remains firmly opposed to siblings' Lakers family stake sale
The Los Angeles Lakers became the NBA's most successful franchise after Jerry Buss took over as the team's owner in 1979. Behind his efforts, the Lakers won 11 NBA titles, dominated the league with multiple winning seasons, and were home to several all-time greats like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kobe Bryant.
But his unfortunate passing in 2013 triggered a bitter power struggle among his children regarding the control of the franchise for years. As the team's governor, Jeanie ousted Jim and Johnny Buss from the front office in 2017 and Joey and Jesse Buss last year.
The issue has now taken a major turn with Jeanie alone facing her five siblings' vengeful desire to sell the remaining 17.8% of their family's stake to new owners, Josh Kushner and Bob Iger.
Jeanie Buss' camp hit back against ESPN's report that her family is now selling the franchise to Kushner and Iger, claiming that a 2017 court rule prohibits them from doing so.
That ruling established Jeanie as the undisputed "controlling owner" of the franchise and mandated that her siblings must actively vote to keep her in power as the Lakers' team governor.
Her five siblings already issued a follow-up statement, maintaining they are "united" in their desire to exit the Lakers ownership and sell their family's stake.
Beyond that court ruling, Jeanie's strong emotional attachment to the franchise is the primary driving force behind her fight to keep the Lakers in the Buss family name.
"And also, I know it was mentioned, it's been mentioned before, but upholding the 2017 court order that essentially says the siblings are supposed to vote in favor of Jeannie to remain the controlling owner and the governor of the team for the remainder of her life. So upholding that, and I imagine for Jeannie also, even if that her statement outwardly, there's an attachment for her," Price added.
"This is, you know, the Lakers have essentially been her life and her, for the better, for all of her life, essentially."
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