The Lakers’ $12.5 billion ownership transition has created a problem that reaches far beyond the sale itself. Five of the six Buss siblings want to sell the family’s remaining 17.8% stake to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner, but Jeanie Buss has opposed the move.

Her objection is tied to a 2017 Los Angeles Superior Court order that, according to her attorney, requires the Buss Family Trust’s co-trustees to protect her position as the Lakers’ Controlling Owner. Selling the entire 17.8% stake would leave the family without the equity needed for Jeanie to meet the NBA’s 15% ownership threshold.

That is where Adam Silver could be pulled into the fight. A Sports Business Journal report by Tom Friend said there is an “expectation that Silver will intervene and try to smooth over the issues among the Buss family,” putting the NBA commissioner in a difficult position given his relationship with Jeanie and his longstanding relationship with incoming owner Bob Iger. Silver has previously backed Jeanie’s leadership, saying, “We are pleased that this matter has been resolved. Jeanie is as knowledgeable and experienced as any owner in sports and the Lakers are in great hands.”

Silver has not formally intervened in the current dispute, and the NBA has not issued a public directive on the Buss family’s internal trust fight. For now, the majority sale from Mark Walter to Iger and Kushner is moving toward NBA Board of Governors approval, while the dispute over the Buss family’s 17.8% stake remains unresolved.

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The split has created two separate tracks in the same ownership transition: Iger and Kushner are working to complete the majority purchase, while Jeanie’s legal team is challenging her siblings’ attempt to sell the family’s remaining shares.

The conflict began after Mark Walter agreed to sell his controlling stake in the Lakers to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner for $12.5 billion, less than 14 months after acquiring the franchise at a $10 billion valuation.

The deal triggered the Buss family’s “tag-along” rights, allowing the trust’s minority stake to be sold on the same terms. Five of the six Buss siblings — Jim, Johnny, Janie, Joey and Jesse — voted to sell the family’s 17.8% stake, which is worth about $2.2 billion at the $12.5 billion valuation.

Jeanie was the only sibling to oppose the sale. Through her lawyer, Adam Streisand, she challenged the vote by citing the 2017 Los Angeles Superior Court order governing the Buss Family Trust.

“Pursuant to the JAB Trust and the attached Court Order, the co-trustees are bound to vote the Los Angeles Lakers, Inc. shares to ensure that the minimum 15% ownership requirement is maintained in order to ensure that Jeanie Buss may remain Controlling Owner. Any attempt by the co-trustees to do otherwise, and any attempt to aid or abet the co-trustees as such, would constitute a breach of trust, breach of fiduciary duty and be in contempt of court,” Streisand wrote.

NBA bylaws require a team governor to maintain at least a 15% beneficial ownership stake. If the Buss Family Trust sells its entire 17.8% stake, Jeanie would fall below that threshold and lose the equity qualification required to remain the Lakers’ Governor unless another ownership arrangement or league waiver is approved.

Iger has publicly said Jeanie’s position as Governor will remain intact. In an August 13 interview with the California Post, he said, “We have enormous respect and appreciation for Jeanie, her father and what they’ve contributed to this franchise. And we have every intention to honor the agreement that was made between Mark and Jeanie. If things change, they’ll change, but we’re going into this with enormous respect and appreciation for who she is and what she represents in the organization.”

Jeanie’s path to maintaining the required equity became narrower on August 20, when Patrick Soon-Shiong’s attorney confirmed that the Lakers minority owner has no plans to sell his 4% stake. That removes one potential block of shares Jeanie could have pursued, although even Soon-Shiong’s entire stake would fall well short of the 15% threshold on its own.

“Bob Iger and Josh Kushner are good friends, and we will be joining them as supportive, active and engaged partners once they close the transaction with Mr. Walter. [Dr. Soon-Shiong is] absolutely not selling,” Soon-Shiong’s attorney, Chuck “Tiger” Kenworthy, said.

Buss Family Dispute Could Put Adam Silver in a Difficult Position

Andy Kamenetzky sees the dispute as a test of Silver’s willingness to confront an uncomfortable ownership situation.

“I think this could be a test for Adam Silver. Like his willingness to twist arms and make things, you know, uncomfortable for everyone, including himself, because Adam Silver, confrontation is not his wheelhouse,” Kamenetzky said on the Locked On Lakers podcast.

Kamenetzky also pointed to Silver’s relationship with Iger as a factor that could make the situation harder for the commissioner to navigate.

“But if Adam Silver has to choose between siding with the incoming majority owners of the Tiffany franchise of the league, one of which Bob Iger is a personal friend of his… or the one member of a minority owner contingency, where the other five want to get out, I can, again, promise you, I know which side he would prefer,” Kamenetzky said.

Walter’s rapid exit adds another layer to the story. He negotiated the sale of his majority stake over roughly 72 hours, with reporting linking the speed of the transaction to liquidity needs and federal Department of Justice scrutiny involving entities connected to Guggenheim Partners.

For now, the two sides remain on separate tracks. Iger and Kushner’s purchase of Walter’s majority stake is moving toward NBA approval, while the Buss family’s 17.8% stake remains tied up in the dispute over Jeanie’s governorship. Silver has not formally intervened, but if the conflict reaches the league, the commissioner could find himself balancing a court order protecting Jeanie’s position against an ownership transition involving one of his longtime acquaintances.