There always seems to be drama surrounding the Los Angeles Lakers organization, and that has again been the case in recent months with the Buss family selling their controlling ownership stake to Mark Walter for a record $10 billion valuation.
A report came out digging into the details behind why Jeanie Buss and her family decided to sell, but one other important detail came from it as well.
According to the report, Jeanie’s relationship with Lakers star LeBron James has been fractured in recent years. There are various reasons for that, including his lack of accountability for the Russell Westbrook trade, his contract demands, and the lack of appreciation he showed after the organization drafted his son Bronny in 2024. It even went as far as to state that Buss attempted to trade James back in 2022.
As is the case with all reports, there probably is some truth in there, although it could also be overblown.
Nonetheless, Jeanie released a statement to Sam Amick of The Athletic addressing the report and her relationship with James:
Lakers governor Jeanie Buss issued this statement to @TheAthletic in response to today’s ESPN story, which includes reporting about her relationship with LeBron James.
“It’s really not right, given all the great things LeBron has done for the Lakers, that he has to be pulled…
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) January 21, 2026
Jeanie and LeBron had seemed to have a good working relationship over the years, but Wednesday’s report obviously had details saying otherwise.
Even though she sold her controlling ownership stake in the Lakers, Buss is expected to remain Governor of the organization for at least the next five years. With that being the case, it makes sense for her to try to smooth things over with James so things don’t get toxic, even if this could be his final season with the team.
It remains to be seen how James feels about this report and Jeanie in general, but one of his biggest strengths has always been blocking out the noise surrounding him and focusing on the task at hand, which is the current Lakers season as they are in the thick of a tight Western Conference playoff race.
LeBron James shouts out Lakers’ teammate Luka Doncic
James’ streak of 21 consecutive seasons being named a starter for the NBA All-Star Game came to an end this year. However, his Lakers teammate Luka Doncic was the leading vote getter for this year’s contest and LeBron made sure to shout him out for this accomplishment.
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