NBA commissioner Adam Silver is expected to try to help resolve the growing dispute within the Buss family over the proposed sale of the Los Angeles Lakers’ remaining family stake, according to Sports Business Journal.
The dispute centers on the Buss family’s 17.8% stake and a transaction that would give Bob Iger and Josh Kushner roughly 83% ownership of the Lakers at a reported $12.5 billion valuation. Shams Charania reported that five of the six Buss siblings voted to approve the sale, with Jeanie Buss the lone opposing vote.
Sports Business Journal reported that Silver, who has long been close with Buss, is expected to attempt to smooth over the family conflict as the ownership transition moves forward.
Buss, through attorney Adam Streisand, is challenging the validity of the vote. Streisand argued in a letter obtained by CNBC that Buss’ status as the Lakers’ controlling owner requires her to retain that position for life and that the vote approving the sale is therefore void.
The letter also demands that representatives of the Buss family trust publicly confirm that Buss remains the Lakers’ controlling owner and refrain from taking action based on the disputed vote. Streisand further contends that any sale of the trust’s shares requires approval from all three co-trustees: Jeanie, Janie and Joey Buss.
The conflict emerged after an emergency meeting of the Buss siblings, which ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported was called to discuss dissolving the family trust and potentially transferring the family’s shares into a new trust that would keep them intact for four years. According to ESPN, the meeting did not include discussion of a pending sale involving then-Lakers owner Mark Walter, Iger and Kushner.
Walter’s agreement to sell the Lakers followed the next day, with Sports Business Journal describing the situation as less straightforward than the Minnesota Timberwolves’ ownership restructuring involving Marc Lore, Marc Stad and Alex Rodriguez.
The reported $12.5 billion valuation would represent a major increase from the Lakers’ approximately $10 billion valuation just over a year earlier. The sale, however, now faces uncertainty because Buss continues to contest the family’s vote and the authority to transfer its remaining stake.
The dispute comes during a significant transition for the Lakers on the court. Los Angeles finished the 2025-26 regular season 53-29 and fourth in the Western Conference before Oklahoma City swept the team in the second round of the playoffs.
Luka Doncic averaged 33.5 points, 8.3 assists and 7.7 rebounds last season, while Austin Reaves averaged 23.3 points and 5.5 assists. LeBron James subsequently left the Lakers in free agency, and the franchise added Walker Kessler while signing Reaves to a four-year, $184.8 million extension.
With the Lakers entering a new era around Doncic, the Buss family dispute has placed the franchise’s ownership structure at the center of its offseason. Silver’s expected involvement could become significant if the NBA seeks to avoid a prolonged conflict surrounding one of its most valuable franchises.
