Shams Charania has defended his coverage of the Lakers ownership battle after Jeanie Buss’ attorney disputed how ESPN characterized the Buss family’s vote.
The disagreement centers on whether Charania claimed every Buss sibling supported selling the family’s remaining 17.8% interest. Charania says that was never his reporting.
“That letter included my name in it, which I do find interesting,” Charania said. “I do have to make it clear, I fully stand by my reporting.”
He specifically challenged the wording used by attorney Adam Streisand.
“The first line of the statement from the lawyer said that I reported that the six Buss siblings voted to sell,” Charania said. “That key sentence right there is inaccurate.”
ESPN’s account instead indicated that enough family members backed the transaction for the trust to move forward, with at least five siblings supporting it and four votes reportedly needed.
Streisand also accused Joey and Jesse Buss of a “years-long pattern” of feeding Charania “false, defamatory and pernicious” information intended to undermine the Lakers while Jeanie carried out Jerry Buss’ wishes.
The bigger issue is now whether the family vote has legal authority. Jeanie’s side argues that existing trust provisions and a 2017 court ruling protect her ability to remain the Lakers’ governor and prevent her siblings from independently forcing the sale.
The conflict emerged after Mark Walter reached an agreement to transfer control of the Lakers to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger at a $12.5 billion valuation.
Lakers ownership chaos intensifies as ESPN insider fires back at Jeanie Buss camp https://t.co/9myQwsUBW7 pic.twitter.com/rjM2icz0z1
— New York Post (@nypost) August 18, 2026
