Lakers' Jeanie Buss accuses siblings of 'cloak and dagger' tactics - ESPN

In a court filing this week, Jeanie Buss accused her siblings of conspiring against her in a «cloak and dagger» campaign through the media, said they were jealous that their father picked her over them to govern the Los Angeles Lakers and asked a judge to block her siblings' attempt to sell the family's shares in the team, which would end her run as the Lakers' governor.

Wednesday's filing, reviewed by ESPN, is the latest salvo in the bitter legal battle playing out between Jeanie and her siblings, namely Joey and Jesse Buss, leading up to a scheduled Dec. 8 hearing in Los Angeles Superior Court.

The filing responds to recent filings by Jeanie's siblings, who are seeking to sell the family's remaining shares of the Lakers to the Bob Iger and Josh Kushner ownership group, who are seeking to buy the team from Mark Walter at a $12.5 billion valuation.

«The conflicts that ensued after Dr. (Jerry) Buss's death (in 2013) were sadly inevitable, and no doubt intensified given that Dr. Buss chose his daughter over four sons to be his successor,» Jeanie's lawyers wrote in Wednesday filing.

«Respondents' obsession with tearing down Jeanie and their inability to accept that she would be a part of the Lakers' future is borne of this classic succession parable.»

In 2025, Walter bought a majority stake in the Lakers from the Buss family at a $10 billion valuation. During that sale, the Buss family retained a 17.82% stake, just above the NBA's 15% minimum for the family to retain control. The family also received go-along rights. On Aug. 17, ESPN's Shams Charania reported that Johnny, Jim, Janie, Joey and Jesse Buss had voted to sell the remaining family shares to Iger and Kushner using those go-along rights.

Each sibling stands to make