Jeanie Buss went against her father’s wishes to make a $10 billion sale

Publish Los Angeles Lakers‘ sale to Mark Walter, much has been said about how sales have declinedconsidering Jeanie BussThe father, Jerry, never wanted to sell the franchise. However, the NBA fraternity remained blindsided, Jeanie herself ultimately decided to approve the salesomething her brother Johnny he didn’t see it coming himselfper ESPN.

“I really have no idea why Ginny decided to do this. Honestly, if she had a reason, I didn’t want to hear it. I didn’t talk to her. I didn’t talk to her about it. All I know is she voted to sell,” he said.

While he admitted he didn’t understand her sudden change after years of resisting the sale, he also made it clear he wasn’t interested in hearing her justification. Johnny confirmed that he never directly discussed the decision with Ginny and only knew that she ultimately voted to sell the team.

Behind the scenes, Jesse and Joey Buss pressed Jeannie for her reasoning in a series of meetings, according to people familiar with the conversations. Gina’s explanation kept coming back to finance and competitiveness.

She expressed doubt that the Buss family, without the backing of billionaire wealth, could continue to keep the Lakers at the top level in a league increasingly dominated by ultra-wealthy owners.

Jesse and Joey strongly disagreed with that logic. They believed Gini was applying a model more relevant to baseball than basketball, where spending power can directly buy the benefits of a roster. In the NBA, they argued, the collective bargaining agreement sharply limits that kind of financial advantage.

The brothers pointed to recent playoff teams like Oklahoma City and Indiana as evidence that smart management and development, not owner wealth, were the true differentiators. The brothers also wondered why, if money was really the main concern, the family didn’t try to sell their majority stake on the open market.

They believed a competitive bidding process could have pushed the Lakers’ valuation significantly higher, potentially to $12 billion or more. All of this took place against the backdrop of Jerry Bass’ long-stated wish that the Lakers remain a family franchise for generations.