Lakers news: LeBron James responds to alleged Jeannie Bass beef

Family drama never seems to go away Los Angeles Lakers franchise. The sale of the team to new owner Mark Walter only brought to light some allegedly troubling interactions behind the scenes for the Lakers — with alleged resentment of former owner Jeanie Buss according to LeBron James coming to the fore.

That doesn’t help James and the Lakers lost Thursday night to arch-rival Los Angeles Clippers, 112-104, which makes the circumstances around the team feel much worse. And after the game, James wasn’t quite as cheerful as usual.

When asked about the rumored rift between him and Buss, the Lakers star bluntly said that he he doesn’t pay much attention to such reports.

“Honestly, I don’t want to get into that, or the reports, or whatever the case is, I’ve seen a lot of it, obviously. I honestly don’t care about the reports,” James said, via Khobi Price of the California Post .

“I don’t care about the article. I don’t care what anybody thinks about me. If you know me personally then you know what I’m about. These guys know what I’m about, and that’s all. I couldn’t care less what anybody thinks about me.”

LeBron James’ response, in part, when asked how he feels about the support and respect from Lakers ownership in the later stages of his LAL tenure in light of ESPN’s story yesterday:

“Honestly, I don’t want to get involved in that, or the reports, or anything… pic.tvitter.com/HujIcIzgbM

— Khobi Price (@khobi_price) January 23, 2026

LeBron James stands tall amid the Lakers’ power struggle

James, for being arguably the greatest basketball player to ever grace planet Earth, makes a huge impact wherever he goes. The Lakers star has been derided over the past decade for being a “LeGM,” as some believe he has a direct say in his teams’ roster moves.

This was part of what reportedly made Buss so resentful of James, which ultimately led to the sale of the Lakers franchise. But this is simply the price of doing business with a superstar of James’ caliber. And for what it’s worth, he is satisfied with his life there in LA.

“I’m fine. I’m fine,” James said when asked if L.A. was where he wanted to be, per Dan Woike of the Athletics.