Lakers chief Jeanie Buss grew frustrated with LeBron James’ ego and attitude and even how he reacted to Los Angeles’ decision to draft his son Bronny, a bombshell report has claimed.
The Buss family last year agreed to sell majority ownership of the Lakers to Mark Walter for around $10 billion.
They had been owners of the franchise since 1979 and Jeanie Buss remains governor of the team. But now shock details have emerged about her relationship with NBA legend James.
According to ESPN Buss, 64, ‘privately grumbled’ about ‘what she felt was James’ outsize ego’ and also the ‘overt control’ the 41-year-old and Klutch Sports ‘exerted over the organization at times.’ Klutch Sports is the agency that represents both James and Anthony Davis.
Buss reportedly considered trading James across Los Angeles to the Clippers in 2022, a year after the ‘distance… widened’ between owner and star player.
Lakers chief Jeanie Buss reportedly grew frustrated with LeBron James’ ego and attitude
Jeanie Buss remains governor of the Lakers despite her family no longer owning the team
The Lakers’ controversial decision to draft Bronny James also reportedly caused tension in LA
Back in 2021, Los Angeles traded for Russell Westbrook – a move, according to ESPN, made as part of a bid to ‘appease James’. But the trade failed and Jeanie is said to have ‘privately bristled’ about James’ ‘lack of accountability’ and the way he ‘would shift blame onto others.’
ESPN also claimed that the Lakers’ controversial decision to select Bronny James in the 2024 NBA Draft was another source of frustration for Buss.
LeBron’s eldest son was taken with the 55th overall pick, allowing them to become the first father-son duo to play together in the NBA.
And it’s reported that Buss believed that James ‘should be grateful for such a gesture, but she felt that he wasn’t.’
Later that year, LeBron negotiated a new deal with the Lakers but Buss was said to be ‘resigned to the fact’ that the team had little choice and that she ‘almost begrudgingly accepted’ that the franchise would ‘take a massive PR hit by not doing so.’
The roots of the tension, it seems, stretch back to James’ arrival in 2018, with Buss reportedly unhappy that he was perceived to have chosen the Lakers, rather than the team working to acquire him.
The Daily Mail contacted representatives for James for comment. In the wake of the ESPN report, Buss released a statement to The Athletic. ‘It’s really not right, given all the great things LeBron has done for the Lakers, that he has to be pulled into my family drama,’ it read. ‘To say that it wasn’t appreciated is just not true and completely unfair to him.’
Jerry Buss served as owner of the Lakers until his death in 2013, when the franchise was passed on to his children. Jeanie has served as governor ever since and she reportedly drove the sale to Walter. The 64-year-old is expected to remain in charge for several more years.
