In his 23rd NBA season and the last of his contract with the Lakers, LeBron James would no longer be popular with Jeanie Buss, director of the Lakers and former majority owner of the legendary Los Angeles franchise.
L’insider Baxter Holmes d’ESPN dropped a huge stone on the process that led to the sale of the Lakers last June (for $10 billion to Mark Walter), focusing in particular on the internal conflicts of the Buss family.
Jeanie represents the main character of the story, and her relationship with some important members of the Lakers is highlighted. Among these? LeBron James.
Spoiler alert, it’s not true love between the two.
FULL Conversation Between LeBron James, Jeanie Buss & Linda Rambis👀:
LeBron: “Happy International Women’s Day”
Buss & Rambis: “Thank you”
Then, Bron said: « Y’all are two of the most powerful women in sports… Y’all deserve it.” pic.twitter.com/0uiM2NwieW
— LegendZ (@legendz_prod) March 9, 2024
Remember that viral image, with LeBron and Jeanie Buss sitting side by side in the front row, for a nice hug on International Women’s Day? It was in March 2024 during a Lakers – Bucks match. The moment was nice but obviously, things were much less rosy behind the scenes.
Amid much turmoil and criticism over her handling of the Lakers following the death of her father Jerry (in 2013), which coincided with years of athletic mediocrity, Jeanie began to “turn her back” on several Lakers figures, including LeBron.
Here is how this translates, point by point, with very concrete examples:
- A frustration with LeBron’s “oversized” ego and the influence exerted by Klutch Sports (Rich Paul’s agency, which represents LeBron), always ready to put pressure – privately or in public / directly or indirectly – to get what James wants.
- Jeanie didn’t appreciate that James was considered the “savior of the franchise” when he arrived in 2018, after five disastrous seasons without the Playoffs. Buss believes that Lakers executives were not properly appreciated for recruiting the King.
- The transfer of Russell Westbrook to the Lakers in the summer of 2021 greatly weakened their relationship. As a reminder, LeBron pushed for the recruitment of Brodie, a transaction that plagued the Lakers for several years. Jeanie Buss believes that James “did not take his share of responsibility” in this fiasco, and that he instead “blamed others”.
- Jeanie’s frustration was such that she would have considered not extending LeBron or even transferring him to 2023-24.
- Jeanie Buss believes LeBron isn’t grateful enough to the Lakers for drafting her son Bronny in 2024.
- Buss reluctantly agreed to offer James a new contract in the summer of 2024, to avoid public criticism.
When you read all of this, it’s hard to imagine a future in which James remains in Los Angeles after the 2025-26 season, even if Jeanie is no longer the majority owner of the franchise and therefore her influence is no longer the same.
Maybe that means the King will retire in a few months. Maybe he’ll do his last dance somewhere else. But James in a Lakers jersey is an image we shouldn’t see for much longer…
Well well well…
Holy shit. There is one thing that is very clear, it is that the Jeanie Buss – LeBron relationship is a storm in the air… https://t.co/hRgq7uZZWo
— TrashTalk (@TrashTalk_fr) January 21, 2026
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