The Los Angeles Lakers have fired Joey Buss and Jesse Buss from their executive positions, severing ties with two of the late owner Jerry Buss’ sons in a major front-office shakeup.
The brothers, who are younger siblings of controlling owner Jeanie Buss, confirmed their departures in a statement to ESPN on Thursday.
“We are extremely honored to have been part of this organization for the last 20 seasons,” the statement read.
The move ends the long tenure of the Buss brothers within the franchise’s basketball operations. Jesse Buss served as assistant general manager and director of scouting, credited with helping draft key players in recent years. Joey Buss held the title of vice president of research and development and served as president of the South Bay Lakers, the team’s G League affiliate.
The firings come just two months after the brothers announced the launch of Buss Sports Capital, an independent investment firm targeting the global sports market. At the time of the launch in September, the brothers stated they intended to remain in their roles with the Lakers.
Statement from Joey and Jesse Buss: “We are extremely honored to have been part of this organization for the last 20 seasons. Thank you to Laker Nation for embracing our family every step of the way. We wish things could be different with the way our time ended with the team. At… https://t.co/2w3vjXWZ98
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 20, 2025
What This Means for Jeanie Buss and the Family Legacy
This restructuring marks the definitive end of Dr. Jerry Buss’s dream of a collective family dynasty. When the patriarch passed away in 2013, he left the team to his six children with a specific vision: they would run the franchise together, with each sibling playing a role in maintaining the “Laker way.”
The Consolidation of Power: For Jeanie Buss, this move is the final act in a decade-long consolidation of power. It echoes her decisive 2017 firing of her brother Jim Buss, proving once again that she prioritizes the organization’s operational efficiency over family ties. By removing Joey and Jesse, Jeanie has eliminated the last potential internal centers of influence that could challenge her direction or that of the new majority ownership group. She is now effectively the sole Buss voice in the room, transforming the Lakers from a “mom-and-pop” family business into a streamlined corporate entity.
The Transition to the Mark Walter Era: The timing is impossible to ignore. With the recent sale of majority ownership to Mark Walter’s group, the Lakers are pivoting toward a new corporate structure. While Jeanie remains the face of the franchise and its Governor, the exit of her brothers signals that the “Buss Family Business” era is functionally over. The new ownership likely views the front office as a meritocracy rather than a birthright, and cleaning the slate allows for a modernized infrastructure that isn’t tethered to complex family dynamics.
A Legacy Fractured:Â Ultimately, this reshuffling underscores the difficulty of dynastic succession in professional sports. Dr. Buss’s hope was that his children would be “last man standing” together; instead, the pressures of winning and modernizing the NBA’s crown jewel have slowly chipped away at the family participation. The Buss name remains on the masthead, but the operational reality is now vastly different from the familial collaborative Jerry Buss envisioned.
The Lakers did not immediately name replacements for the vacated positions.
