"It was just a Game of Thrones"- Brian Windhorst admires how Jeanie Buss orchestrated $10 billion L.A. Lakers sale

The Buss family is among the most recognized ownership dynasties in the NBA, thanks to their association with the Los Angeles Lakers. A partnership that spanned 46 years ended ahead of the 2025-26 season, with Jeanie Buss reportedly leading the $10 billion sale.

The sudden change in ownership was indeed surprising to many, given the Buss family’s special status in NBA history. Nonetheless, Jeanie remained the minority owner and governor of the Lakers. With the season kicking off soon, it was business as usual for a couple of months.

However, then came ESPN’s Baxter Holmes’ controversial report detailing decades of tensions and friction among the six children of the late Jerry Buss. At the center of it was Jeanie, who had been the controlling owner for several years now. No surprises, the story went viral in no time.

Recently, Brian Windhorst shared some key takeaways from the Buss family saga, even comparing it to the award-winning television series, Game of Thrones.

“So it’s fascinating because it’s a family, and like great stories in the history of humankind are intertwined with family. But the Lakers’ family decision-making was actually very simple. Jeanie Buss is the most powerful of the Buss children,”said Windy on “The Rich Eisen Show”, summarizing the entire sequence of events and the bottom line.

Windy breaks it down

Popular for his coverage of LeBron James since his high school days in Akron, Windhorst is widely revered across the media industry. The 48-year-old has been in the business long enough to know how power dynamics work, whether at the player, executive, or ownership levels. Hence, his assessment of the Buss family infighting surely carried a lot of weight.

Brian pointed out that it was a game of four votes, with Jeanie benefiting most of the time. She had two older and two younger brothers, with whom she aligned at different stages of decision-making. Not to mention, her most loyal supporter and younger sister, Janie Buss. Interestingly, when it came to selling, the older siblings were at a significant disadvantage.

“They each had 11 percent of the team, which is worth billion dollars. Each time one of they die, they don’t get to take that 11 percent and pass it to their heirs. It goes back into the trust. So the last family member standing gets the whole 66 percent,” he said.

“So Jeanie then flipped it, and the older siblings, who are much older than the younger ones, are like, ‘Yeah, we’d like to have our hundreds of millions now. We’ll vote with you.’ And so she just flipped it, and she did that. It was just a Game of Thrones,” added the ESPN veteran, who was certainly impressed with Jeanie’s business acumen.

Jeanie had the foresight

One could argue that Jeanie planned and manipulated situations and individuals to gain power. However, at the same time, she did what was the correct thing to do in terms of running a storied franchise such as the Lakers.

“In all honesty, like, how could you not be impressed with like her acumen? She obviously is very much closer to her friends and her co-workers with the Lakers than she is to her family. She took care of them. She took care of herself, and she stayed in the job…She got hundreds of millions, got rid of everybody in her family, and stayed in the job for sure,” added Windy.

No doubt, Windhorst makes a valid argument. Nevertheless, unlike the fictional nature of Game of Thrones, this was real life, and as fans and well-wishers, especially of the late Dr. Buss, one hopes the six siblings can resolve their issues in the coming years.

This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Feb 16, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

“It was just a Game of Thrones”- Brian Windhorst admires how Jeanie Buss orchestrated $10 billion L.A. Lakers sale

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