Jeanie or Jim? Who Should lead the Lakers?

Jason Barquero
7 Min Read
Dr. Jerry Buss at a Los Angeles Lakers victory party hosted by owner Dr. Jerry Buss and coach Phil Jackson at the Mondrian Hotel in West Hollywood, Ca. Sunday, June 16, 2002. Photo by Kevin Winter/ImageDirect.

Under the Buss family, the team has reached the NBA Finals 16 out of the 31 years under their ownership. 

The Lakers have won 9 NBA titles.  More than any other owner in the four big professional team sports!

And as if that wasn’t enough, the Lakers are now worth anywhere from 600 to 700 million dollars.  Not bad for a kid from Wyoming who purchased the Lakers, the L.A. Kings, the Forum, and a ranch from the late Jack Kent Cooke for only $67.5 million.

Much has been written about the Buss family and their eccentric past; so I won’t spend too much time down that road. 

But few have shared their opinion about who should be at the top of the Lakers ladder when Dr. Buss is no longer capable to run the team. 

Who should be the face of the Los Angeles Lakers – one of the most storied franchises in the entire world?

Who should accept the NBA Finals trophy for years to come?

Who should be the one to make the final decisions on player transactions?

The Buss family is large and more of them are involved with the team that you might think.

There is Johnny, Jim, Jeanie, and Janie from his first marriage. 

Then there are the much younger Joey and Jesse; 25 and 22 respectively.  Jesse is a business student at LMU and the only one of his children that lives with him.  Joey on the other hand has been very much involved as President of the “D-Fenders” NBA development team and is seen by Jerry Buss to have the business acumen of a Jeanie Buss.

With just about every sibling of the Buss family involved with the Lakers in some shape or form, it really has come down to two people that have been running the Lake Show for some time now.

Jeanie and Jim.

Next: Who Should Run the Team?