The Los Angeles Lakers’ massive $10 billion sale has the NBA world buzzing. Mark Walter is set to become the team’s new majority owner, but Jeanie Buss, the team’s longtime governor, isn’t leaving just yet. According to reports, she’ll stay on as governor and continue running the team.
While that may sound like a steady transition on paper, fans across social media have raised eyebrows and drawn comparisons to another high-profile NBA ownership shakeup.
NBA Fans Compare Jeanie Buss’ Agreement to Mark Cuban’s Mavericks Fallout
The internet erupted as news broke out over the Lakers’ ownership shift. The $10 billion deal makes the Lakers the most expensive team in American sports history, and the NBA world was buzzing about how the new management will take the franchise forward.
But as part of the deal, the current governor of the Lakers, Buss, will continue to run the team’s affairs.
Senior ESPN writer Ramona Shelburne tweeted an update on the deal:
“Important to note. Jeanie Buss will not only remain the Lakers governor, but will continue to run the team for ‘at least a number of years,’ according to sources with knowledge of the deal. In other words, it was guaranteed as part of the agreement that Jeanie Buss would remain in charge for the foreseeable future & Mark Walter fully endorsed this plan, according to sources.”
But the internet wasn’t buying it right away.
One fan simply responded, “Ask Mark Cuban how that went,” referring to Cuban’s headline-making exit from basketball operations just months after selling his majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks.
Ask Mark Cuban how that went
— Clever Endeavor (@ryanculver) June 18, 2025
Another fan echoed the skepticism, writing, “Just like how Cuban still runs the Mavs right? I give her until December.”
Just like how Cuban still runs the Mavs right? I give her until December
— pharmAziz (@pharmaziz) June 19, 2025
Others joined in quickly, with one user saying, “Ya ya ya, and Mark Cuban is running the Mavs.”
Ya ya ya, and Mark Cuban is running the Mavs
— Pritching Hour (@PritchingHour) June 18, 2025
To understand the context, fans are pointing to what happened in December 2023. Cuban sold the Mavericks for $3.5 billion to the Adelson and Dumont families and was expected to retain full control of basketball operations, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. But things didn’t go as planned.
The comparisons didn’t stop there. One fan posted, “Sounds like the Mavericks situation and we all saw how that turned out.”
Sounds like the mavericks situation and we all saw how that turned out
— OBA 🏧 (@1_un_known_) June 19, 2025
While another said bluntly, “Laker fans can’t be happy about that.”
Laker fans can’t be happy about that
— Courtside Commentary (@Courtsidecom) June 18, 2025
Shortly after the Mavs’ sale, Cuban admitted that he lost control over the franchise he had steered for so many years.Sports Illustrated reported about now-deleted Facebook comments where Cuban had a back and fourth with a former Mavericks’ event and marketing director, Gavin Mulloy.
In one of the comments, Cuban wrote, “Actually, I fully expected to run basketball. The NBA wouldn’t let me put it in the contract. They took it out… I thought they would stick to their word because they didn’t know the first thing about running a team.”
That revelation sparked widespread discussion. Many believed Cuban had been pushed aside despite public reassurances. Now, fans worry the same could happen to Buss, especially since the Buss family is giving up their majority stake, and retain just over 15% of the team.
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But Shelburne doubled down on her report, saying this case is different. In a follow-up post, she wrote, “This will be different than Cuban and the Mavericks sale. This is guaranteed, and has always been part of the setup since Walter bought the minority stake in 2021 and got first right of refusal. They’ve built a strong relationship over the last decade.”
The key difference, according to Shelburne, is that Buss and Walter have been preparing for this transition for years. Walter, who also owns the Los Angeles Dodgers, has developed close ties with Buss and reportedly endorsed her continued leadership from day one.
Still, fans remain cautious. The Cuban saga is fresh in the minds of many, and the idea of a former majority owner still running things has become harder to believe.