Rusty Weiss
We tried to tell you. LeBron James forced the Lakers to draft his son, Bronny, who has zero NBA-caliber skills, and then didn’t show the club any appreciation for the move.
An explosive ESPN report published Wednesday has shed new light on behind-the-scenes tensions within the Los Angeles Lakers organization, revealing that former controlling owner Jeanie Buss privately expressed frustration with LeBron over what she perceived as his “outsized ego” and lack of gratitude.
The piece, part of a broader examination of the Buss family infighting that ultimately led to the franchise’s $10 billion sale, details how Jeanie grumbled about the influence exerted by James and his agency, Klutch Sports—representing both James and Anthony Davis—on team decisions.
Sources close to the team told ESPN that these feelings intensified around key moments, including the controversial 2024 NBA Draft selection of James’ son, Bronny James, with the 55th overall pick.
Jeanie Buss began to turn on LeBron James years ago, per @Baxter
— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) January 21, 2026
– Grumbled about James “outsized ego”
– Felt Klutch exerted too much control
– Didn’t like how LeBron was considered a savior
– Lack of accountability over the Westbrook trade
– Privately mused about not giving… pic.twitter.com/OEFNVBgFho
Jeanie Buss, LeBron and the Ungrateful Bronny Drama: The Private Grudge That Helped Sink Their Relationship and the Franchise
Throwing away a draft pick on Bronny, which allowed the elder James to fulfill his long-stated dream of playing alongside his son on the Lakers roster, reportedly became a flashpoint for Buss.
According to people familiar with the situation, she privately remarked that LeBron should have shown more appreciation for the “gesture” of drafting Bronny, but felt he offered little thanks in return.
Jeanie, according to the report, initially “didn’t like that James was considered a savior for a floundering franchise when he arrived in 2018,” and things got worse when they traded for Russell Westbrook “in an effort to appease James.”
“And when the Lakers drafted James’ son Bronny with the 55th pick in the 2024 draft, Jeanie privately remarked that James should be grateful for such a gesture, but she felt that he wasn’t, people close to the team told ESPN,” the report reads.
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Despite these reservations, the Lakers ultimately re-signed James in 2024, with Buss reportedly feeling resigned to the move to avoid a significant public relations fallout.
Jeanie Buss quickly pushed back against portions of the report in a public statement, calling claims that she viewed James as ungrateful “just not true” and emphasizing the positive contributions he has made to the franchise, including helping deliver an NBA championship in 2020.
But where there’s smoke, there’s fire. James held that franchise hostage and forced them to take Bronny in the draft, rather than an actual basketball player who could have helped the team.
The Lakers’ organization forfeited its future by placating its star, wasting a draft pick on Bronny to keep James with the team. They made it clear they would do this to please him. He responded by repeatedly toying with the idea of leaving anyway.
He then, after an early-round playoff exit, said he wasn’t losing sleep over the criticism following the humiliating defeat, while pointing the finger at his teammates instead. This season, he’s served as locker room cancer, taking a Lakers team that was playing with fire and passion and turning them back into a pedestrian team barely over .500.
They should have traded him and gotten what they could to build an actual contender, something they definitely aren’t right now. Instead, Buss sold the team.
This effort by LeBron to completely tank a storied franchise should be studied in sports management classes for decades to come, teaching students how to deal with stars’ egos and navigate their way to finding actual loyal players interested in the team and not just themselves or their kid.
Bronny, meanwhile, has contributed a stellar 1.5 points per game this season, across 24 games, shooting just 32.5 percent from the floor. That FG% is actually an improvement over last season, when he shot 31.3 percent. Amazing.