Jeanie responded to ESPN's report: The claim that the Lakers are ungrateful for LeBron's contributions is completely untrue and extremely unfair to him.

On January 22 Beijing time, an ESPN article about tensions between Jeanie Buss and LeBron James caused a stir. Jeanie Buss, as a central figure in the story, responded to the matter.

Jeanie Buss issued a statement to The Athletic about ESPN's report today, which contained information about her relationship with LeBron. She said, "LeBron has made tremendous contributions to the Lakers, and it’s completely wrong that he’s being dragged into our family disputes. Saying the team doesn’t appreciate his efforts is simply false and deeply unfair to him."

Previously, in ESPN’s report, journalist Baxter revealed that the conflict between Jeanie and LeBron has a long history, with the main points summarized as follows—

In 2022, Jeanie privately considered not offering LeBron a new contract and even thought about trading him, mentioning the Los Angeles Clippers as a potential destination.

Jeanie privately complained that LeBron was "overly arrogant" and expressed dissatisfaction with his agency, Klutch Sports Group (which also represents Anthony Davis), accusing them of exerting "blatant control" over the Lakers’ management.

Jeanie had long harbored resentment over LeBron being hailed as the "savior" of the Lakers when he joined in 2018, and her dissatisfaction grew further after the team acquired Russell Westbrook in 2021. She believed the trade was intended to please LeBron but ultimately failed, with Westbrook traded away the following year. LeBron’s "lack of accountability and tendency to shift blame onto others" during this process deeply annoyed Jeanie.

Additionally, reports say Jeanie felt LeBron showed no gratitude when the Lakers used the 55th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft to select his son, Bronny James. Despite her grievances, Jeanie had to face reality: a new contract had to be offered in 2024 to avoid a major PR crisis for the team. Reluctantly, she agreed to the extension.

Currently, LeBron has not responded to the above reports, but regardless of the truth, Jeanie clearly does not want to be embroiled in the controversy and took the initiative to respond first.