LOS ANGELES — Siblings of Jeanie Buss filed a reply in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday rejecting her claim that they had mounted a 'false flag operation'. They urged a judge to let the family sell its remaining 17.8% stake in the Lakers. The filing marked the latest escalation in the dispute over the franchise's future.

The papers responded directly to Jeanie Buss's filing late last week. In it, the Lakers governor accused her siblings of disguising their motives in pursuing a sale. According to reports in late October, that sale would go to a group involving Josh Kushner and the former Disney chief executive Bob Iger. Lawyers for the siblings said the accusation had no factual basis and argued that the family trust was entitled to sell the shares.

The stake is what remains of the Buss family's holding after Mark Walter agreed in 2025 to buy a controlling interest in the club. That deal valued the Lakers at about $10bn. Under NBA rules, a team governor must hold at least 15% of the franchise. A sale of the family's shares would therefore end Jeanie Buss's role as governor, a position she has held since her father, Jerry Buss, died in 2013.

The reply sets the terms for a hearing scheduled for next week, as reported by Yahoo Sports. A judge is expected to decide at that hearing whether the transaction can proceed.

Jeanie Buss has asked the court to block the sale. Her filings argue that the arrangement would undermine the governance structure her father left in place.

The NBA did not comment on the litigation on Monday. A sale would still require approval from the league's board of governors. The dispute has unfolded as the Lakers begin their regular season without LeBron James, who left the club in the summer, leaving the franchise's identity on and off the court in flux.