“If You Love the Lakers..” Jeanie Buss Shares Statement After Latest Deal

Just weeks ago, Jeanie Buss fought to block the sale of the Buss family's remaining stake in the franchise she's led since 2013. She's back in Lakers headlines for a very different reason, as she took to social media with a simple message.

"If you love the Lakers, you will most likely love this. It's OFFICIAL - everything about the purple and gold," Buss tweeted, as she tagged publisher TASCHEN in the announcement.

The tweet confirmed what had been building behind the scenes. The Lakers partnered with TASCHEN to release "Lakers: An Official History of the Purple & Gold," described as the definitive authorized history book of the franchise.

It's a hefty release too, running 528 pages and covering seven decades of Lakers history both on and off the court. It includes the team's deep ties to Hollywood and its role in shaping basketball culture at large.

The list of names attached to the project gives a sense of the scale Buss and TASCHEN are going for. The book includes a foreword from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and an afterword from Phil Jackson, along with essays from figures like LeBron James, Shaquille O'Neal, Magic Johnson, Jack Nicholson, Paula Abdul, and Flea. Vikki Tobak edited the project, and Buss herself contributed the book's introduction.

In her official statement, Buss noted. "The Lakers are a global phenomenon," she said. "No other team has turned athletes into icons or left a legacy quite like the Lakers. Players, coaches, and fans have made this franchise about so much more than a game – they've created an unforgettable show that has been playing for 79 seasons."

The book's arrival lands at a strange moment for Buss personally. Earlier this year, her family voted to sell its remaining 17.8% stake in the Lakers to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner. A move that will strip Buss of the governor title she's held since her father Jerry Buss's death, since NBA rules require a governor to hold at least 15% ownership.

Buss had reportedly pushed back on the sale before her siblings ultimately moved forward with it, closing out 47 years of Buss family ownership.

An authorized history book bearing her introduction reads as more than just a merchandising push. It's Buss putting her own stamp on how the franchise's story gets told just as her family's direct control over that story is coming to an end. A "love letter," as she put it, to a legacy she helped build and is now handing off, even if not entirely on her own terms.