Joey and Jesse Buss explore NBA Europe ownership bids, with reported interest in Padres stake

Joey and Jesse Buss, the sons of late Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss, are reportedly seeking ownership opportunities tied to NBA Europe and are also drawing interest in a stake in Major League Baseball’s San Diego Padres, according to The Athletic reports cited by Yahoo Sports. The proposal angle, framed through the Buss family’s new venture, highlights how the Buss name remains active in major-league sports ownership circles even after their departure from the Lakers front office.

The Buss brothers’ renewed focus comes after their roles in Los Angeles’ organization ended last fall, shortly after Mark Walter’s purchase of the Lakers was approved. The timing is notable because the transition to a new ownership group altered who held day-to-day influence inside one of the NBA’s most storied franchises, even as the league’s long-term brand and global footprint became increasingly central to ownership strategies.

In the reporting, Joey Buss and Jesse Buss are said to have made multiple bids for NBA Europe ownership through Buss Sports Capital. While the details of those bids are not described in the Yahoo Sports item, the core idea is clear: rather than limiting their investment activity to the NBA’s United States footprint, they are looking at the league’s international growth pathway through an ownership structure associated with NBA Europe.

The same reporting also connects their investing interests to the Padres, a franchise with a passionate San Diego market and a competitive roster-building approach in recent years. The Yahoo Sports write-up does not claim any agreement or closing of a deal, but it does place the Padres stake idea in the category of “interested” rather than “completed,” underscoring that the brothers appear to be exploring options rather than executing them publicly.

For context, the Buss family’s historical relationship with the Lakers goes beyond ownership in the narrow legal sense. Jerry Buss built an ownership identity that mixed entertainment influence, global marketing, and basketball decision-making. With that legacy now spread across new investors and corporate entities, bids for an NBA Europe ownership role can be read as a continuation of the Buss pattern: identify major sport platforms where brand reach and capital investment intersect, and seek a governance stake that shapes how the product grows.

The next question is whether NBA Europe ownership becomes a realistic pathway for the Buss brothers’ capital strategy, and whether any talks surrounding the Padres move beyond reports. As of this writing, the available information is limited to interest and bids described by The Athletic through Yahoo Sports, so there is no basis to outline specific transaction terms, valuation expectations, or timelines. Still, their activity indicates that the Buss name may remain a factor in both NBA international expansion and cross-sport ownership conversations.