Jesse Buss
American sports executive
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Jesse Buss is an American sports executive. From 2006 to 2025, he worked for the Los Angeles Lakers. He was known as the team’s “draft guru.”[1][2]
Career
Lakers
Buss began working for the Lakers in 2006, as a basketball operations assistant.[3] In 2008, he became a scout;[4] in 2011, scouting coordinator;[4] in 2013, scouting director;[3] and in 2015, an assistant general manager.[5]
For the next decade, together with his brother Joey, Buss played a key role in the Lakers’ scouting and player-development operation. They helped to find and cultivate key role players such as Max Christie,[1] Jordan Clarkson,[6] Josh Hart,[7] Austin Reaves,[1] Julius Randle,[3] and Ivica Zubac.[8]
Buss was involved in the NBA draft year-round,[6] playing a leading role in the Lakers’ draft strategy.[9][1] According to Fox Sports, Jesse and Joey “have been praised for their roles in the Lakers’ successful drafts and free-agent signings.”[10]
When Jerry Buss died in 2013, ownership of the Lakers transitioned to a trust controlled by his children.[11][12] (Jesse is Jerry’s youngest child[13] and was born in the 1980s to Jerry’s girlfriend Karen Demel.)[14]
In June 2025, Mark Walter, the chairman of the Los Angeles Dodgers, agreed to buy the controlling interest of the Lakers from the Buss family, at a $10 billion valuation.[15] At the time, this valuation was the highest for a professional sports franchise.[16] The NBA’s board of governors approved the sale in October 2025.[17]
In November 2025, as part of overhauling the scouting staff,[18][2] the Lakers fired Buss, along with his brother Joey, the team’s alternate governor, vice president of research and development, and president of the team’s G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers.[19] Both Buss brothers retained their minority ownership shares.[18]
Buss Sports Capital
In September 2025, Joey and Jesse created Buss Sports Capital, an investment company specializing in sports.[20][21]
Left Coast Legends
Buss is the program director for a youth basketball program, the Left Coast Legends, which is part of the Amateur Athletic Union.[22] In 2025, Buss donated a basketball court to the Bel Air Presbyterian School, where the Legends practice.[23]
Personal life
In 2023, Buss married Sarah Jordan, at their home in Los Angeles. They have two sons.[24]
As of November 2025, Buss has been dealing with an unspecified illness for several years, for which he receives immunotherapy treatments.[1]