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"COMPLETELY UNFAIR": JEANIE BUSS BREAKS HER SILENCE ON THE LEBRON JAMES "EGO" REPORT

Jeanie Buss has slammed a recent ESPN report claiming she was privately critical of LeBron James's influence and outsized ego.

"Completely unfair": Jeanie Buss breaks her silence on the LeBron James "ego" report
Jeanie Buss slams ESPN report alleging she grew "bitter" toward LeBron James

L.A. Lakers governor and minority owner Jeanie Buss isn’t happy with an ESPN report claiming she’s been quietly critical of LeBron James and the sway he holds over the team.

Reporter Baxter Holmes says Buss has complained behind closed doors about LeBron’s big ego and the control he and Klutch Sports sometimes have over the Lakers.

The main focus of the article is the Buss family drama after Jerry Buss died in 2013 and how all that infighting eventually led to the $10-billion sale to Dodgers owner Mark Walter last summer.

Jeanie saw the story about her relationship with LeBron and decided enough was enough. On Thursday, she broke her silence.

“It’s really not right, given all the great things LeBron has done for the Lakers, that he has to be pulled into my family drama,” Buss said in a statement. “To say that it wasn’t appreciated is just not true and completely unfair to him.”

Holmes’ report paints a picture of Buss holding a grudge against LeBron from the moment he joined the team. According to Holmes, Buss didn’t like that people saw LeBron as the franchise’s saviour when he signed in 2018 or that he picked the Lakers instead of the front office winning him over.

She also wasn’t thrilled when the Lakers traded for Russell Westbrook in 2021, mainly to keep LeBron happy. That move turned out to be a disaster, messing up the roster and leaving the Lakers out of the playoffs.

Then there’s the 2024 NBA Draft, where the Lakers picked LeBron’s son, Bronny, with the 55th pick. Holmes claims Buss thought LeBron didn’t show enough gratitude for the team making that call.

Even when it came time to extend LeBron’s contract, Buss apparently wasn’t all in. Holmes reports she felt like she had to do it, just to avoid a PR nightmare, even if she didn’t love the idea.

Jeanie took over the Lakers after her dad, Jerry, passed away in 2013. He bought the team for $67.5 million back in 1979 and led them to 10 NBA titles, with legends like Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaq, and Kobe. Under Jerry, the Lakers missed the playoffs only twice in 34 years and had the league’s best record. Since Jeanie took charge, though, they’ve missed the postseason seven times in 11 years and now sit at 26th in winning percentage.

HAMMER DROPPED: DILLON BROOKS SUSPENDED BY NBA AFTER HITTING 16TH TECHNICAL FOUL LIMIT

Dillon Brooks hits the 16-technical foul limit! Discover the cost of his suspension and how it affects the Phoenix Suns' season.

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Dillon Brooks is the "bad guy" the NBA needs

Dillon Brooks just picked up a one-game suspension from the NBA; his 16th technical foul of the season finally caught up with him. If you’ve followed Brooks at all, this probably doesn’t surprise you. The guy’s known for playing right up to the edge, stirring things up on the court, and, honestly, not backing down from anyone. This latest tech happened in the third quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder, after a run-in with referee James Williams. That was all the NBA needed to drop the hammer.

The league released a pretty standard statement: “Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks has been suspended one game without pay for receiving his 16th technical foul of the 2025-26 season,” signed off by James Jones, who runs basketball ops for the Suns. Because of the suspension, Brooks will lose a chunk of change, $121,403, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

After the game, Brooks sounded tired of the whole thing. “I had a ref tell me that I play the victim, so I ain’t talking no more about that,” he told reporters. “Yeah. He said I’m playing victim all the time. And when I don’t play victim, I’m the bad guy.” When pressed, Brooks didn’t hold back. “If you’re going to be consistently bad, then be consistently bad throughout the whole game. Don’t try to fix it during the game. Don’t try to even out foul calls or whatever it may be. If you’re going to be bad, be bad the whole game.”

The NBA isn’t budging on this one. Brooks will sit out the Suns’ first game after the All-Star break. Hitting 16 technicals in a season triggers an automatic one-game suspension. And it doesn’t stop there; every two more technicals means another game on the bench, no pay.

Brooks is actually having a career year in Phoenix, averaging 21.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.8 assists, shooting 44.1% from the field, 34.3% from three, and 85.6% from the line. But now, with this suspension hanging over him, he’ll have to rein it in if he wants to stay on the court.

This season’s been wild with NBA suspensions, not just Brooks. The massive brawl between the Pistons and Hornets stands out. Four players got tossed and then suspended: Isaiah Stewart (aka Beef Stew) and Jalen Duren for Detroit, and Miles Bridges and Moussa Diabate for Charlotte. Stewart got seven games for charging off the bench and into the fight. Duren, who just made his first All-Star team, got two games but will still play in the All-Star Game. Bridges and Diabate each got four games for “fighting and escalating the altercation”, per the league.

And that’s not all. Jaxson Hayes of the Lakers got suspended for a game after shoving a mascot. Yes, really. He apologised but still had to sit. Rudy Gobert picked up a one-game ban for racking up too many flagrant fouls. Dennis Schroder, back when he was with Sacramento, drew a three-game suspension for a post-game incident with Luka Donci, who he reportedly tried to take a swing at in the arena tunnel. Jose Alvarado and Mark Williams both got two games for fighting earlier in the year.

Then there’s Paul George, who got hit with a whopping 25-game suspension for violating the NBA/NBPA Anti-Drug Program. That’s the longest one in recent memory.

As for who’s next in the technical foul race, Luka Doncic has 13, Stewart has 12, and Draymond Green sits at 11. If any of them hit 16, expect a similar one-game vacation from the league.

MVG MASTERCLASS: MICHAEL VAN GERWEN KNOCKS OUT LUKE LITTLER TO REACH ANTWERP FINAL TODAY

Michael van Gerwen is back! Read how he defeated Luke Littler in Antwerp to secure his second straight Premier League final.

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Michael van Gerwen secures back-to-back Premier League finals in 2026.

Michael van Gerwen is looking like his old self again. He just knocked Luke Littler out of night two at Premier League Darts and did it in style.

Littler, who’s only 19, picked up his first win of the Premier League season on Thursday; he edged out his long-time rival Luke Humphries in a wild match in Antwerp. But that run didn’t last. In the semi-finals, he ran straight into a fired-up Van Gerwen.

Last year was rough for Van Gerwen, no way around it. But now? He’s come roaring back. He won the opening night in Newcastle and just added Littler’s name to his growing list of big wins.

Fans loved it. “That was a quality performance from Van Gerwen! “Back-to-back finals for MVG,” someone posted online. Another said, “If this version of Van Gerwen is here to stay, darts are going to be in a better place by the end of 2026!” The excitement kept rolling—"Darts is always better when MVG plays like this,” one fan wrote. And then: “He is so back. This is his year!” Someone else just put it simply: “MVG is so back, and you love to see it!”

Even on Sky Sports, Dan Dawson couldn’t help himself: “Michael van Gerwen is in back-to-back finals to start this year’s Premier League. The Green Machine sees off The Nuke.”

Littler’s stuck at just two points from the first two weeks, while Van Gerwen could walk away with two weekly wins already.

Now Van Gerwen waits to see if he’ll face Johnny Clayton or Gerwyn Price in the final in Belgium. Both Welshmen got there by beating Stephen Bunting and Gian van Veen.

Littler, on the other hand, really needs a deep run next Thursday in Glasgow to get his campaign back on track. Two points in two weeks just isn’t enough.

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