LeBron James’s Agent Had Blunt Four-Word Response to ESPN’s Jeanie Buss Report

ESPN released a new report on Lakers star LeBron James’s and governor Jeanie Buss’s souring relationship. | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

LeBron James’s agent Rich Paul didn’t waste any time responding to a stunning ESPN article that shed light on a reportedly souring relationship between his client and Lakers governor Jeanie Buss.

In the report, ESPN’s Baxter Holmes wrote about Buss being peeved by James’s “outsized ego and the overt control that he and Klutch Sports... exerted over the organization at times.” Buss also reportedly wasn’t happy when James didn’t seem grateful after the Lakers drafted his son Bronny in 2024.

Small and irksome moments like those led to Buss beginning to “turn against” James, per Holmes, but Paul denied any such narrative taking place in Los Angeles. Instead, he suggested the ESPN report was another example of clickbait and should be taken with a heaping of salt.

“Who gives a s---?” Paul said, on the Game Over podcast with Max Kellerman. “I don’t.”

Rich Paul responds to the ESPN article about Jeanie Buss and LeBron James

“Who gives a sh*t… I seen some stuff that came out and obviously they talked about different scenarios in terms of the power we have may have.”

(h/t @HeatCulture13)pic.twitter.com/JkgqOteYbi

— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) January 21, 2026

Paul went on to throw water on the reported simmering drama between James and Buss while also defending his client:

“You don’t know what’s true, what’s not true,” Paul said. “Where there’s smoke there’s fire. But what I will say is, I seen some of the stuff that came out about it, and obviously they talked about different scenarios in terms of the power that [James and I] may have and whatever. Here’s all I know, all I know is this. There’s an appreciation for guys like Michael Irvin—there should be, our legends. And there d--- sure should be appreciation for a guy like LeBron.

“... What I know is from the time we got in L.A., we’ve been treated great. There was a championship won. We played Rummikub in the bubble. Had a great time, lunch everyday. I think when people see things are going well, they try their best to poke holes and try to manipulate relationships and things like that. And in any relationship, no matter who it is, no matter how long you’ve been with somebody, there’s gonna be some type of annoyance at some point. ... There’s just nothing to talk about there.”

A pretty resounding response from Paul, who has worked with LeBron for over a decade since founding his agency, Klutch Sports.

Buss also personally responded with a statement to The Athletic, calling the rumors of their relationship “unfair” to James and essentially denying the ESPN article.

James, for his part, probably wants to keep his focus on basketball amid the recent drama and hasn’t yet responded to the report. The 41-year-old is in the middle of a historic 23rd—and potentially final—season in the NBA with free agency looming on the horizon. Even in his twilight years, there’s been no shortage of articles written about him, his working partnership with fellow star Luka Dončić, and now, his reportedly strained relationship to Buss. Expect plenty more to come out of the woodwork by the season’s end.

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