The Los Angeles Lakers fired Joey and Jesse Buss, the two sons of the late and legendary owner of the Los Angeles franchise, Jerry Buss, as executives on Thursday, weeks after the NBA approved the sale of the team to businessman Mark Walter.

The dismissal of both brothers, who served as vice president of research and development and assistant general manager, respectively, amid a reorganization of the Lakers' basketball operations department, ESPN reported. "We are extremely honored to have been part of this organization for the past 20 seasons. Thank you to the Lakers fans for welcoming our family every step of the way," Joey and Jesse said in a statement in which they expressed their disappointment with how their time with the team ended and wondered "what their father would think." Their departure leaves their sister Jeanie Buss as the only surviving member of the family in the executive structure of the second most successful franchise in NBA history. Jeanie remains as governor. Jeanie is currently the team's governor and is expected to continue in that role despite the sale to Walter, who reached an agreement last June with the Buss family to acquire a majority stake in the franchise in exchange for $10 billion.

The NBA unanimously approved this transfer on October 30, an essential requirement for the process to be finalized.

The Buss family had owned the Lakers since 1979, and no other NBA franchise had gone so long without changing hands. In 2013, with the death of the patriarch, the franchise passed to his children, with Jeanie Buss taking the helm.

Walter is the CEO and president of the investment firm TWG Global and has stakes in several sports teams, such as the Los Angeles Dodgers of MLB, the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA, and the Cadillac Formula 1 team, which debuts in 2026. The Lakers have won 11 of their 17 NBA championships with the Buss family, the most successful franchise during that period. *With information from EFE.