When current Lakers owner Jeanie Buss inherited the franchise from her late father, not only did she have a tough act to follow, but she faced a formidable challenge from her siblings. Jerry passed away in 2013 but he had laid plans to have Jeanie succeed him as controlling owner and appointed her brother, Jim, to run basketball operations. However, family tensions soon erupted. Jim and his brother Johnson had a different way of doing things compared to what Jeanie wanted. “The way my brother saw things was that he wanted the team to go through a losing phase so that we could amass draft picks and cap space and then build the team that way,” Jeanie revealed. The brothers called a shareholder meeting to replace Jeanie on the board. But backed by the NBA, Jeanie’s lawyer filed a restraining order to halt the coup.

Eventually, the brothers canceled the election and Jeanie was handed a controlling stake in 2017. Jeanie then fired Jim along with long-time GM Mitch Kupchak, while Johnson abruptly resigned in 2019. All of this happened at a cost—the championless Lakers team for a good seven years. Time was of the essence to Jeanie from there on. First, she signed LeBron James from the Cavaliers and then followed it up by acquiring power forward Anthony Davis a year later in 2019. Davis’s trade was a costly affair for Buss had to send a vast haul to New Orleans, which had consisted of prized assets Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart; forward Brandon Ingram; and three first-round draft picks, including the No. 4 selection in that year’s NBA Draft. Phew!

But the move paid off.

A year after signing Davis, the Lakers beat the Miami Heat 4-2 in the NBA Finals, to claim a first championship since 2010. With this, Buss had laid the foundation for the next era of success in LA. Buss had made the final decision in the 2019 blockbuster that brought Davis to Los Angeles in a move she defined as a “moment of truth.” Six years later, she made another massive move which sent Davis in the opposite direction.

When Luka Doncic was traded to the Lakers, it sent shockwaves across the league and Buss had her father’s vision and learnings in mind when she gave Rob Pelinka the go-ahead for the blockbuster trade.

“My dad was a really great poker player, and he used to try to teach me poker, take me to the tables. I finally said, ‘Dad, why are you making me do this? I don’t like it, I don’t want to play poker. And he goes, ‘I’m just trying to teach you that poker is a game of patience. It might take a long time, but once you get the cards, you have to be able to go from zero to 100 at the drop of a hat,'” Buss told TIME in an interview.

Dr. Jerry Buss did it with Shaquille O’Neal or even Pau Gasol later in his career, both of which rewarded the Purple and Gold with glistening returns. Following the conclusion of a disappointing 2004 postseason,  Dr. Jerry Buss was determined to change things. Bryant and Shaq had brought him three NBA titles in a row, but Buss was not the one to rest on his laurels nor was he going to allow anyone to do that.

The relationship between Bryant and Shaq had hit a rock and Buss decided to move Diesel and traded him to Miami in exchange for Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, Brian Grant, and a future first-round draft pick. Buss handed the keys of the Lakers to Bryant, who helped them to championship wins in 2009 and 2010. Moving from O’Neal wasn’t easy but necessary and that was the same situation Jeanie faced with Anthony Davis two decades later.

“It was difficult because we weren’t looking to trade Anthony Davis or Max Christie. But it was a deal that he would’ve made. And we had to go for it,” Buss said according to Melissa Rohlin. Buss acknowledged that the weeks leading up to the trade were unnerving. Securing Doncic sets up the Lakers for another period of success and this move had the handprints of Jerry Buss all over it.

“I thought my dad would have been very proud of me [for the trade], because I pushed the chips onto the table,” Jeanie said. She identified Doncic as someone who can take the team to the next era of success and reestablish the Lakers as a formidable force. He’s only 25 years old and has been one of the stellar performers during the postseason since coming to the league.

Jeanie had a long history of learning from his father and being involved in sports even before her role with the Lakers.

She began her sports-executive journey in 1979 and worked with Magic Johnson. She then pursued a degree at USC and served as president of the L.A Strings, a World Team Tennis franchise that her father also owned. In the 1990s, she ran the L.A. Blades (a pro inline hockey team), took over the Forum, and attended many NBA board of governors meetings, which perfectly set her up for the Lakers ownership once her father passed away.

Recently, she also worked with Netflix on their new hit series, Running Point, which dropped on February 27. It tells the story of Isla Gordon, who joins the family business to become the new president of the Los Angeles Waves, a pro basketball team. Serving as an executive producer on the project, Buss clarified that, “while we inspired so much of the story, these characters are not my family, and Isla Gordon is not me.” 

But it is clear from the series that it holds striking similarities to Buss’s journey to the top. In the 10-episode series, Isla tussles with her brothers for control of the Waves and eventually comes out on top.

Meanwhile, Buss will hope that the trade for Doncic pays dividends and while the Slovenian has shown flashes of brilliance there is a long way to go before the move can be termed as a success.

Did the Lakers get the best Luka Doncic?

It is no secret that Luka Doncic wanted to stay in Dallas and emulate Dirk Nowitzki. However, that didn’t happen. In Dallas, concerns over his fitness and weight were the major talking points and perhaps even the reason behind his trade, but

It does seem like they have had some effect on the Slovenian guard. And they play in favor of the Lakers. Since entering the Purple and Gold facility, the 25-year-old appears to have noticeably lost some weight. First and foremost, it never looked like he was 270 lbs in the first place. Now, he’s starting to look better. Another improvement is buying into the culture. JJ Redick and the Lakers play a heavy-motion defense. Likewise, Doncic is making strides to be a reliable contributor. In seven games, he has recorded a 105.1 defensive rating with his new team, the best mark of his young career. And it’s not even close.

With more reps, his shooting efficiency and familiarity with his teammates are going to keep growing astoundingly. That’s what the NBA needs to be prepared for. Thus far, the experiment has looked great. And with LeBron James, a role model by his side, Doncic has easy access to the formula which will help him physically.

If you talk about a game of poker, it seems Jeanie Buss might be one card away from a royal flush. Or who knows, maybe it’s Luka Doncic who completes her hand.