10 Quick Questions for Jeanie Buss

When the Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA championship in 2020, Jeanie Buss became the first female controlling owner to lead an NBA team to the title. Buss also owns WOW: Women of Wrestling, and she’ll land herself another big first when the new season airs this fall in Canada, Australia and Indonesia, making it the only all-female wrestling organization with an international TV footprint.
What do NBA players have in common with the Women of Wrestling?

First and foremost would be larger-than-life personalities that attract attention. They transcend the court or the ring that they’re placed in. Therefore, when you have a star like [NBA player] LeBron James and a star like [WOW’s] Candy Crush, they’re very watchable. They’re easy for the audience to cheer on.

If you were a professional wrestler, what would your character be?

I grew up collecting comic books, and so to me these girls are superheroes. I was the kid that would take a towel and tie it around my neck and be Supergirl. So I would definitely want to be a superhero type.

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So the world — at long last — is ready for Superwomen?

When I went to see the [2017] Wonder Woman movie, I was in tears during the opening credits because as a kid I had a Wonder Woman doll and I created a whole movie myself with this doll. This was the ’70s, and to think now a woman could lead a franchise movie and be successful at the box office … to deliver that audience that some people doubted. The time is right for women’s sports.

How accurately does the Netflix show GLOW depict the world of women’s wrestling?

They captured a lot of the camaraderie that exists in women’s sports. Also, their hopes and dreams. Women want to be center stage. They want to perform for an audience. There’s just not a lot of opportunities for women, and that’s what drew me to this [WOW] project.

Is [actress and writer] Mindy Kaling still working on a scripted Netflix comedy that’s a fictional version of your life? 

Yes. We’ve been in development. It’s a comedy based on a family that owns a basketball team. It’s the fun side of things, the quirky things. Some of the stories I shared with her — that have given her inspiration — are hard for her to even believe. Even a creative writer like her couldn’t come up with it. I think there’s enough wacky things happening off the court that it will be a very entertaining show.

Buss talks with Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant at a Los Angeles Lakers game in 2019.

Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images

What’s your favorite sports movie?

I love Jerry Maguire. I even sent tweets to [director] Cameron Crowe telling him, “You need to make a sequel,” because what I would love to see is how the Jerry Maguire character — who started off as an agent who has this epiphany about being better — has evolved in his role as general manager in today’s environment in terms of treating the athlete as a whole human being and not just a paycheck.