Quotes from Jeanie Buss

The NBA requires that one person is the acting owner, the one person they can get on the phone and is accountable for anything that happens. That's why my dad started taking me to NBA board of governors meetings in 1995; you have to be approved as the owner.

Any time you have a change of leadership in an organization, everything kind of shifts.

There certainly was a time when I started when people looked at me as the secretary to Dr. Buss. Being the boss' daughter amongst your peers, you gotta show up every day.

Kobe is worth every penny, and I'd never had any doubt that he'd contribute to this team.

I just like working with my family; I like building something together.

I really wasn't expecting to fall so hard for Phil. As a matter of fact, when my dad said he was talking to Phil Jackson about him coming to L.A. to coach the Lakers, I tried to argue against it.

I can't compare myself to Phil Jackson in any way, shape or form. His view on the world and his intellectual approach, I don't have that in common with him.

Phil is always a quotable guy. He keeps everyone entertained.

Phil is of a generation that probably would have been happier never getting married. He just doesn't want to get married again; it's not that he doesn't want to marry me. It took me a while to understand that, and I'm fine with it now. We've been together for over 10 years. This relationship has been my longest and most successful.

I always tell Phil we're like the party poopers. If we ever get invited to a player party, between the two of us, we're like the downers. Like, 'Put down that beer!' Or, 'Should you really be eating those nachos?'

I am here to say that there is no drawback to being a woman in business. But if you think it's a drawback, then it probably does work against you. It's like playing poker. People will look for your weak spot, and your weak spot is only what you allow it to be.

I think as long as you have Kobe Bryant on your team, anything can happen in the playoffs.

I want people to know that I don't take for granted what's been given to me.

For me, the burning desire has always been about building what my family had.

The team will always be bigger than any one owner, or any one player, or one coach. The team is always first.

I have a great relationship with all my brothers. I've got three other ones. There's four boys and two girls. It's a family business.

From the time I was in elementary school, I wanted to work in the family business.

But I don't look forward to the day that Kobe Bryant's not in purple and gold.

I get a lot of letters from people saying, 'I want to follow in your footsteps,' and I don't know how to tell people how to follow in my footsteps, because I can't give them the opportunities that I had.

Everybody will give you a certain amount of respect just because you're the boss' daughter. But if you don't follow through, you lose that pretty quick.

I had a tough year, losing my dad. And I really needed to have some quiet time, and not be engaged the way I normally would be with the Lakers.

In my position, I can make changes. I can make changes across the entire organization. If John Ireland doesn't do his job, in his radio broadcast play-by-play, then we would make that change. If the Laker Girls drop down in caliber and couldn't do a dance number, then we'd make changes there.

I wanted to get married. That's who I am.

A relationship isn't just about space; it's about emotion and heart and all those good things.