It was May 1995. The Lakers were in a weird transition phase between the "Showtime" era and the Shaq-Kobe dynasty that would soon follow. While the team was trying to find its soul on the court, Jeanie Buss—daughter of the legendary Dr. Jerry Buss—was making a different kind of headlines. She decided to pose for a six-page spread in Playboy magazine.
Back then, the internet was barely a thing. You couldn’t just pull up a high-res gallery on your phone. You had to go to a newsstand. But even without social media, the Jeanie Buss Playboy pictures became a massive talking point in the sports world. It wasn't just about a beautiful woman in a magazine; it was about the heiress to the most glamorous franchise in sports reclaiming her own narrative.
Honestly, it’s a moment that still follows her. If you walk into the Lakers' front office today, Jeanie isn't hiding from it. She actually gets about five to ten requests a week in the mail. Fans send in those old copies of the May 1995 issue, usually with a self-addressed stamped envelope, asking for her autograph.
And she signs them. Every single one.
The Story Behind the Spread
Why did she do it? People love to guess, but Jeanie has been pretty open about the "why" in recent years. She was 33 at the time and had just gone through a divorce from volleyball player Steve Timmons. Her self-esteem had taken a hit. She felt like she had been living her life for everyone else—her father, her husband, the family business.
She basically asked herself if there was anything she’d always wanted to do but hadn’t. The answer was Playboy.
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Jeanie didn't use her dad's friendship with Hugh Hefner to skip the line, either. Even though Jerry Buss and Hef were tight, Jeanie insisted on doing a standard test shoot. She wanted to know she was being picked because she fit the magazine's aesthetic, not because of her last name. She met with Marilyn Grabowski, the longtime West Coast editor, and went through the same vetting process as any other model.
The shoot took place over several days at the Great Western Forum. It was designed to show the "behind the scenes" of her world. One of the most famous shots involved her sitting at her father’s desk, surrounded by five NBA championship trophies. In others, she was draped across arena seats or wearing roller hockey gear for the L.A. Blades, the team she was running at the time.
It was provocative. It was bold. And for 1995, it was a massive risk for a woman trying to climb the ladder in a male-dominated industry.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Photos
There’s a common misconception that often pops up on Twitter or Reddit. You've probably seen a specific photo of Jeanie looking "nude" while holding two basketballs to cover herself. Many fans assume that’s one of the Jeanie Buss Playboy pictures.
It actually isn't.
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That photo came three years later, in 1998, for Sports Illustrated. The photographer, who usually did fashion, didn’t even know who she was when they started. He just thought the "mermaid with basketballs" look was artistic. Jeanie actually had a bathing suit on for that one, but the way it was cropped made it look like she was completely naked. She liked the photo so much she even used it as her Twitter avatar for a long time, but it's a completely different vibe from the Playboy set.
The Playboy photos were much more explicit. They were a statement of sexual liberation. At the first NBA Board of Governors meeting after the issue dropped, Jeanie says a fellow owner actually pinched her backside in a buffet line. She felt like he assumed she was "fair game" because she had posed. It was a harsh reminder that while she felt empowered, the "Old Boys' Club" of the NBA wasn't quite ready for a woman who owned her sexuality.
Impact on the Lakers and Her Career
Did it hurt her career? In the short term, some critics used it to say she wasn't "serious" enough to run the team. They called it a publicity stunt. But Jeanie has always been a "work first" person. She never stopped showing up to meetings. She never stopped learning the business from her father.
By the time she officially took over as the controlling owner in 2013, the Playboy spread was just a footnote in a very long resume. She had already proven she could manage the Forum, run a hockey team, and navigate the complex politics of the NBA.
Interestingly, her father's reaction was perhaps the most "Jerry Buss" thing ever. When asked about it back then, he said: "It will be the first issue of Playboy I’ve never read." He supported her choice without making it weird, which Jeanie says helped her stay confident despite the public noise.
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Why It Still Matters Today
In 2026, we talk a lot about "branding" and "owning your image." Jeanie was doing that decades before it was a buzzword. She realized that people were going to judge her anyway—for being a woman, for being the boss's daughter, for being pretty. By doing the shoot, she stepped into the spotlight on her own terms.
Key Takeaways from Jeanie's Experience:
- Confidence is a choice. She did the shoot to regain her self-esteem, not to get famous.
- The internet is forever. She admits she didn't realize these photos would live forever on digital servers, but she accepts it as "part of the program."
- Consistency kills criticism. People stopped talking about the pictures when she started winning titles.
If you’re looking for the actual magazine today, you’ll find it on eBay for anywhere from $20 to $100 depending on the condition. If you want her to sign it, the unofficial rule seems to be: send it to the Lakers' office with a polite note and a way for her to send it back. She’s one of the few owners in professional sports who treats her "celebrity" past with that kind of grace.
The most important thing to remember about the Jeanie Buss Playboy pictures is that they didn't define her. They were a chapter in a much larger book. She went from being the girl in the magazine to being the first female owner to lead a team to an NBA Championship in 2020.
That’s a pretty solid arc by anyone's standards.
If you're a collector or just a fan of Lakers history, owning a piece of this era is a fascinating look at how the team's culture was shaped by the Buss family's "Hollywood" approach to basketball. Just remember that if you do reach out for an autograph, stay respectful—Jeanie has spent thirty years proving she's more than just a photo spread, and her track record as an owner proves it every single day.