NBA fans familiar with the history of the Lakers franchise may notice parallels with Netflix's new comedy series, "Running Point."
As it turns out, that's by design.
After Netflix shared a promotional poster featuring Kate Hudson on X (formerly Twitter), Lakers controlling owner and president Jeanie Buss quoted the post and said "This looks a little familiar," before saying the show "sounds like a winner."
Buss is listed as an executive producer of the show, which is, at the very least, loosely based on her life as a pro basketball executive. Here's what to know about Buss' influence on the show and the legal issues "Running Point" faced before any episode was released.
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Is 'Running Point' based on a true story?
"Running Point" is based off Buss' life, with the career of the Lakers executive providing inspiration for the show.
"Running Point" is a Netflix comedy series that stars Hudson as "a reformed party girl" who is "unexpectedly put in charge of her family's pro basketball team." Mindy Kaling is one of the show's creators.
The title poster features Hudson sitting in a Los Angeles office with several nondescript basketball championship trophies behind her.
Hudson's pose is almost identical to the cover of Buss' 2013 memoir, "Laker Girl," which Buss pointed out after reposting the Netflix poster.
The show's trailer outlines the family dynamic between Hudson's character and her brothers who were also in charge of the fictional franchise, the Los Angeles Waves. It details the ins and outs of "the player, staff and sponsor drama that entails" after the change in power.
Warning: Trailer contains NSFW language.
From executing deals to posing for risqué photoshoots and becoming one of the most powerful women in sports, several parallels exist between Hudson's character and Buss' life in the Lakers front office.
'Running Point' cast
- Kate Hudson as Isla Gordon
- Drew Tarver as Sandy Gordon
- Scott MacArthur as Ness Gordon
- Brenda Song as Ali Lee
- Fabrizio Guido as Jackie Moreno
- Toby Sandeman as Marcus Winfield
- Jay Ellis as Jay Brown
- Dane DiLiegro as Badrag Knauss
Who is Jeanie Buss?
Buss is the Lakers' controlling owner, CEO, president and governor.
Buss is a daughter of the late Jerry Buss, who purchased the Lakers in 1979 and is credited with revolutionizing the entertainment aspect of basketball in the NBA. Upon Jerry Buss' passing in 2013, he passed his controlling ownership to his six children.
Before her current relationship, Buss was romantically involved with former Lakers head coach Phil Jackson from 1999 to 2016. Jackson wrote the foreword to Buss' 2013 memoir.
Buss announced that she had begun dating comedian Jay Mohr in 2021. The couple wed in 2023.
When did Jeanie Buss take over the Lakers?
Per terms of the arrangement in 2013 after her father's death, Jeanie Buss became team president while her brother, Jim, was the executive vice president of basketball operations. This dynamic eventually led to an ownership dispute between Jeanie and her brothers, Jim and Johnny.
In May 2017, Jeanie Buss was given lifetime operational control over the team.
Jeanie Buss brothers
Jeanie has two brothers, Johnny and Jim. When their father, Jerry, died in 2013, Jeanie became president of the Lakers, while her Jim continued as executive VP of basketball operations.
Jeanie handled the business side while Jim was in charge of the basketball management decision, however, Jeanie was put in a place where she could overrule her brother if needed, leading to tension between the two. In 2017, Jeanie ended up replacing Jim, stating that he was "unfit" to run the team.
"The way he was operating the team, we were making a nice home at the bottom of the standings year after year," Jeanie said to USA Today. "That wasn’t the brand that Dr. (Jerry) Buss created. No one has the formula to win a championship, but you always be relevant and be part of the conversation and give yourself a chance to win."
Jeanie also has a younger sister, Janie.
Pepperdine University 'Running Point' lawsuit, explained
Netflix and Warner Bros. were targeted in a trademark infringement lawsuit filed by Pepperdine University, however, the streaming companies have come out on top in the legal battle.
According to Pepperdine, "Running Point" is a "misappropriation of the university's brand." Pepperdine's athletics teams are based in Malibu, Calif., and are known as the Waves with blue, white and orange school colors.
The suit alleged that the show's fictional Los Angeles Waves logo "bears a striking resemblance in branding to Pepperdine’s longstanding and well-known Waves athletics program. The series prominently features a team name, colors and other indicia that are identical or highly similar to Pepperdine’s."
Pepperdine's suit also maintained that some of the series' themes "are inconsistent with Pepperdine’s Christian values and reputation."
On Friday, Feb. 28, U.S. District Judge Cynthia Valenzuela ruled that Netflix’s use of the Waves’ marks "does not explicitly mislead consumers as to the source of the work," allowing the platform to publish the television series.