Lakers' Buss says she received death threats last season

Los Angeles Lakers controlling owner and president Jeanie Buss revealed that she received death threats amid the team's poor start last season.

"Last season started off really tough," Buss said on "The Athletic NBA Show" podcast.

"I was like, 'I'm not gonna survive this. This is gonna be really rough if this is what our season's going to be,'" she added. "I was getting death threats. … And then the team, something just clicked."

The Lakers began the 2022-23 campaign by dropping five straight and losing 10 of their first 12 games. They eventually turned things around, finishing seventh in the Western Conference standings at 43-39.

After winning their play-in tournament matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Lakers went on to defeat the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs and eliminated the defending champion Golden State Warriors in the semifinals. The Denver Nuggets swept the team in the Western Conference finals.