In the world of the NBA, the Los Angeles Lakers have long been considered to be the most dominant basketball franchise from Los Angeles. Featuring the likes of Kobe Bryant, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem-Abdul Jabber and Shaquille O’Neal, to go along with sixteen world championships, this Lakers dynasty isn’t just among the best from California; it’s among the best in American professional sports history.
However, in recent years, another L.A. franchise has quietly transitioned into a dominant, forceful presence in the NBA: The Los Angeles Clippers. Led by superstars Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, the Clippers have ranked higher than the Lakers in the standings in each of the past five seasons.
While the Lakers are undoubtedly the superior franchise when including history, it’s no secret the Clippers have owned L.A.’s basketball section for the past half decade — and Clippers owner Steve Ballmer isn’t anywhere close to being afraid of admitting so, as he told Business Insider:
“So look. I’ll say two things. No. 1, we’ve been kicking the Lakers’ a– the last several years. Let’s just face it. We don’t have the championships that the Lakers do. We don’t have any of that. But in the world of sports it’s, ‘What did you do this season?’ And all we can control is how we do this season, next game, next game, and I’m proud of what we’re doing.
“Ok, yeah, we didn’t have a championship 15 years ago but we’re doing well.
“But our ultimate goal isn’t to beat one other team. It’s to beat 29 other teams. If you tell me you were the top team in LA, but the 28th team in the league, I say to heck with that.
“So in a sense, the best way to beat the Lakers is also to be the No. 1 team in the world and that’s what we’re aspiring to do.”
One way that Ballmer can continue having L.A.’s top basketball team would be re-signing the likes of Chris Paul, J.J. Redick and Blake Griffin, all of whom are set to become free agents on July 1.
