There is very little love lost between the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors. Both California teams are likely to make the playoffs and may even contend for the Western Conference championship, so you can understand why the players on either side may not be best friends with one another. That being said, bad blood is usually pushed aside when it comes to gathering for prayer.
Most NBA teams gather for chapel and pray together before games. After all, basketball is just a game. But according to Marcus Thompson of the Contra Costa Times, the Clippers refused to hold chapel with the Warriors on Thursday. Instead, the Clippers held their own prayer service.
“Man, they don’t want to have chapel with us?” a team source reportedly said. “I never heard that before, but OK.”
As Thompson pointed out, there were a number of incidents during the four times LA and Golden State faced off last year that fueled what has become a budding rivalry. As you may remember, the Clippers bench clowned Blake Griffin pretty hard during one game after he bricked a three-pointer.
You have to wonder if there is more to this story. For one thing, Doc Rivers wasn’t even with the Clippers last season. He typically has shown the utmost respect for opponents and is considered one of the more classy coaches in basketball. If LA chose not to hold chapel with their opponents, it’d be tough to believe the decision came from Doc.
