LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is lobbing some grenades across the hallway of Staples Center.
In an interview with Julie Bort of Business Insider that was published on Friday, Ballmer commented on his team’s rivalry with the Los Angeles Lakers.
“So look,” said Ballmer. “I’ll say 2 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,” he went on. “But our ultimate goal isn’t to beat one other team. It’s to beat 29 other teams. If you tell me you’re 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.”
For what it’s worth, the Clippers have indeed been the superior LA team these last four years, going a combined 217-111 (.662) compared to 91-237 (.277) for the Lakers. The Clippers have also won 14 of 16 head-to-head matchups versus the Lakers over that span with 12 of those wins coming by double-digits.
But those 16 championship banners that hang in the rafters of their shared arena all but forever ensure that the Clippers, who still have yet to advance to a single Conference Finals as a franchise, will always exist in the Lakers’ shadow in Los Angeles. Thus, despite Ballmer’s trash talk, he may eventually be forced to go through with his rumored plan to go his own way.
