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How many basketball courts in staples center
How the Lakers and Clippers rule Staples Center in their own ways
This season, Los Angeles has two NBA title contenders and four of the top 10 players in the league -- and they all play in the same arena. How do two distinctly different franchises present themselves in the same building?
Inside the Staples Center visitors' locker room on Nov. 17, the Atlanta Hawks lick their wounds after being thrashed for the second straight night. After falling by 49 points to the LA Clippers the night before, the Hawks lost by 21 to the Los Angeles Lakers just 24 hours later.
That's two beatdowns by two title-contending L.A. teams in the same venue, but for all the similarities, Hawks swingman Evan Turner notes the differences in the crowds.
"You've got LeBron there, so there's a type of awe," Turner says of the Lakers environment. "Wherever he goes, there's going to be something. So that adds to the crowd being more excited and on edge."
But, Turner says, the Clippers' vibe is markedly different.![]()
"The Clippers hang their hat on being blue-collar," he says. "That's what I notice. That's not a bad thing."
Thunder guard Chris Paul, who knows L.A. well, having played six seasons for the Clippers, cites similar contrasts after his Oklahoma City Thunder squad drops back-to-back games to the L.A. teams a few days later.
"It's always two different energies when you play against the Clippers and you play against the Lakers," Paul says. "The lighting is a lot different. You've got your monotone man for the Lakers, who does the intros and all that. It's just always a different energy."
Instead of keying in on differences, former NBA superstar Dominique Wilkins, who now works as a team analyst on Hawks broadcasts, points out that the Clippers and Lakers are finally aligned.
"Completely different organizations, but the same type of atmosphere now," he says.
"Now, you're talking about an atmosphere that has excitement from two teams in the same city. I don't know when that's happened -- not in basketball.
It's pretty amazing."
One arena, two basketball teams, two mammoth banners overlooking downtown L.A. "It's called the 'CVT' because that's called the 'City View Terrace.' [Each] team has one," Lakers director of game operations Kathy Montoya says."It's so heavy, and it takes a while to get made. It takes 10 guys to physically bring up the banner and actually hang it," Kathy Montoya says.Jerry West is a Lakers icon -- hence the statue -- but West's reach expands to both franchises that reside in Staples Center. West, 81, whose Lakers career as a player, coach and executive spanned five decades, is now a consultant for the Clippers' front office."If you go to the team store [during a Lakers game], you'll find all Lakers items. And [during a Clippers game], it's all Clippers. Even during a doubleheader, the team store will switch it out," Kathy Montoya says."It kind of sucks, though, if you're a Lakers fan and you come here on a Clippers game and what you want, you can't buy it," Kathy Montoya says.
Ever notice the glossy purple and gold wrap that lines the tunnel during Lakers games? It's replaced with brand-new material -- before every game. "Unfortunately, we can't leave it there, obviously," Kathy Montoya says. "I think it was just to make it feel like it was our home.""And I know it always feels good for a player to come out and see the branding of their team that they play for and it makes them feel good, so that was the whole idea in the first place," Kathy Montoya says.Clippers coach Doc Rivers started covering the Lakers banners -- the Kings, Sparks and Taylor Swift banners, too -- in 2013, when he was also the Clippers' VP of basketball operations. The idea, though, started well before, when his Celtics visited the Clippers."I look up, and you see all the banners," Rivers said in 2013 of his reaction to the Lakers' banners hanging during a Clippers game. "[Former Celtics trainer] Eddie Lacerte said, 'Man, I would never have that.'" So Rivers decided he wouldn't either. "Again, the Lakers can blame a Boston guy.
"
Some 70 feet apart in the hallway of Staples Center sit the entrances to the locker rooms for the Lakers and the Clippers.
The Lakers' entrance appears first in the hallway, and it can be tight when dozens of media members crowd around LeBron James and Anthony Davis. In the middle of the room is James' locker, which occupies the left stall of the center wall. Next to his is an empty stall. To the right of that is Davis' locker.
Once the media enter after a game, one of the two stars will speak while the other either soaks his ankles in an ice bucket or receives postgame treatment, though the preferred rhythm for the duo is for Davis to speak to the media first and James to follow.
Farther down the hall, the Clippers' locker room appears. Their entrance is typically curtained off to prevent looky-loos from sneaking a glimpse as the door opens and shuts before and after games.
Once inside the doors, an entrance to Doc Rivers' office is immediately to the left.
Down the corridor, past a break room with a sliding door, is the Clippers' semicircle locker room.
The Lakers' locker room got a makeover prior to last season -- just in time for LeBron James' arrival in Los Angeles.The Clippers' locker room was also renovated prior to last season. The first stall on the left belongs to guard Patrick Beverley, who is often seen testing the team's rookies on that night's referees.LeBron James' locker occupies the same location Kobe Bryant's did during the five-time NBA champion's time as a Laker.The lockers for Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are next to each other in the center of the Clippers' locker room. Patrick Beverley and Lou Williams occupy the locker stalls on each end.LeBron James draws such a big crowd of reporters and cameras that the Lakers' media relations staff has to keep a walkway open for players to go to the shower room.After every home game, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George conduct their postgame interview sessions in the room where Doc Rivers holds his media conferences.
No stranger to big games at Staples Center, LeBron James still felt the excitement of the venue being his home. "Can't even front, it's just felt different! Goose bumps!" James said on Instagram just days before his preseason home debut in 2018.Staples Center was the closest NBA arena for Kawhi Leonard, a Southern California native, when he was a kid. "I feel the emotions ... being able to play in the Staples Center 45 minutes away from my home where I grew up," Leonard said after his preseason home debut.
It's minutes before tipoff, and the lights are off inside Staples Center. But don't worry: There is plenty to see.
Laser beams shine in all directions, and a huge, white curtain, with parts of the pregame hype video shown on it like a massive theater screen, falls to the floor once the video is over.
Then, a familiar baritone voice fills the arena. Longtime Lakers PA announcer Lawrence Tanter goes through his unique pregame introductions.
"And now, celebrating its 60th year in Southern California, 72nd year in the NBA, this is the franchise with 23 Pacific Division titles, 31 Western Conference titles and 16 NBA titles.
The home team, your Los Angeles Lakers."
Compared to those of pretty much all other teams around the league, Tanter's pregame introductions are understated. They are out of a time capsule from a prior generation. But that's befitting of a franchise known for its history.
At Clippers games, everything is ... loud. The pregame routine is at a noticeably higher decibel than it is at Lakers games.
From the music before and during play to the in-game hype crew talking during timeouts, the Clippers do their best to entertain fans from the moment they take their seats. Clippers games start like Lakers games do: lights down and laser beams flickering across the court and lower bowl.
But then the Spirit Clippers Dance Team rolls drums onto the floor and begins beating them to a song while sparklers are set off into the air.
Lakers pregame is pure tradition. For the Clippers, pregame is a party.
"The [Lakers'] lights came from, actually, the idea of The Forum," Kathy Montoya says.
"At The Forum, it was like 'Showtime,' right? So the actual game is like a show.""The Lakers are the only ones we use the 'Laker Lighting' for. There is in this building what they call 'Basketball Lights' as well -- that's what the Clippers use. And it's just a little bit brighter," Kathy Montoya says.The Lakers drop a curtain from above the Jumbotron, so even fans in the nosebleeds can catch a glimpse of pregame introductions.Doc Rivers is behind the "L.A. Our Way" campaign, which began in 2018. The quotable coach said it in an interview one day, and it stuck. The Clippers' advertising group, The Battery Agency, added "Driven over Given" and "Streetlights over Spotlights."LeBron James is in the midst of an MVP-worthy season in Year 2 with the Lakers. The fans' first glimpse of King James is always a special moment at Staples Center.Only three players in NBA history have won Finals MVP for different teams. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and LeBron James were the first two. Kawhi Leonard is the third.
Formed after Jerry Buss bought the team in 1979, the Laker Girls helped shape the franchise's unique game presentation.The Clippers have greatly enhanced their game presentation in recent years, with laser lights, flamethrowers and light-up drums, used here by the Clippers Spirit Dance Team.DJ Dense spins while the Clippers go through pregame warm-ups an hour before tip. He is a fixture during the game and plays "California Love" by 2Pac and Dr. Dre at the end of every Clippers win.
When LeBron James chose to come to L.A. in the summer of 2018, unbeknownst to him, he had a little piece of home waiting for him at Staples Center: The Lakers' home court -- the actual 94-by-50 expanse of hardwood -- is provided by Robbins Sports Surfaces, the company that installed the court on which James played home games during his second stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Lakers have a long-standing relationship with Robbins, which boasts on the company's website that its hard maple courts are the "industry's most advanced and only biomechanically tested floors.
"
The NBA requires that each team change its home court every 10 years, but the Lakers make sure there is constant upkeep in the meantime.
"Every year we send it out to get repainted," Montoya says. "Every other year, we send it out to get resanded."
When the Lakers choose to change their look -- a decision that comes from the very top, through controlling owner and president Jeanie Buss -- they have to notify Robbins well in advance.
"They actually go out, and they physically choose and pick the wood," Montoya says. "So when you get a new court, you have to tell them way ahead of time because it takes a while for them to actually pick and choose which [pieces to use]."
The Clippers turn to Horner Sports Flooring for their home court. It's also maple and has a matching high-gloss polyurethane finish coat. But the aesthetic, like much of the rest of the game presentation, is very different.
The Clippers' court has just three colors of paint on it (black, red and white), while the Lakers' has four (red, white, purple and gold), yet another category in which the Lakers can claim they lead the Clippers.
A few feet from the 3-point line sits the Lakers' center-court logo, which underwent a refresh ahead of the 2012-13 season to include 16 stars, one for each of the franchise's NBA titles.The Clippers, previously known for using team colors blue and red in their court designs, underwent a makeover for the 2019-20 season. "We're a blacktop team," Doc Rivers said in 2018.The Lakers' classic gold border has remained constant since Staples Center opened in October 1999.A shift to the Clippers' court reveals a design inspired by the city. The black apron resembles a map of Los Angeles' roads and highways.The Lakers, Kings, Sparks and Taylor Swift, who owns the all-time Staples Center record for sold-out performances by an artist, have retired jerseys and banners in the rafters.
About an hour before the Clippers begin their 49-point demolition of Atlanta, NBA superfan and millionaire Jimmy Goldstein is going through his typical game routine: posting up along the baseline and watching players go through their warm-ups.
Goldstein is in his signature, unique sort of rock-band look: a shiny, black, leather jacket and a flamboyant hat made of what looks like snakeskin. Goldstein is almost as much of a fixture at NBA games here as the Lakers banners that hang high above him. He says he has been a Lakers season-ticket holder for 58 years and a Clippers one for 35.
He attends more than 100 games each season, and he travels from city to city during the postseason to go to as many playoff games as he can.
Through all the decades, one thing has remained constant: Friends ask him to take them to Lakers games -- not Clippers games.
"It's ridiculous," Goldstein says while standing near his Clippers' front-row baseline seats, where his name is spelled out on the floor. "And in recent years, the Clippers have been much better than the Lakers. But the Lakers have that aura about them."
"Lakers," actor Chadwick Boseman said in November on "The Bill Simmons Podcast" when asked which tickets he prefers to land through Hollywood connections.
"They just treat you better when you go, as a star. It's the truth. It's the truth. They just treat you better. ... They're more celebrity-friendly.
"It matters that you have the banners up, you have championships up there. There's a culture. And it's a thing to sit at a Lakers game."
Jimmy Goldstein makes it clear that while he is an NBA junkie, his L.A. allegiance is to the red and blue, not the purple and gold. As with his outfits, Goldstein likes to be different and stand out."I like to do the opposite of everybody else, and so I enjoy seeing the Lakers fans be miserable," Jimmy Goldstein says.Rihanna is a frequent presence courtside at high-profile NBA games throughout the season.Courtside at Staples is always an opportunity for stars to meet, including Chance the Rapper and Paul George.Jack Nicholson is a regular figure at Lakers games, but lesser-known is his courtside neighbor, legendary music producer Lou Adler.Floyd Mayweather has been a longtime fan of the NBA, and Los Angeles gives him twice the opportunities to take in a game.
The Clippers have names on the physical court for owner Steve Ballmer and the team's most high-profile fans, like Jimmy Goldstein, who attends every Clippers home game he can.Grammy Award-winning artist Travis Scott takes in a Lakers game at Staples Center.Former Clippers owner Shelly Sterling was able to keep her two midcourt seats after selling the team. She attends dozens of games each year but can't bring her husband, Donald Sterling, who remains banned from the NBA for life.Kyle Kuzma celebrates with fans after a game at Staples Center.Montrezl Harrell signs a young fan's hat after a Clippers game.
When Staples Center opened its doors in 1999, the arena was tailor-made for the Lakers: the purple seats, the sleek suites designed for corporate and celebrity hospitality, the grandeur befitting one of the NBA's most hallowed brands. The Clippers were merely coming along for the ride. They ranked last in the league in attendance for several seasons running but secured a sweetheart lease that would allow them to be the stepchildren at Staples for six years.
The Clippers would play a bunch of less desirable 12:30 p.m. PT starts and compete beneath the Lakers' 11 championship banners and the retired jerseys of Lakers legends.
During the first 20 seasons at Staples, the Lakers and the Clippers rarely contended at the same time. The concrete had barely set before the Lakers ran off three straight titles while the Clippers remained doormats.
By the time the Clippers assembled a roster that won at least 50 games over a steady stretch, the Lakers were in decline, going seven consecutive seasons without a playoff series win. If there were ever going to be a true intra-city rivalry between the two teams, they would have to align their fortunes. The 2019-20 season offers that moment.
With Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Davis and Paul George joining LeBron James in Los Angeles, the Lakers and the Clippers have made Staples Center the seat of power in the NBA. The two teams seem destined for their first postseason meeting.
The Clippers will likely move to their own building in 2024, but in the five seasons between now and then, the long-awaited sustainable rivalry looks to be a reality at last.
By Kevin Arnovitz, Baxter Holmes, Dave McMenamin, Ramona Shelburne and Ohm Youngmisuk
Staples Center – Courts of the World
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| rocky531 Joined 2013 | Los Angeles, CA, United States Los Angeles, CA
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| frankmarkovic Joined 2020 | Burbank, CA, United States Burbank, CA
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| CFarrell Joined 2022 | Los Angeles, CA, United States Los Angeles, CA
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| Ryanpatierno Joined 2021 | Pasadena, CA, United States Pasadena, CA
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| Daveed Joined 2015 | Los Angeles, CA, United States Los Angeles, CA
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| AlexJoel Joined 2018 | Culver City, CA, United States Culver City, CA
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| Cucuy7 Joined 2021 | Los Angeles, CA, United States Los Angeles, CA
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| LABaller323 Joined 2013 | Los Angeles, CA, United States Los Angeles, CA
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| boiiswagg21 Joined 2012 | Los Angeles, CA, United States Los Angeles, CA
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| kpickett Joined 2010 | Manhattan Beach, CA, United States Manhattan Beach, CA
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| tyleradams Joined 2020 | Long Beach, CA, United States Long Beach, CA
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| Jakepeck Joined 2020 | Beverly Hills, CA, United States Beverly Hills, CA
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| remnanttroy Joined 2013 | Los Angeles, CA, United States Los Angeles, CA
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| brentongivens Joined 2022 | Los Angeles, CA, United States Los Angeles, CA
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| nickec Joined 2015 | Los Angeles, CA, United States Los Angeles, CA
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| MomaG Joined 2011 | Los Angeles, CA, United States Los Angeles, CA
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| Bbll76er Joined 2011 | Los Angeles, CA, United States Los Angeles, CA
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| postupplaya77 Joined 2013 | Beverly Hills, CA, United States Beverly Hills, CA
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| mwolf7 Joined 2013 | Santa Monica, CA, United States Santa Monica, CA
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| bfish86 Joined 2010 | Los Angeles, CA, United States Los Angeles, CA
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| ccs Joined 2009 | Santa Monica, CA, United States Santa Monica, CA
United States | 0 | 8 8 | 3 1 Photo
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| bballbro2002 Joined 2015 | Los Angeles, CA, United States Los Angeles, CA
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| DBeast Joined 2010 | Los Angeles, CA, United States Los Angeles, CA
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| MtnHooper747 Joined 2022 | La Crescenta-Montrose, CA, United States La Crescenta-Montrose, CA
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| jamesliu Joined 2020 | Arcadia, CA, United States Arcadia, CA
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| hhooper Joined 2016 | Los Angeles, CA, United States Los Angeles, CA
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| Elon Joined 2018 | Los Angeles, CA, United States Los Angeles, CA
United States | 0 | 0 0 | 6 5 Photos
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| ohhisteve Joined 2012 | Los Angeles, CA, United States Los Angeles, CA
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| Jchaney90 Joined 2012 | Los Angeles, CA, United States Los Angeles, CA
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8 basketball courts that will impress you
From simplicity and minimalism to unique modern technologies
From simplicity and minimalism to unique modern technologies
SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL GROUNDS, THE MOST SIMPLE AND MINIMALISTIC AND REAL ART OBJECTS.
EVERYTHING IN THIS ARTICLE.
Asia always surprises and impresses with its conditions and life. There you can find platforms in a variety of places, even on a boat. We found one in Cambodia, but we are sure there are more.
Asia always surprises and impresses with its conditions and life. There you can find platforms in a variety of places, even on a boat. We found one in Cambodia, but we are sure there are more.
Patriarch's Ponds, Moscow
After all, every basketball player has a native playground where he spent his entire childhood, found friends, maybe love, and experienced all the existing emotions. Yes? There is such a platform in the center of Moscow.
They wanted to destroy it and make a parking lot in its place, but there were guys who were not indifferent to the fate of their native court, and they were able to defend it. Now, thanks to PlayStroy in Moscow, a modern and stylish location for basketball players has turned out on patricks.
You can play on this site at: Moscow, Maly Kozikhinsky lane, vl. 7-9
Camp Manzanar
There are moments in world history that you want to forget. One of these is World War II. Then in the United States, because of the clash with Japan, concentration camps were created for citizens with Japanese origin. There was such a place in California - the Manzanar concentration camp. Now there is a memorial center and a new ring has been installed, but the history of the place remains.
Drake's Playground
Beautiful playgrounds aren't just for outdoors. We all know Drake as one of the NBA's brightest and most famous fans.
The rapper made an NBA-sized basketball court at home. It looks very expensive and sprawling, as he usually reads about his life in the tracks. Look at the sofa!
Maybe one day you will make such a court at home. Started from the bottom!
Nike HypeCourt
Nike is not far behind either, in the Philippines they made not only beautiful courts with images of athletes, but also added an interactive app and workouts there. So after all, the pictures on the courts also have their own meanings!
You can see all the details on their website: http://nikehypercourt.com
Basketball Never Stops.
Only this phrase can describe the next site.
View this Instagram post
VENICEBALL (@veniceball) post
View this Instagram post
VENICEBALL post (@veniceball)
9004 Venice5 In Los Angeles. The beach also has a basketball court. This place regularly hosts tournaments, dunk contests and other events where you can meet both professional players and internet basketball stars.
On this court last summer, Howard went down against Chris Staples in a dunk contest.
Flacon design factory, Moscow
We wrote about this site in a previous similar article, but in August 2020, thanks to the joint efforts of PlayStroy, artist Andrey Berger and the PUMA brand, it changed its appearance and became known as PUMA HOOPS Flacon.
We want to help and build playgrounds, restore what was poorly built, and maybe build a playground in your backyard.
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Two lives in Los Angeles - Lakers and Clippers
Here is the second lesson of Basketball Geography. Continuing to travel around the settlements where there are NBA teams, we stop by the city, where two of the most controversial clubs of the association, the Lakers and the Clippers, coexist under one roof.
CITY
California is a land of prosperity and prosperity. Dry climate, hot sun, people generously lavishing dazzling white smiles. Hollywood is a factory of dreams and hopes, here the American dream huddles in every corner. Los Angeles is the “city of angels”, where every resident, despite the absence of the “wing size” column in the passport, bears the airy nickname “angelino”. No wonder it's California's most populous city, with 3,831,868 residents fluttering through the streets of Los Angeles and its 80 neighborhoods, where there's room for beaches, valleys, and hills. Looking at all this, dank St. Petersburg is the last thing that comes to mind, and it is the city on the Neva that is twinned with heavenly splendor.
Mexicans, Spaniards, Indians, Chinese, Arabs, Irish, Russians, Chinese - shades of their skin glisten under the hot sun, shimmering with golden colors. Could anything be more obvious when choosing colors for the Lakers, the city's premier basketball team? Maximalism and superiority predetermined the color palette of the “lakemen” - gold and purple - the colors of monarchs and rulers.
Brightness, sharpness and chic in everything - from caramel sauce to popcorn at the Staples Center to extravaganza on the basketball court. The nominally second-team Los Angeles Clippers recently came into the lead when Blake Griffin, an Irish-looking man with black athleticism, and point guard Chris Paul joined the club. The transformation from the most gray team in the league, which until 2006 was found out of the playoff zone for 13 years, in two years into the most spectacular gang in the NBA. Well, that didn't happen in Los Angeles.
ARENA
The Staples Center is home to all teams based in Los Angeles. Designed by John Martin and absorbing 375 million, the arena opened its doors to visitors and teams in 1999. And then she became happy for the Lakers, who began to win title after title without swinging. Prior to this, the Lakers forged their glory on the Forum parquet, where serious passions were in full swing in the fight against the Celtics.
The Clippers shook more thoroughly: before Los Angeles, the current sailboats played in Buffalo and San Diego, and there were a lot of stadiums in their history.
However, the opening of the Staples Center put an end to the Clippers' wanderings, sheltering them under the same roof as their principal rival.
Immortalized in front of the arena, which looks like a huge flying saucer from a bird's eye view, are Lakers' defining figures: legendary commentator Chick Hearn, Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Magic Johnson. Every year, the NBA chooses the venue for the All-Star Game, while a similar action takes place at the Staples Center almost every night. Among the 19,000 basketball spectators, almost a quarter are representatives of the entertainment industry. At the head of musicians, famous critics, directors, writers, TV and film stars sits Jack Nicholson, who in his rabid devotion to the team can only be compared with Spike Lee, who is rooting for the Knicks. Nicholson was sent off for criticizing referees, intending to injure opposing players, and being on the bench during a match. The Clippers do not have such a bright character, but the attendance of their matches at the moment exceeds all regular sports events taking place under the arches of the Staples Center.
The lead over the Lakers is small, but...
COMMAND
The Lakers got their nickname from playing in the Lake State of Minneapolis. One of the curious facts about its early history is that the team's first home was, in fact, Detroit. Lakers founders Ben Berger and Morris Chalfen bought the Detroit James in 1946 before moving it to Minneapolis. Center George Mikan was soon acquired, about whom Shaquille O'Neal exhaustively said: "He started it all." Under Mikan, the Lakers quickly took off, winning the championship six times in the 1950s and 1960s. Then three significant events happened at once. Before leaving Minneapolis, the team snatched Elgin Baylor in the draft, which immediately became the best rookie, then the move itself took place, after which, after settling down in Los Angeles, they again played a great draft card by choosing Jerry West. The Baylor-West couple began breaking record after record. The number of points scored, the team's best results at the end of the season, and, finally, a regular hit in the finals, where the Lakers lost to the Celtics with the same regularity.
After the previous successful decade, the Lakers, accustomed to titles, got in the teeth up to 1968 years, until the legendary “Philadelphia high school boy” appeared on the team.
Wilt Chamberlain came in as an established player who set many records, among which was the same one. But in his first season, the Lakers were again beaten by the Celts, who, thanks to this victory, won 11 titles in 13 seasons. Whenever any series ends, Los Angeles played the following finals against the Knicks and Bucks. It was the end of one series, but not the beginning of another, both times the Lakers were beaten again. After that, Baylor retired due to foot problems. The Lakers did not leave a wet spot from the Knicks in the Finals, after which they habitually fell into almost a decade of hibernation, during which West and Chamberlain ended their careers, but signed Abdul-Jabbar.
Everything changed with the advent of Magic Johnson, who, along with Kareem, brought the Lakers five titles and formed the team's philosophy - "show time".
That is, to attack brightly, unusually and effectively. Under the pressure of this very philosophy, Philadelphia and Boston burst twice, and Detroit acted as an appetizer. The Lakers' next timeout dragged on into the 2000s. It wasn't until the turn of the century that Phil Jackson managed to form a roster that was led by Shaquille O'Neal and the basketball player named after a steak by his father. Then Kobe Bryant acted more as a supporting player, but after three championship titles he decided that he could do it himself. And he did, having won two more titles with the team. It is Bryant who is currently the last and current legend of the Lakers.
Unlike the Lakers, the history of the Clippers is a continuous ordeal of a nomad. The team, founded in 1970, changed two places of residence, at different times had strong players in its ranks like Bob McAdoo, Bill Walton, Ken Norman, Adrian Dantley, Dominic Wilkins, Elton Brand and Lamar Odom, but did not play enough some notable record or title.
The team does not even have a single number withdrawn from circulation. All the aspirations of the fans, the most famous of which is actor Billy Crystal (and here he can’t compete with the Lakers), are directed to the future and are, of course, connected with Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan and Chris Paul. The team ambitiously declared its nickname "Lob City" (City of Alley-Ups) and with youthful enthusiasm is ready to repulse everyone.
BORN IN LOS ANGELES
First of all, this is Paul Pierce, who raved about playing Magic Johnson as a child, and at the moment is inseparable from the Celtics. Pierce has repeatedly stated that he still loves Los Angeles, but the reverence for the Lakers has been completely lost. Baron Davis, before entering the California College, dusted on the streetball courts under the supervision of his grandmother. It was the sharp-witted pensioner who, according to the bearded man himself, was his main inspiration. Dorell Wright is inferior to previous players in terms of fame, but he immediately realized that it was better to be a big fish in a small pond, and at the moment he is one of the main tools of the Golden State Warriors.
In addition to Los Angeles itself, a lot of NBA talent was maturing on its outskirts. Tayshawn Prince happened to be born in Compton, the home area of Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre, who drew inspiration for their early hits in this area. In the valley, Van Noyce honed his basketball skills and Gilbert Arenas' peculiar sense of humor. The company is motley, like the city itself.
ALL TIME LAKERS AND CLIPPERS
Lakers
Center - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Performance years: 1975-1989
Achievements: NBA champion (1971, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987-1988), season MVP (1971-1972, 1974, 1976-1977, 1980), All-Star (1970-1977, 1979-1989) , Finals MVP (1971, 1985), Rookie of the Year (1970), one of the top 50 players in NBA history. Number 33 has been withdrawn from circulation.
Center - Shaquille O'Neal
Performance years: 1996-2004
Achievements: NBA Champion (2000, 2001, 2002, 2006), Finals MVP (2000-2002), Season MVP (2000), Rookie of the Year (1993), All-Star (1993-1998, 2000) -2007, 2009), the best sniper of the season (1995, 2000), the most valuable player of the All-Star Game (2000, 2004, 2009).
Forward - James Worthy
Performance years: 1982-1994
Achievements: NBA champion (1985, 1987-1988), Finals MVP (1988), All-Star (1986-1992), one of the top 50 players in NBA history.
Shooting guard - Kobe Bryant
Performance years: 1996 - ...
Achievements: NBA Champion (2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010), Finals MVP (2009-2010), Season MVP (2008), All-Star (1998, 2000-2012), Top Shooter according to the results of the season (2006 - 2007), the most valuable player of the All-Star Game (2002, 2007, 2009, 2011), winner of the top throw competition (1997).
Point Guard - Magic Johnson
Performance years: 1979-1991, 1996
Achievements: NBA Champion (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987-1988), Season MVP (1987, 1989-1990), All-Star (1980, 1982-1992), Finals MVP (1980, 1982) , 1987), All-Star MVP (1990, 1992), one of the top 50 players in NBA history. Number 32 has been withdrawn from circulation.
