The Los Angeles Clippers have been the second team in Los Angeles ever since they moved to the city. Los Angeles has always been a Lakers town and as such, the Clippers have always had to make do with whatever they got.
The arrival of Steve Ballmer changed everything, as a passionate owner, he has done everything he can to improve the team and the infrastructure. With them set to move into a new $1.2 billion arena soon, Shaun Livingston and Matt Barnes, who were both with the team in 2004, reminisced about how bad the practice facilities used to be.
“That team didn’t have a practice facility. Used to practice at South by Southwest University,” Matt Barnes recounted. “Had to leave the back door open so that people didn’t break into your cars, and there was no shower… You’re thinking, ‘NBA, I’m a No. 4 pick in the draft, this is almost a step-down.'”
“Yes, it was a step-down,” Livingston said. “I didn’t know what to expect, I just expected better. Our first practice was again at Southwest Community College and then I remember, one of the guys, had their car broken into… It was just wild that we were going through that.
“And then we finish practice on pretty much like one side of the gym, we go in the locker room, and here come in the football team in there. And I was like, ‘I’m not taking a shower in their dog, Imma take it at the crib.’ It was rough… What would be of those teams if they had the resources and focus and direction?”
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In 2008, the team finally moved to a new training facility of their own and, after all these decades of sharing an arena with the Los Angeles Lakers, will soon get to call one entirely their own.
Clippers players like Livingston and Barnes saw the darkest days of the franchise and went on to carve out great careers for themselves. Livingston was an important piece for three of the four championships the Warriors eventually won starting in 2015.
The Clippers’ New Arena Has Been Built With Intense Attention To Detail
The construction of the Intuit Dome is a big deal for the Los Angeles Clippers, considering their history. And it helps that owner Steve Ballmer seems extremely invested in ensuring the building is state of the art. He even recently got hyped about the 1,160 toilets and urinals they are set to have in there.
The Los Angeles Clippers have put together some serious contending teams in the past decade, but they have failed to win a championship. Considering where the franchise was, though, this is a great spot to be in, and success will surely follow once everything is in place like Ballmer wants.
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