The Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers shared an arena for several years. However, with Steve Balmer now constructing the Intuit Dome for the Clippers, they have their own home now. In fact, tonight, the Lakers and Clippers will play home games on the same night for the first time since 1999.
The Clippers will face the Rockets at the Intuit Dome at 9 PM EST. While the Lakers will host the Trail Blazers at the Crypto.com Arena at 9:30 PM EST. Coincidentally, the last time both teams played home games on the same night was May 5th, 1999, and the Lakers faced the Trail Blazers on that night as well, whereas the Clippers faced the Sonics.
The Clippers made the move to Los Angeles in 1984 and began playing at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. The building had been the home of the Lakers in the 1960s. The team almost relocated to Anaheim in the 1990s, but disgraced former owner Donald Sterling shut down the deal to do so.
The Clippers, along with the Lakers, made the move to the Staples Center in 1999. The Lakers, who were moving away from the LA Forum at the time, were given scheduling priority over the Clippers. Later on, the Clippers would get more favorable scheduling when they were a more successful team than the Lakers in the mid-2010s.
Steve Balmer Wanted A New Arena
After purchasing the Clippers in the wake of the Donald Sterling controversy, new owner Steve Balmer began planning for a new arena that the Clippers could call their own. Now known as the Intuit Dome, the Clippers found their new home in Inglewood.
The arena is state of the art and features ‘The Wall’, a long-slanting fan section created to intimidate opposing players, especially when taking free throws. Paul George, who made his return to the Clippers as an opponent, spoke a few weeks ago about the experience.
The Clippers definitely needed to move away from the Staples Center/Crypto.com Arena, as many felt that sharing an arena with the Lakers meant they would always be in their shadow. Not just because of the Lakers getting priority, but also the monumental legacy and success the Lakers have experienced before moving there and since moving there as well.
The new arena seems to have worked well for the Clippers. They currently have a 9-5 record while playing at the Intuit Dome, and the team overall has a 14-10 record and the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference. Despite the absence of Kawhi Leonard, the Clippers have been doing quite well this year.
Bill Simmons recently reported that he expects Leonard to make his return in a few weeks, around Christmas time. Fans at the Intuit Dome will be thrilled to see the former Finals MVP make his first appearance at the Intuit Dome this season, and it will be a massive boost for the Clippers.
Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News. We really appreciate your support.
