Over the past decade, the rivalry between the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers has become much more fierce. Even though the Lakers are still the premier franchise in the city and arguably the NBA as a whole, the Clippers are no longer the doormat franchise they had been for much of their time in Los Angeles.
The Clippers are now a perennial playoff team and have built their own identity within the city. A couple of players have found themselves on both sides of the coin, and one of those is veteran guard Lou Williams. The three-time Sixth Man of the Year spent nearly two seasons with the Lakers and almost four with the Clippers.
When it comes to Williams and his personal preference between the two franchises, it was an easy choice for him to take the Clippers over the Lakers, and he explained why during an appearance on the Knuckleheads Podcast, via Joey Linn of the Sun Herald:
“Clippers, that’s easy. That’s easy for me,” Lou said. “I was part of a culture change over there. They gave us an opportunity to kinda build that organization out to our personalities and how we wanted to feel and look. And I think we had a big part in how it looks now. I’m a part of that.”
In this instance, it makes complete sense why Williams would choose the Clippers over the Lakers. When he was with the Purple and Gold, the franchise was going through arguably the worst period in franchise history. But as he noted, Williams was a part of building a culture with the Clippers that will always stand out more.
Williams had the best success of his career with the Clippers, winning two of his three Sixth Man of the Year awards during his time there and helping to build the foundation of this new era of Clippers basketball.
The success of the two franchises is not comparable, but each player has their journey and for Lou Williams, his time with the Clippers was much more impactful in his career than his time with the Lakers.
Lakers expected to aggressively pursue buying a second-round pick
Lou Williams is one of the best second-round picks in recent memory, as he was the 45th overall selection back in 2005, but still went on to great success and is considered by many to be the best sixth man in NBA history. The Lakers have had their own success with second-round selections, and they are looking to find some more this year.
With no current selections in the 2022 NBA Draft, the Lakers are expected to aggressively pursue buying a second-round pick this offseason in hopes of adding another young, promising piece to their roster.
