Even after a second consecutive blowout win over the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers All-Star point guard, Chris Paul, acknowledged that Los Angeles still belongs to the Lakers. The Lakers have of course won 16 NBA titles and the Clippers are one season removed from winning their first Pacific Division title.
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En route to the 48-point win on Thursday, Lakers Nation’s Serena Winters reports a Lakers fan attempted to heckle Paul, but the effort was futile as the point guard agreed with the taunt:
Chris Paul: “During the game all the fans were yelling, ‘It’s still a Lakers town,’ and it is, it’s no secret."
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) March 7, 2014
Winters would later confirm the identity of the person who yelled at Paul was famed Lakers fan, Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers:
Per my last tweet, that fan who yelled ‘It’s still a Lakers town!’ to @CP3 was none other than the man, @flea333 himself.
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) March 7, 2014
The Lakers have traditionally been the dominant team both on and off the court, but over the last two seasons, the Clippers have begun to turn the tide. Historically viewed as the Lakers’ little brother, Donald Sterling’s team has experienced more on-court success as of late, but as Paul notes, it hasn’t quite been enough to completely overthrow the Lakers.
While the Clippers swept the four-game season series last year and have won two of the three games this season, their playoff run didn’t produce a championship, which is essential to firmly becoming the talk of the town. Moving forward, the Lakers should hold a high pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, plenty of cap space, and hopefully a recovered Kobe Bryant, who proclaimed revenge would be sweet. If the franchise is able to rebound as they have in years past and the Clippers continue on their path, the crosstown rivalry should intensify.
Here’s the video of Chris Paul talking about Los Angeles still being a ‘Lakers Town’ via thesportsdude:
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