Violation #4: History of futility
The Lakers have hung five NBA championships and will quite possibly hang their sixth at Staples Center since it opened up in 1999. In that same time, the Lakers have an impressive combined regular season record of 638-335 and have qualified for the playoffs in all but one of those seasons. The Lakers’ organization is a perfect model of success in the NBA and one that no other team in American sports can compete with since 1999.
The exact antithesis of the Lakers has been the L.A. Clippers organization that has been the laughing stock of the NBA in that same time frame.
The closest the Clippers have gotten to an NBA championship is the proximity of the Lakers’ Larry O’ Brian trophies to the Clippers locker room at Staples. The Clips have a horrid 363-611 record since Staples opened in the 1999-2000 season and qualified for the playoffs just once. They sported the second worse record in their L.A. franchise history while at Staples in 1999-2000 when they went 15-67; that works out to an embarrassing .183 winning percentage.
The Clippers have routinely been comedic material for late night talk show host’s monologues like Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel and David Letterman. With the Clippers attending the lottery in all but one of the last 11 years, they have a permanent seat with the Clippers’ logo nicely embroidered in the seat back.
The saying of “these guys don’t belong in the same building, let alone the same court” when one team is dominating another is so fitting in this case.
Next: Serving notice
