Why Does Los Angeles Have Two NBA Teams? You're Either a Clippers or a Lakers Fan

The city of Los Angeles is notable for many things, including being the only city in the country with two NBA teams, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers — but many may not know why this came to be.

In addition to being NBA teams in the same city, the Lakers and the Clippers also have a long-standing rivalry that goes back decades, pitting local basketball fans against each other when it comes to their favorite team.

In 1984, Clippers owner Donald Sterling attempted to move the team to Los Angeles for the second time, but was denied. However, he went ahead and moved the team anyway, ignoring the NBA’s decision, according to Lakers Nation.

As a result, Donald was hit with a $25 million fine from the league, which also sued him and demanded that the Clippers return to San Diego. In response, Donald filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NBA.

The two parties eventually came to an agreement to drop the lawsuits, and the NBA changed Donald’s fine from $25 million to $6 million. The agreement allowed him to keep the Clippers in Los Angeles, and that’s how they became the second NBA team in the city, per the outlet.

Despite new surroundings, the Clippers were unable to make a successful mark in the league, and were noted for making only four playoff appearances in the team’s first 27 seasons in the city, and only made it out of the first round once, according to Lakers Nation.

For several years, they were arguably considered the worst team in the NBA, especially in comparison to the hugely successful Lakers. Nevertheless, the rivalry between the two teams continued.

Recent years have seen the team attempt to shed its unsuccessful image and underdog status, which began when Steve Ballmer took over as owner of the team from Donald Sterling following another in a long line of scandals for the disgraced former owner.

Standout NBA stars such as Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and James Harden have all stepped up and turned things around for the Clippers with more wins. Although they are still not on the level of the Lakers in terms of success, the Clippers have proved throughout the years that they are committed to being known as more than just the spare NBA team in Los Angeles.

The last few seasons have not been the best for the team, as their last NBA Championship win was back in 2020 when they defeated the Miami Heat. Additionally, team star LeBron James has been rumored to be mulling over the possibility of retirement, after the Lakers were eliminated in the playoffs in April 2025.

"I don't know," LeBron said when asked about retirement after losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves on April 30, per PEOPLE. "I don't have an answer to that."

"Something I'll sit down with my family, my wife, and my support group and kind of just talk through it and see what happens. And just have a conversation with myself on how long I want to continue to play. I don't know the answer to that right now, to be honest. So we'll see," he added.