Episode 36: The LA Clippers

In honor of start of NBA playoffs, Ben & David venture off
the beaten path to explore one of Steve Ballmer’s most famous
acquisitions, his 2014 purchase of the Los Angeles Clippers NBA
franchise. Was this landmark purchase a steal or a turnover for
the former Microsoft CEO? We speculate wildly! 


Sponsors:


WorkOS: https://bit.ly/workos25

Sierra: https://bit.ly/acquiredsierra

Sentry: https://bit.ly/acquiredsentry

Anthropic: https://bit.ly/acquiredclaude25






More Acquired!


Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups
from recent episodes

Join the Slack

Subscribe to ACQ2

Merch Store!



Copyright 2015-2025 ACQ, LLC

Topics covered include: 

The Clippers’ founding in 1970 as the NBA expansion team the
Buffalo Braves

Early ownership changes and the move west to San Diego in
1981

Acquisition in 1981 by LA lawyer and real estate developer
Donald Sterling for $12.5M

Sterling's relocation of the Clippers to LA in 1984 against
NBA rules

Struggles over the next 25 years as the "worst franchise in
professional sports” according to ESPN 

Turnaround beginning in early 2010s led by Blake Griffin,
DeAndre Jordan, and Chris Paul

The bombshell in April 2014, reported by TMZ, of a taped
conversation between Sterling and his mistress where Sterling
makes  hugely offensive and racist comments, directed in
particular toward former Lakers point guard Magic Johnson

Fallout from the comments, resulting in a lifetime ban from
NBA for Sterling, and a forced sale of the team to former
Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer for $2B

Impact of the landmark sale price on NBA and other sports
franchise valuations 

Clippers performance post-sale, and  prospects for the
future 

The opportunity for technology and business model innovation
in the NBA, and professional sports in general



  Followups: 


 Instagram Stories passes 200 million users per day
(including correction on the definition of DAU)

 The Last Jedi trailer!

Clarifying Starbucks’ same store sales performance
post-IPO 



  The Carve Out: 


Ben: Bill Gurley on This Week in Startups

David:  Pop, Race & the '60s podcast and Just Around
Midnight by Jack Hamilton