Going into the NBA regular season’s final stretch, the Clippers are a premier Western Conference team with Finals dreams.
The Clippers’ 34-16 record has brought them back to relevancy and all of the pieces look to be finally clicking. The addition of shooting guard James Harden has injected new life into the once-struggling squad and forwards Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are well deserving of All-Star selections.
The Clippers’ top-notch play has arrived at an opportune time; Intuit Dome, the $1.8 billion facility set to host Clippers games beginning next season, has fans excited to finally cheer for a team that has its own home arena.
The Clips have shared Crypto.com Arena, formerly known as Staples Center, with the Lakers since 1999 and have struggled to find a true identity within the city and the building. The Clippers are forced to cover the Lakers’ plentiful championship banners and retired numbers every game and in a crowded LA sports market, the Clippers often feel like an afterthought.
Owner Steve Ballmer seems to have grown tired of this narrative and will finally have a chance to build a stronger identity for his team in its new 18,000-seat building. He is committed to giving the Clippers a unique home by implementing innovative features into the building, including one designed to engage Clips fans in an eccentric way.
The diehard cheering section, also known as The Wall, could either be a major success or a dire failure. In this section, fans will be outlawed from sporting opposing team gear or cheering for them and it will consist of 51 uninterrupted rows, which is quite the spectacle from the court view. While this appears to be a great way to engage Clippers fans, questions have arisen as to how these rules could be enforced.
Lakers fans will surely make the short trip when the rivals play each other and with the one-sided nature of the Los Angeles basketball scene, it might take a number of years before the Clippers can hold down the fort and defend their territory, even with The Wall’s help.
History doesn’t favor the Clippers the same way it favors the LakeShow, but if the Clips can end their 53-year title drought and finally hang a championship banner of their own, they’ll continue to grow their fandom.
While having varied success on the field, Los Angeles’ two NFL teams have both had similar experiences playing at the new, shiny SoFi Stadium, also in Inglewood, that the Clippers could learn from. The Rams won the Super Bowl in just their second season playing there, which generated a lot of buzz, but opposing fans still flood the stands despite the Rams’ recent playoff success. The Chargers haven’t had the on-field success of the Rams and also struggle to pack SoFi with their own fans.
While this might seem discouraging for Clippers faithful, they’re in it for the long haul. The Lakers have employed stars players and NBA icons in pretty much every era of their history, so bringing in new fans came naturally to them. The Clippers, on the other hand, haven’t had anywhere near the same amount of success, but the future presents promising opportunities. The Clips should take initiative to sway Southern California’s interest once LeBron James either leaves the Lakers or retires, as his absence will leave a void in the Los Angeles basketball scene.
It might take years, or even decades, to create a more even playing field, but it can be done. Just ask the Brooklyn Nets, who like the Clippers, are overshadowed by a historic, popular neighbor. Despite this disadvantage, Nets attendance has only increased since moving to Brooklyn from New Jersey in 2012, and in addition to outplaying the Knicks in multiple seasons and attracting national attention, they’ve created a unique brand in Brooklyn, in part thanks to the state-of-the-art Barclays Center.
For many, the Clippers aren’t the first to come to mind when talking about Los Angeles basketball, but the team’s popularity and relevance has the chance to skyrocket in the coming years. If Clippers ownership can capitalize on the upcoming transition period for the Lakers — and simultaneously put a perennial winner together — Intuit Dome will elevate the Clippers to heights they’ve never seen before.