Simply because Los Angeles has two NBA teams, many fans have wanted these teams to have a rivalry. On one side, there are the Lakers, who have a proven history of winning. Then, the Clippers have a history of losing.
In the early 2010s, the Clippers changed the narrative, becoming a consistently good playoff team. Often mentioned among title contenders, they always came up short, in the playoffs. During this span of time, the Lakers became the ultimate losers.
Fans were denied the Clippers/Lakers rivalry, due to neither team being good at the same time. This offseason, Kawhi Leonard signed with the Clippers, who also traded for Paul George, while LeBron’s Lakers traded for Anthony Davis. But, on opening night, the George-less Clippers beat the Lakers.
That was NBA on TNT’s opening night, but ESPN’s “First Take” hosts, Stephen A. Smith and Max Kellerman, are still talking Clippers and Lakers. The LA sports fans agree with LeBron James that the Clippers and Lakers have no rivalry. Meanwhile, the NBA fans are upset, because there were other NBA games, last night, as Kemba Walker’s debut with the Celtics fell flat, Ben Simmons had a huge game, Justice Winslow came up big, Kyrie dropped 50, and Devonte Graham had a huge opening night.
