Photo by Jerritt Clark and Getty Images
The Clippers do not like the Lakers.
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What should have been a typical All-Star Weekend moment turned into a memorable scene involving jerseys, rivalry pride, and a bit of Los Angeles basketball culture. During the festivities at the Intuit Dome, a clothing choice made by the son of former NBA Sixth Man of the Year Lou Williams caught the attention of the host organization, the Los Angeles Clippers.
As reported by EssentiallySports, it all started when Williams’ young son walked into the All-Star event wearing a Los Angeles Lakers jersey of LeBron James. That’s hardly unusual in NBA fan culture; kids everywhere wear jerseys of their favorite stars, but this moment happened inside a building that just a few years ago became the permanent home of the Clippers, not the Lakers.
Rather than just letting the youngster enjoy the festivities in his Lakers gear, staff associated with the Clippers took a different approach. Members of the host organization repeatedly handed the child alternative jerseys to wear before he entered deeper into the arena. Williams later explained that Clippers personnel “were not having it” when it came to his son’s choice of attire.
The Clippers Are Territorial
According to Williams, multiple staff members offered different jerseys, even a custom one, until the Lakers colors were gone. Williams didn’t come off as upset or offended by the situation. Instead, he treated the wardrobe swap as all in good fun and even appreciative of the attention paid to his son’s comfort.
His reaction was light-hearted when he gave a shout-out to the Clippers for their efforts. “Shoutout to the good people over at the Clippers for making sure my son was comfortable, accommodated, and flipping him into a Clippers fan,” he said.
Historically, Los Angeles basketball has been dominated by the Lakers’ legacy. For decades, both the Lakers and the Clippers shared the same arena in downtown Los Angeles. For the Lakers, that space became synonymous with championship banners, Hall of Famers, and some of the greatest moments in NBA history. Until recently, the Clippers were often seen as the younger sibling in town, overshadowed despite having loyal fans and occasional playoff runs.
But with the Clippers now fully settled into their own arena, that dynamic has shifted. The organization is working hard to make its own mark in a city long defined by Lakers lore. As a result, symbols like jerseys and colors take on added significance.
The All-Star Weekend game itself further highlighted how the teams can coexist within the same city. On the court, players from both Los Angeles teams and around the league took part in the new USA-format All-Star event. Clippers star Kawhi Leonard led a strong performance in the semifinal, and LeBron helped Team Stripes finish second in the final, showing that basketball competition doesn’t stop at rivalries when the spectacle of the sport is on display.