Show Notes
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:
- Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora
- Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta
- ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26
- Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26
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 2015-2026 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