Episode 36: The LA Clippers
Acquired24 Huhti 2017

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:


More Acquired!

© 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:

The Carve Out:

Jaksot(212)

Bitcoin

Bitcoin

We had to do it. After 12 years and 3,000,000x appreciation, we kick off Season 8 with the best investment of all-time and our biggest episode ever: Bitcoin. From the first bitcoin transaction of 10k ...

19 Tammi 20213h 14min

Special: Acquired x Indie Hackers

Special: Acquired x Indie Hackers

As regular listeners know, we typically cover some of the biggest companies who often receive the most media attention (see Airbnb and DoorDash). But today's episode is a little different. In our conv...

17 Joulu 20201h 51min

Airbnb

Airbnb

Over 13 years after its founding, one of the defining startup companies of the past decade finally makes its public debut — and boy was it a big one. But for all the hype (and all the legitimately gre...

11 Joulu 20202h 41min

DoorDash

DoorDash

Live from the scene of its blockbuster IPO, we recount the crazy, roller coaster journey of this "Palo Alto delivery company". From Sand Hill darling during their Series A and B fundraises to all but ...

10 Joulu 20203h

Slack + Salesforce Emergency Pod with Packy McCormick of Not Boring

Slack + Salesforce Emergency Pod with Packy McCormick of Not Boring

Acquired is live on the scene covering Salesforce's blockbuster $27.7B acquisition of Slack, with the help of the internet's #1 Slack bull (and top internet analyst in his own right), Packy McCormick ...

2 Joulu 20201h 32min

Virgin Galactic

Virgin Galactic

Live from the 2020 ASCEND Space Conference, Acquired covers the full story behind the most "out there" technology story of the past few years: Virgin Galactic. How did this space tourism company grow ...

23 Marras 20201h 49min

Special: Superhuman Part II - Designing Software to Feel like a Game (with Rahul Vohra)

Special: Superhuman Part II - Designing Software to Feel like a Game (with Rahul Vohra)

Superstar past guest and Superhuman CEO Rahul Vorha joins us for a deep dive on how Superhuman applies concepts from game design to building productivity software. We're not talking points and badges ...

12 Marras 202057min

Twitter (with Dick Costolo)

Twitter (with Dick Costolo)

A week before the 2020 US Presidential election, former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo joins us to tell the story of a company that has impacted all of our lives (political and otherwise) like none other. W...

28 Loka 20201h 25min

Suosittua kategoriassa Liike-elämä ja talous

sijotuskasti
mimmit-sijoittaa
psykopodiaa-podcast
rss-rahapodi
pomojen-suusta
ostan-asuntoja-podcast
rss-rahamania
rss-draivi
herrasmieshakkerit
rss-myyntikoulu
rss-sami-miettinen-neuvottelija
rahapuhetta
inderespodi
salkunrakentaja-podi
juristipodi
rss-lahtijat
rss-bisnesta-bebeja
rss-seuraava-potilas
rss-set-for-life-sijoita-ja-vaurastu
rss-rahataito-podcast