The Clippers have been viewed as the younger sibling of the Lakers since their genesis as a franchise. Finally, ahead of the 2024-25 season, Clips’ Nation will have their own home as they are set to play in their new arena, the Inuit Dome. Despite gaining independence, they are still the subject of ridicule.
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Former Lakers guard Nick Young took to X to make a post seemingly poking fun at the Clippers and their fanbase. He said,
“Is there real Clippers fans in LA our is that new arena too big for they fan base?”
Is there real clippers fans in LA our is that new arena to big for they fan base?
— Nick Young (@NickSwagyPYoung) September 22, 2024
The Intuit Dome is a state-of-the-art facility, set to house as many as 18,000 fans. Compared to the rest of the arenas in the NBA, the Clippers stadium is not the biggest. Yet Young is insinuating that the Clippers don’t even have enough fans to fill out an arena, that is smaller than their previous home Crypto.com Arena.
However, his claims can be proven to be false, as the stats suggest the Clippers will be able to fill out their arena. The Clippers hosted an average fan attendance of 18,945, which ranked 10th in the association. This mark was even higher than the Lakers, who were 11th at 18,903.
Considering the Intuit Dome features a smaller maximum attendance than the average the Clippers witnessed in the past season, they are in a great position. Although the onetime champion suited up for the Clippers and Lakers during his NBA career, it’s evident who his allegiance is towards.
Clippers have been in the shadow of the Lakers
The 2024-25 season will usher in a new generation, which could finally break the Clippers from the Lakers’ shadow. Until this point, their reputation has suffered because of this. Los Angeles has always been a Lakers town. The enriched history, which is decorated in championships, doesn’t help the Clippers stand out to the crowd.
Former Clippers star, Paul George, added fuel to the fire following his departure in the 2024 offseason. He revealed on his podcast what it felt like to be a member of the Clippers in L.A. He said,
“When I was in L.A, they were like ‘You should’ve been a Laker’. That’s all I was hearing. There was no ‘Welcome to the Clippers.’ Felt like I was on the B team.’
The Clippers are now in a position to forge their own identity. People will still express their own opinions and thoughts about the franchise. However, the new arena is a step in the right direction.
