In 1980, Steve Ballmer became part of Microsoft’s core group alongside Bill Gates to trigger an Information Technology revolution. Ballmer, the 30th employee of Microsoft, helmed many impressive technological innovations that shaped the world as we know it. However, the 68-year-old has failed to translate his resounding success in the IT world into the NBA as the owner of the LA Clippers. But Ballmer believes he can replicate such magnitude of success in the NBA as well.
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The Clippers boss has taken a huge step by shifting the franchise from their shared abode of Crypto.com Arena to the newly constructed Intuit Dome, a technological wonder befitting of Ballmer’s vision. During the opening of this arena, he talked to the media about his future plans as a team owner in the NBA.
After the opening of Intuit Dome, Ballmer revealed that he hopes that the franchise would outdo expectations and achieve unprecedented success like his previous company, Microsoft. The Clippers owner told the media,
“I loved building Microsoft, it became far more than what Bill Gates and I ever guessed it would be. Honestly, I remember we laughed and we said, the guys at Intel said, some year, there will be a 100 million computers sold. Well, it’s over 300 million…This [looks at Intuit Dome], we started out with what I call a medium-sized idea, but it became a large-sized idea.”
Soon after, the prospect of winning an NBA title was brought up as the Clips begin a brand new era. Ballmer admitted that winning the NBA title is indeed the goal.
After triumphing in the business world with Bill Gates, he’d love to once again succeed as a collective with the Clippers athletes. For the Clippers owner, success as a group against the best in the world is certainly at the top of his checklist. Ballmer added,
“That’s [NBA championship] the holy grail. There are a lot of things where you know you are doing a good job, you’re not doing a good job. Our players know who the best of the best is. In very few places we think, ‘Who is the best person in the world doing something, well, who is the best group of people in the world doing something, I wanne be in that club.”
Steve Ballmer on what’s next for him, including the obvious goal of being a part of a title team pic.twitter.com/MatRLNokgA
— Law Murray ⚛️ (@LawMurrayTheNU) July 20, 2024
While the Clippers haven’t brought the desired results under his ownership, the billionaire has done everything to make sure that they have the top talents in the market. Moving to Intuit Dome will bring a fresh vibe to the team, but the Clippers have more questions than answers ahead of the 2024-25 season. However, an ambitious individual like Ballmer will ensure that they exhaust all tactics to make a run for the championship.
