NBA Owner Shares Firm Decision After Researching Potential Team Name Change
The Clippers don’t figure to be sharing a home with the Lakers for much longer, as they have plans to relocate to nearby Inglewood and play in a new stadium, the Inuit Dome.
The plan is for the organization to leave Los Angeles and Crypto.com Arena ahead of the 2024-25 NBA season, when its new stadium is expected to open.
With so much change coming for the franchise, owner Steve Ballmer addressed what the organization will do with its name.
Via Arash Markazi, Ballmer indicated that after completing some research, the Clippers have opted against changing their team name amid the move to Inglewood.
Steve Ballmer said he will not change the name of the Clippers when the team moves to Intuit Dome in Inglewood. "We've done our research on this," Ballmer said, "And our answer is no."
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) April 18, 2023
“We’ve done our research on this. And our answer is no,” said Ballmer on the potential for the Clippers to undergo a name change, via Markazi.
It’s not the first time the prospect of a name change has been brought up to Ballmer. In 2021, the 67-year-old indicated changing the name of the Clippers was something he’d considered when he first purchased the franchise in 2014, but ultimately opted against doing so, saying he was “hopeful we’re going to win a championship with that name.”
While the organization has yet to make good on that goal, it doesn’t seem as if their pursuit for a championship will continue under an alternative moniker.
The Clippers’ name appears to be here to stay, despite the flurry of other changes en route for the organization in the coming years.