“The Clippers are the Lakers’ little brother. They’re always going to be our little brother.” A few years ago, Snoop Dogg, the Lakers’ loyalist, made clear his feelings for another LA franchise. It is not only him; these statements have been going on for far too long. From 1976 to 2011, the Purple and Gold franchise played the NBA Finals 16 times and won the championship 10 times. Three of them, thanks to contributions from the Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant duo. But is this comparison still valid?

One of the Lakers loyalists, O’Shea Jackson Jr., had a message for his beloved franchise. “All I’m trying to say is you’ve been in way worse positions than having LeBron James and Anthony Davis.” Legendary rapper Ice Cube’s son also explained how their cross-town rivals don’t matter because of this key reason. “The thing is called the Intuit dome, and they can’t get nobody into it. It’s just hilarious marketing on their part. Don’t be like them.”

This line even Shaquille O’Neal appreciated, suggesting he might agree with the statement. But it was Paul George, the former Clippers star, who made a clear statement about the lack of fans in the new $2 billion facility. “I wish it would’ve been a little bit more packed out. I didn’t think it was quite packed for this to be Clippers’ very own.” It was his first time since not only playing against his former franchise but also in the new arena.

As per the official stats, the attendance record for that game was 15,627. And as per ESPN, the team has the worst average attendance record at home. An average of 16,269 in a nearly 18,000-seat bowl. They even built the Wall, which is positioned behind the basket and includes a supporters section. A standing-only area designed for 300 of the Clippers’ most passionate fans. But it is still no match in terms of their rivals and their attendance.

On the other side, the Lakers are also not in the top 10 but 12th with an average attendance of 18,658. That’s why Jackson Jr. stated that times are tough, but they are still better than the Clippers. And Shaquille O’Neal was a fan of that expression, “I might have to steal that from you,” via The Big Podcast. But did you know one player could have changed that status a long time ago?

Shaquille O’Neal’s running mate and a Lakers legend could have joined the rivals

One of those what-if moments that always come around? “They (Clippers) said, well, we wanna turn things around with our organization, and we felt like if we drafted a 17-year-old kid, then the City of Los Angeles wants to take us seriously.” One of the executives spoke to Kobe Bryant and opined the reason for not drafting him. Despite previously stating, “You know this is the best workout we’ve ever seen.”

The 5x NBA Champion once spoke on the Jimmy Kimmel Show many years ago. And in order to right the wrong, the team tried once again in 2004. As per the former Clippers broadcaster, it was almost a guarantee that the trade was happening: “This is an exact quote that I’ve had repeated to me by multiple people: [Bryant] said, ‘Don’t worry, I’m a Clipper.’”

Ralph Lawler spoke to the Los Angeles Times in 2019. As per other reports, it was Jerry West who called Kobe Bryant and convinced him to stay with the franchise. And the rest is history. Till today, those two opportunities would haunt the Clippers fans. Imagine the number of fans who would have been ardent followers thanks to Black Mamba. But now they can hope that things improve in their $2 billion arena.