LA LAKERS

Merry Christmas Laker fans! In honor of today's game let's take a quick look at one of the most competitive rivalries in American sports.

Championships:

Lakers: 16

Clippers: 0

Pacific Division Titles:

Lakers: 23

Clippers: 2

60 Win Seasons:

Lakers: 11

Clippers: 0

Retired Numbers

Lakers: 9 (Soon to be 10)

Clippers: 0

Finals Appearances:

Lakers: 31

Clippers: 0

Franchise W-L Percentages:

Lakers: .601% (3246-2156)

Clippers: .397% (1491-2264)

• There have been 23 Hall of Famers who has played at least one season for the Lakers in their entire career. There are 6 for the Lakers. The 23 Hall of Famers combine for 145 total seasons with the Lakers, an average of 6.3 seasons per player. Once Kobe Bryant enters the Hall, that average jumps up to 7.1 seasons per player. The 6 who played for the Clippers combine for a total of just 13 seasons which is an average of 2.1, and only 1 of the 6 players played for the Clippers during their prime, Bob McAdoo with the Buffalo Clippers.

• The Clippers have a grand total of 25 playoff wins in 47 years. In comparison the Lakers have more wins just against the Celtics in their franchise history with 31.

• The Clippers had 28 Top 10 first round picks in their franchise history, 16 of which were in the Top 5. 6 became All-Stars, and just 3 of them were All-Stars while playing for the Clippers. (Danny Manning, Blake Griffin, Bob McAdoo) The Lakers have 4 HALL OF FAMERS in their 26 (Excluding Top 10 picks in the last three drafts. Randle, Russell, Ingram) Top 10 First Round Picks.

• Over the past 17 seasons, the Lakers had an average home attendance that was within 100 people of a sellout crowd 16 of those 17 times. This includes the 2015 and 2016 season, where we fucking sucked. The Clippers? Just three times and that was the past three seasons.

• Staples Center has been shared with the two teams since 1999, yet the Clippers might have to switch homes

• The only elite celebrity who is a die-hard fan for the Clippers is Billy Crystal. From Jack to Lil Wayne to Snoop Dogg to Denzel to Ice Cube to DeCaprio world class celebrities are die hard fans of the Lakers. People might say it's just bandwagoning to sell their rep, but that's certainly not the case at all

So over the past few years the Clippers have certainly had a great team (though not great enough to make the conference Finals) while we remain in the dungeon of the division, dealing with the growing pains of a young team. Some say it's the changing of the guard, or there's a new team in town, but that isn't true and will never be true. The Lakers have owned LA for 50+ years and have shared many captivating moments with millions of people. This feeling will be back soon.