Лос Анжелес Лэйкерсийг 12.5 тэрбум ам.доллароор худалдаж авсан Боб Айгер өмнө нь тус багийн хотын өрсөлдөгч Клипперсийг дэмждэг байснаа хүлээн зөвшөөрчээ.
Боб Айгер болон түүний бизнесийн түнш Жош Кушнер нар Лхагва гарагт Лос Анжелес Лэйкерсийг 12.5 тэрбум ам.доллароор худалдаж авахаар Марк Уолтертэй тохиролцлоо. Энэ нь сүүлийн 14 сарын хугацаанд багийн өмчлөл хоёр дахь удаагаа солигдож буй үйл явдал юм.
Гэвч шинэ эзэн Боб Айгерийн NBA-гийн багуудад хандах хандлага Лэйкерсийн хөгжөөн дэмжигчдийн дургүйцлийг хүргэж болзошгүй байна. 2021 онд Жэй Жэй Рэдикийн “Old Man and the Three” подкастад оролцох үеэрээ Айгер өөрийгөө Нью-Йорк Никс болон Лос Анжелес Клипперсийн хөгжөөн дэмжигч гэдгээ илэрхийлж, Лэйкерсийг дэмжих нь “миний цусанд байхгүй зүйл” хэмээн ярьж байжээ.
Тэрээр Нью-Йоркоос Лос Анжелес руу 2000 онд нүүж ирэхдээ хөгжөөн дэмжих баг хайж байхдаа Клипперсийг сонгосон байна. Түүний хэлснээр, бага залуу насандаа Никсийн томоохон өрсөлдөгч байсан Лэйкерсийг дэмжих боломжгүй байсан бөгөөд Клипперсийн тасалбарын үнэ харьцангуй хямд байсан нь сонголтоо хийхэд нөлөөлжээ.
Боб Айгер өмнө нь Клипперсийн эзэн Стив Балмер болон Крис Пол нарын хамтаар талбайн хажуугийн суудалд сууж байсан нь олны өмнө ил болсон. Тэрээр шинээр эзэмших болсон багийнхаа хөгжөөн дэмжигчдийн өмнө энэхүү байр сууриа хэрхэн тайлбарлах нь анхаарал татаж байна.
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Bob Iger has some explaining to do.
The former Walt Disney power player is now the pending co-owner of the Los Angeles Lakers after he and business partner Josh Kushner agreed on Wednesday to a $12.5 billion purchase of the franchise from controlling owner Mark Walter.
Lakers fans surely have a wide range of thoughts regarding the transfer of their beloved team’s ownership for the second time in 14 months. But they can all likely agree on this: Iger’s previously stated NBA loyalties — in the context of his Lakers ownership — stink.
Iger is a Clippers fan. And a Knicks fan. And rooting for the Lakers is “not in my DNA.”
This is all according to Iger, who made the revelations to none other than JJ Redick during an appearance on the “Old Man and the Three” podcast. This was in 2021, three years before Redick became the head coach of the Lakers.
“I’m a Clippers fan. Having moved from New York to Los Angles back in 2000 and being a big NBA fan, I needed a team to root for… Lakers were a big rival of the Knicks, the team I grew up rooting for. So I couldn’t root for the Lakers very easily; just was not in my DNA” 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/oIavYIwQkc
— ۟ (@lectyres) August 12, 2026
“I’m a Clippers fan,” Iger said. “Having moved from New York to Los Angeles back in 2000 and being a big NBA fan, I needed a team to root for. And in my youth, the Lakers were a big rival of the Knicks, the team I grew up rooting for.
“So I couldn’t root for the Lakers very easily. It just was not in my DNA. So I decided to adopt the Clippers, which was actually a good thing because their seats were a lot cheaper than the Lakers.”
Moving past the comedy of a man who just committed his share of $12.5 billion to buy an NBA franchise worrying about the cost of tickets, this is not going to go over well in Los Angeles. At least among the overwhelming portion of Angelenos in relation to Clippers fans who pull for the Lakers.
Iger, indeed, is (was?) a Clippers fan and very publicly so. Photo archives show Iger in his courtside Clippers seats alongside the likes of team owner Steve Ballmer, Clippers great Chris Paul and Billy Crystal, the only Clippers fan more famous than him.
Being a Clippers fan, of course, is not a crime. One can make the case that it demonstrates questionable judgment. But in almost any walk of life, it’s a decision demands no judgment.
This, unfortunately for Iger, is not one of those walks of life. Iger’s Clippers fandom matters here. And he’s going to have to address it one way or another with the fans of the team that he is soon to own.
