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LOS ANGELES -- Steve Ballmer arrived at Staples Center more than four hours before Thursday's game between the Los Angeles Clippers and Oklahoma City Thunder started. Before any players or coaches or fans were in the building, Ballmer was walking around his new home away from home, clapping intensely at nothing in particular. A little more than five months ago, he was a billionaire fan sitting in Section 111, Row 7 with NBA commissioner Adam Silver. He was watching what would be the Clippers’ final victory of last season -- a comeback win over the Thunder to tie the Western Conference semifinals series 2-2. Fast-forward 172 days and Silver was back in the same seats, smiling as Ballmer came running over to sit with him during the third quarter. They were once again side by side, watching the Clippers play the Thunder, but -- aside from the result, a 93-90 Los Angeles victory -- that’s where the similarities between the games would end. Ballmer has gone from a billionaire fan to a billionaire owner, while the Clippers have gone from a team in turmoil to one of the most stable franchises in the league. Before the game, Ballmer spoke to Clippers employees and surprised them by bringing out Silver, who commended them on making it through a trying time in franchise and league history. He told them that the worst was behind them and brighter days were ahead, and offered himself up to any questions or concerns they might still have. Six months ago, it was Doc Rivers who was speaking to employees, telling them to keep their heads up when their disgraced owner was banned for life and their team president was put on an indefinite leave of absence. It was a situation the Clippers coach embraced at the time, but one Rivers wasn’t sure he would be able to handle if the Clippers did not have a new owner in place by the start of the regular season. “I didn’t think this would happen this quick, to be honest,” Rivers said. “I was fully aware of it still being in court. I assumed it as a matter of fact. I didn’t think there would be any way they would be done with all the stuff. I’m very happy about it. It’s good to just start this new thing we have going.”  While Rivers now says he was always committed to staying with the team regardless of how long it took the ownership situation to get resolved, there was a strong sense within the organization that Rivers would look to leave if Donald or Shelly Sterling was still involved with the team by the end of the season. As soon as Ballmer came on board, Rivers received a new five-year contract worth more than $50 million to be the team’s coach and president of basketball operations.
It’s almost hard to believe where he and the team sit now compared to just a few months ago. “I’m very happy about it,” Rivers said. “I don’t really give it a lot of thought. Maybe someday you will and realize that things don’t usually happen this quickly, and it’s really nice. It’s nice for everybody. It’s nice for the players and the fans and for the city too that we can just talk basketball. That’s nice.” Ballmer was an uncontainable bundle of energy during his first regular-season game. He got up and yelled after every made basket and rebound, and during stoppages went to talk to musical artists Common and Fergie, chatted with Silver and former Disney CEO Michael Eisner, and bought a round of drinks for the courtside ticket holders. He made sure to stop to hobnob with longtime Clippers season-ticket holder Billy Crystal, then high-fived an usher on his way back to his seat before a spectator grabbed him and said, "You're doing a great job ... great fan experience.” The only one Ballmer seemingly didn’t interact with was Shelly Sterling, who quietly walked to her courtside seats and left without much fanfare as soon as the game was over. Those seats, plus parking passes and the title of “The Clippers’ Number One Fan,” remained hers in Ballmer’s $2 billion purchase of the team over the summer. Most Clippers players said they didn’t notice Sterling, but they had a hard time ignoring Ballmer, who was stationed underneath the basket next to their bench and on his feet most of the game. Ballmer said he likes the view of the court under the basket, and chose the seats after talking to his friend and Portland Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen, who occupies the same spot at his home court. “I saw him pregame,” Clippers forward Blake Griffin said of Ballmer after the opening win. “He was walking out of the tunnel and our dancers happened to be walking out at the same time. It was awesome.”
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