Los Angeles Lakers: 8 Reasons Clippers Still Play Second Fiddle to the Lake Show

Sorry, Clipper fans, but the Lakers still reign supreme in the City of Angels.

As a Los Angeles native, I'll admit that many Angelinos latch onto the trendy "flavor of the month" in regards to anything.

The Clippers have fallen into that category, and never in my 22 years of existence have I seen more Clipper fans parading around the greater Los Angeles area than I currently do.

Can you say bandwagon?

In no way am I disparaging the Clipper Nation faithful. Actually, I immensely commend the sincere fan base for enduring an inept franchise for so long.

The facts are, the Clippers are having a better season thus far compared to the Lakers. In fact, the Clippers probably have the better overall team right now.

With that said, there's no denying that Los Angeles will forever be known as a Lakers town.

Let's take a look at eight reasons why the Lake Show is better than the "Blake Show".

Worldwide Appeal/Popularity

The Lakers have become a global brand stretching to all depths of the earth. Literally. 

I don't care if you're in Beirut or Botswana, you'll see a youngster sporting a Lakers jersey all across the globe in even the most impoverished areas.

Due to the mass success of the franchise, the Lakers will always be notable abroad. That notion is furthered with the existence of polarizing figures such as Kobe Bryant and the Spaniard Pau Gasol.

China has especially taken a liking to the Lakers, namely with Bryant. 

From 2006-2010, Bryant's jersey was the No. 1 seller in China. His status as an endearing figure is only growing.   

Gasol has not only been instrumental in helping the Lakers win multiple championships, but he's also a key cog for the Spanish National Team. In addition, Pau is one of the most popular athletes in all of Spain.  

Both players have a certain allure and aura to fans abroad. Bryant's growing profile in Asia makes him incredibly recognizable via their massive economy, while Gasol's viability stems from his native Spain.

The Clippers employ Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, two supremely exciting talents in their own right.

The popularity of both exists in huge quantities stateside, but not to the same level as Gasol and Bryant abroad.

Monetary Value of the Franchise

In terms of money, there is not one NBA franchise more valuable than the Los Angeles Lakers.

According to Forbes, the Lakers just recently passed the New York Knicks as the most valuable NBA franchise. 

The team is valued at $900 million. The Knicks, as the second most valuable franchise is worth $780 million. 

Where do the Clippers rank on this list?

They come in as the 20th most valuable franchise in the league, worth a paltry $324 million. That's nearly a third of what the Lakers are worth.

The Lakers' Big 3 Are Better Than the Clippers' Big 3

The Clippers have made huge progress this season with the acquisitions of forward Caron Butler and guards Chris Paul and Chauncey Billups. 

All three have had an incredibly big impact on the squad. The Clippers are currently in third place in the Western Conference, first in the Pacific Division.

Billups (before his horrific injury) had been displaying his usual "big shot" propensity, in addition to mentoring Paul.

Pairing Blake Griffin with Paul has transformed the third-year player from Oklahoma into an even more unstoppable force on the offensive end.

Paul has been superlative with his passing ability, and often sets up Griffin for spoon-fed scoring chances around the rim. 

The signing of Billups also moved guard Mo Williams to the bench, strengthening it immensely. Williams, at this point, looks like a strong candidate for the Sixth Man of the Year Award.

With that said, the Lakers trio of Bryant, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum bests the Clipper troika of Paul, Griffin and (at this point) Williams/Butler.

Gasol and Bynum give the Lakers an advantage over any frontcourt currently in the NBA.

Both are very skilled offensive players around the rim, and by utilizing their length they cause big problems for any defender. Bynum especially has been playing well this season. Due to his stellar play he's parlayed that success into a first-time All-Star selection.

Gasol is incredibly cerebral with his headiness on the court. His passing ability truly separates him from many at his position. An extremely soft touch from the perimeter also helps to characterize the Spaniard.

"The Black Mamba" has been playing at a great clip for someone who is 33 years old. He's leading the league in scoring with a 29.3 points per game average. It also helps the Lakers that he's regarded as the most clutch player in the league.

The Clippers' trio is very talented, but they lack the experience that the Lakers' three have. Also, the overall size of Gasol and Bynum coupled with their skill level make them an incredibly unique pairing.  

Celebrity Star Power

When attending a Lakers game, it almost feels like walking down the red carpet with the collection of cinematic talents present at seemingly every contest.

Regular goers include Andy Garcia, Anthony Kiedis, Leonardo DiCaprio, Denzel Washington, Ice Cube, Dyan Cannon and David Beckham among others.

However, the No. 1 celebrity Lakers fan? It's Jack.

It's just Jack. His last name isn't even needed.

I'm of course talking about famed actor Jack Nicholson. He patrols the opposing bench area from his designated court-side seat, fully equipped with his trademark sunglasses and big grin. In fact, he's had court-side seats to Lakers games for over three decades!

The Clippers and their celebrity fan base just plainly pales in comparison. They definitely are getting more of a following, but it will take some time before they're on par with the Lakers' celebrity contingency.

The most recognizable celebrity Clippers fan has to be Billy Crystal. 

Don't get me wrong, both City Slickers and When Harry Met Sally are cinematic gems. Nevertheless, Mr. Crystal doesn't quite equate to the heavy hitters that attend Lakers games. 

Championships and Overall Success

The championship prowess of the Lakers historically is the clearest difference between them and the Clippers. 

Success is second nature to the franchise, as they've won 16 NBA championships. They've also accrued a staggering 58 playoff appearances since moving from Minneapolis to Los Angeles in 1961.  

Along with the Boston Celtics, the Lakers' franchise is definitively unparalleled with any other NBA organization over the history of the league. 

The Clippers are not as fortunate.

They've only had four postseason entries since their move to Los Angeles. In addition, they've never advanced past the second round of the playoffs nor have they ever won a division title.

Clipper fans shouldn't hang their heads, though, because the team has a viable shot at winning the Pacific Division title this season.

And despite the dormant playoff past, the Clippers' franchise is in the midst of an upward swing right now. The future looks incredibly bright with Paul and Griffin as the two cornerstones.    

Hall of Famers

Over the history of the franchise, the Lakers have had 18 Hall of Famers play for them.

Some of those greats include Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West and George Mikan.  

The Clippers have had five, but the majority of those players either played briefly for the team or played at the end of their careers for the Clippers.

Forward Bob McAdoo had the most success as a Clippers player, but he did that in Buffalo before the franchise moved to Los Angeles. 

The lists of both teams just illustrates the massive talent disproportion between the two. The Lakers arguably have the most impressive collection of talent of any franchise in NBA history.  

Ownership and Management

A huge discrepancy between the two franchises exists solely at the top. Frankly, Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss does what he needs to do in order to win at an extremely high level.

Clippers owner Donald Sterling is essentially the antithesis of Dr. Buss. 

The famed owner of the Lakers goes above and beyond in order to field perennial NBA championship contenders. The words "stingy" and "frugal" don't apply to Dr. Buss. He regularly goes over the luxury tax in order to bring in the necessary personnel to help the squad.

He also doesn't involve himself with player personnel. Dr. Buss lets General Manager Mitch Kupchak deal with all of the logistics involving possible acquisitions.

Kupchak is one of the better GMs in the league right now. He's made many shrewd and clever moves over the course of his front-office career. His big coup was orchestrating the trade for Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies in 2008. 

Conversely, the Clippers have a complete (and I say this with respect) nut-job as their owner. Donald Sterling has been a root cause in the lack of any success for the franchise.

He's been unwilling to spend the necessary dollars to lure talent to Los Angeles. Also, the owner has been more concerned with making a profit as opposed to fielding a competitive basketball team. Sterling has even publicly heckled his own players during games.

To make matters worse, he's been characterized as a "racist slumlord". A messy situation centering around racial discrimination also existed with former great Elgin Baylor.

However, not all is currently bad with the Clippers' front office.

General manager Neil Olshey should be commended for tactfully putting together the impressive current Clippers roster. He was able to swing a trade for Paul, while also signing Butler and Billups.

Olshey was also responsible for drafting Griffin.

Playoff Experience with the Current Rosters

The disparity of playoff experience between the two current rosters is utterly astonishing.

If one combines every playoff appearance for the entire Clippers roster, they total 371 games. Of those games, 249 of them are accounted for by the injured Billups and new acquisition Kenyon Martin.

The Lakers combine for 807 playoff appearances, with Bryant and Derek Fisher making up 417 of those games. That's over 50 percent by the two players alone. 

Both teams should make the playoffs this season. It will be very interesting to see how the Clippers react, especially with their most experienced player (Billups) out for the season.

Interestingly enough, front-line stalwarts Griffin and DeAndre Jordan have zero playoff appearances between them. 

The Lakers won't be shocked by anything come playoff time. Bryant and Fisher have seen everything that could possibly be thrown their way. 

That reassurance and confidence will definitely serve the club well going forward.