In 1994, I Took Over the Clippers and Built a Dynasty with Kobe

In the summer of 1994, Lin Mo was reborn from 2024 as the chief lawyer of Sterling Group, the parent company of the Los Angeles Clippers. He clearly remembered that under the penny-pinching management of the team’s original owner, Sterling, the Clippers would languish for twenty years, then change hands in disgrace after a racial scandal. Meanwhile, the future “Black Mamba,” Kobe, was supposed to wear purple and gold, but would pass the Clippers by.

Armed with memories of the future, Lin Mo embarked on a two-pronged journey. At work, under the guise of compliance reviews, he secretly gathered dirt on Sterling for diverting team funds and making discriminatory remarks. At the same time, he used venture capital to invest in the internet and energy futures, then made a fortune of $300 million during the 1995 subprime mortgage crisis. Quietly buying up shares in the group, he gradually dismantled Sterling’s control. Away from the office, he mastered the NBA’s 1990s trade rules. In 1996, he first snatched up the prime point guard Rod Strickland, then secured the 11th overall pick through a follow-up trade. Overriding all objections, he selected Kobe, then still a high schooler, and laid the foundation for a Clippers dynasty.

From stopping the team from tanking to building a championship roster, from helping Kobe through his rookie struggles to watching him grow into the league’s best player, Lin Mo called the shots as the owner. He brought in the iron-fisted point guard B.J. Armstrong and defensive center Erick Dampier, hired tactical mastermind Jeff Van Gundy, and secured future superstars such as Kevin Durant at key moments. In the end, under his leadership, a team that had long been a perennial weakling built a dynasty with four consecutive championships and seven NBA titles, making “Clippers red” replace “Lakers purple” as the legendary color of the NBA from the 1990s into the early 21st century. Lin Mo, meanwhile, transformed from a chief lawyer into the most legendary owner in basketball history.