LOS ANGELES (AP) - Steve Ballmer officially became the new owner of the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday for a record $2 billion.
The team said the sale closed after a California court confirmed the authority of Shelly Sterling, on behalf of the Sterling Family Trust, to sell the franchise to the former Microsoft CEO. Her estranged husband, Donald Sterling, had unsuccessfully fought the sale of the team he owned since 1981 in court. The NBA Board of Governors had previously approved the sale.
"Really excited - in a pretty hardcore way - to continue the path to making the Clippers a better and better basketball team, and a better and better citizen of the Los Angeles community," Ballmer told the Associated Press in a phone interview.
Adam Streisand, Ballmer's attorney, said Tuesday that Superior Court Judge Michael Levanas signed the order authorizing the sale even if Donald Sterling's attorneys filed an appeal.
"We were ready," Streisand said. "Within minutes, the deal was signed, sealed and delivered."
He said even if Donald Sterling seeks an emergency order directing the judge to vacate his order, the attorney is confident an appellate court would agree Levanas made the correct decision. Donald Sterling's attorneys weren't immediately available to comment.
The sale ends some troubling concerns that had surrounded the team in recent months.
Doc Rivers would possibly have quit as coach if Sterling remained the owner, interim CEO Richard Parsons had testified. All-Star point guard Chris Paul, who also is president of the Players Association, might have sat out and convinced other players to join him. Sponsors, who already started to flee after a recording of Donald Sterling making racist comments was released, might have stayed away for good.
None of that appears to be a problem with Ballmer taking over what could be a powerhouse team next season. By agreeing to the record purchase price, he's already proven he's willing to spend in contrast to the famously frugal Sterling.
"The topic of conversation with Doc earlier was to focus in on what does it take and how can I help support him in achieving our mutual mission and in a pretty intense way continue to improve, be tenacious," Ballmer said. "If we do all that, good things will come our way."
Ballmer was nearly an NBA owner last year before owners chose to keep the Kings in Sacramento, rather than allow them to be sold to a group that included Ballmer and moved to Seattle.
Now he's got his own team to share with his wife and three sons.
"We're a family that likes basketball," he told the AP.
Ballmer said he fell in love with the sport as a seventh-grader in his hometown of Detroit. He was manager of his high school team, which included keeping statistics.
Two of his sons have played the game, while the youngest has been a statistician for his high-school team in the Seattle area, where the family lives.
Ballmer said he hopes to attend a lot of games next season. He said Parsons has agreed to stay on as CEO for the interim.
"That gives me a chance to figure this all out," he said.
Rivers called it "an amazing new day in Clippers history," and said he's inspired by Ballmer's passion for the game.