The Battle of LA: Will it ever happen?

Professional hoops in Los Angeles have never had such talent all at once.  

The Lakers are home to Lebron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook. On the same Crypto.com Arena floor, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and newly-acquired John Wall suit up for the Clippers. Could this be the year that the stars align and we get the Battle of LA?

Here's a look back at the recent past and how two great squads on paper, have never met in a meaningful series.  

2019-2020

COVID-19's impact may have ruined NBA fans' dream of the fairytale Hallway Series during the 2019-2020 season. 

After an off-season haul of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, which in turn cost rookie-sensation Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, fan-favorite Danilo Gallinari, and a plethora of draft compensation, the Clippers made an earnest leap into contention. 

Across the hall, Lebron and the Lakeshow' traded the farm for All-NBA big man Anthony Davis, exciting everyone but Lavar Ball. Parting ways with Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, and future first-round picks for Davis proved necessary as the Lakers were a force to be reckoned with.

Both teams rose to the occasion of the regular season. Before the "bubble," the Lakers had a 49-14 record and were atop the Western Conference. Five-and-a-half games back, the Clips' were dialed in, too. Then, the NBA paused for three months.

The NBA season paused

The Bubble

Leonard left the Toronto Raptors for LA, just to play the big games in Orlando -- that's how wildly random 2020 was.

Teams relocate here and there, but this was an entire league. Commissioner Adam Silver and other NBA high-ups decided to resume play in Orlando, FL at Walt Disney World, bringing 22 of 30 organizations deemed competitive. Due to the circumstances, basketball had to put aside comfortability.

For the Lakers and Clippers, the scoreboards didn't change much from prior months. James and Davis did their thing, securing the Lakers comfortable playoff matchups and victories. The Clippers, battling through locker-room drama, still seemed like a serious threat for the Larry O'Brien Trophy. The Battle of LA appeared inevitable. 

Unfortunately, the Clippers didn't get the job done. After beating the Dallas Mavericks in six games, the Clippers were eliminated in the second round after an embarrassing collapse, where they blew a 3-1 lead to the Denver Nuggets.  The Clippers had double-digit advantages in each of the last three games, failing to convert one to victory. Los Angeles and former head coach Doc Rivers parted ways following the series' end, likely due to Rivers' playoff reputation and reported poor decision-making. The Clippers' internal issues and adjustments, or lack thereof, ruined their championship aspirations in part with their shot at winning the Battle of LA.

The same can't be said for the Lakers, as they didn't miss a beat. Going 19-10 in the bubble, the Lakers continued to send opponents home (literally) while extending their California adventure in Florida, at a different Disney resort. Putting a bow on the season, the duo of James and Davis brought the Laker nation its 17th championship, knotting them with the Boston Celtics for the most rings of all time. It's safe to say the bubble has mixed reviews, but it doesn't matter when you win the grand prize. The Lakers didn't win the Battle of LA -- they won the NBA.

2020-2021

Finally, basketball was back in the right place(s). Except, the arenas were almost empty and the Raptors had to play home games in Tampa Bay. Still, the NBA was progressing to normalcy. The league shaved off 10 games of the typical 82-game schedule, in addition to starting the season around Christmas. These tweaks were implemented to help players and organizations accumulate to the short off-season, while also being pandemic-sensitive.

Lebron got the Lakers their 17th ring, but the team didn't take their foot off the gas. The defending champs pried away sixth-man of the year Montrezl Harrell from the arena rival while adding the runner-up for the same award in Dennis Schröder. On paper, the Lakers were the favorite to repeat. 

Hiring Tyrone Lue to replace Doc Rivers, and making marginal moves such as acquiring Luke Kennard and Nico Batum, the Clippers had a cleaned-up "run-it-back" approach. 

Frustratingly, COVID-19 still dominated headlines as most teams' hardest opponent was "health and safety protocols."  Making matters worse, the short break affected teams like the Lakers extra rough as key components like Anthony Davis missed serious time. The second opportunity for the series played entirely at then-called Staples' wasn't anticipated much throughout the 2020 hoops year, as the Lakers couldn't find consistent health.

Surprisingly, the Clippers silenced critics. Even though their roster was still formidable, many lost hope in LA's second son after the bubble woes. Having another regular season to develop chemistry between George and Leonard appeared to bode well for the roster, as they found themselves in the playoffs again.

Lue's first year as frontman went great, as he displayed coaching heroics that bailed the Clippers out of disappointment.  With a rematch against Dončić and the Mavs, the Clippers found themselves trailing the series 2-0 and 3-2. Miraculously, the team strung together vital road wins to escape a first-round exit.  They would then face off with the Utah Jazz, who took a 2-0 series lead of their own. After demonstrating a higher level of focus and elite perimeter shooting, the Clippers tied the series at two apiece. Near the conclusion of game four, Leonard bumped knees with Jazz F Joe Ingles, which resulted in a torn ACL. The news was devastating, as LA was rolling and looking like the team to beat.  Carried on the back of lone-star George, the Clippers won the series 4-2, completing a 25-point comeback in game six.  Without Leonard, the odds weren't in the Clips' favor against former franchise face Chris Paul and the Phoenix Suns. More importantly, however, was the Los Angeles Clippers being in the Western Conference Finals for the first time. The feat outweighed any noise from the imminent defeat versus the Suns, leaving the organization with sky-high hopes for the future. Steve Ballmer's team didn't win a championship or beat the Lakers in a playoff series, but they broke their curse.

In La-La-Bron land, things weren't as pretty as the last playoff run. The Lakers were a play-in team, which forced them to fight for their lives in a one-game duel with Steph Curry and the Dubs. In an instant classic, the Lakers came out unscathed and found themselves with a round one matchup with the Suns. Like the Clippers, it wasn't a pretty sunset in the desert. Due to injuries and inconsistent rotations, the Lakeshow didn't repeat and was instead bounced in six games. If any team were to be crowned the champion of Los Angeles, it was the Suns. Offered some luck, Phoenix rolled past each squad and made it to the finals.

2021-2022

Players had another shortened off-season with the 2020-2021 playoffs going into July. For the first time in a while, though, crowds were almost back to normal, and arenas opened up to pre-2020 capacities.

Clippers' Leonard wasn't expected to play a second during this latest NBA season and didn't. On the other side, the Lakers made a trade to acquire Russell Westbrook from the Washington Wizards, saying goodbye to Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. For Ty Lue's club, this was a wash of a season. In Jeanie Buss' office, the Lakers had it made.

The Lakers put out one of their worst products in recent memory. Sure, there were teams with worse records for the franchise, but a team with three MVP-caliber starters should've been much better. With Davis sidelined for most games, and the marriage of the Lakers and Westbrook being shaky and awkward, the year from start to finish was a blunder. The Clippers, without Leonard for all 82 games and George only playing in 31, finished with nine more wins than their city counterpart, adding to the Lakers case.

Both teams would like to forget this season for reasons surrounding health and roster construction -- it's obvious which belongs to who.

The possibility of the two meeting in a playoff series was little to none from day zero. Somehow, the Clippers made it to the play-in tournament, where they went 0-2 and lost out on a playoff appearance that they likely deserved. Nonetheless, both teams were failures. 

On a high note, the Clips' made a trade that landed them solid role players in Robert Covington and Norman Powell from Portland. The tandem will fit in nicely around Leonard in George in the future. Aside from that, Los Angeles is looking to next year for competitive basketball.

2022-2023

NBA fans are waiting for big dominoes to fall -- specifically a Kyrie Irving to the Lakers deal. However, nothing is rumored to happen until Kevin Durant is traded from Brooklyn.

In the meantime, the Clippers signed John Wall who was recently bought out by the Houston Rockets. He'll take part in a friendly competition with teammate Reggie Jackson for the starting role. The Lakers have been quiet in terms of trades, but after last season -- they need to make changes.

The Battle for LA is a front office chess match as of now. Los Angeles will have many eyes watching the city's every move and outcome during the upcoming NBA season. Today, Lakers and Clippers fans just want to see their favorite teams and players healthy.

The Clippers have a squad ready to win if/when Leonard returns healthy, and King James will not the Lakers go out that sad again. 

If the stars align, there will be a series played in full at the Crypt' leaving everyone at the edge of their seat.