LOS ANGELES — Armed with a winning record, several top players and high hopes, the Los Angeles Clippers romped into the NBA playoffs for the fourth time in five seasons this year, but the end result was the same as ever: Plagued by injuries, the Clippers fell in the first round to the Dallas Mavericks, extending their long-standing reputation as a chronically cursed team. As crushing as the early elimination was, however, it paled in comparison to the team's 2014 playoff run, which collapsed in far more spectacular fashion. That unforgettable downfall, at the hands of a now-infamous triangle, takes center court in FX's "Clipped: The Scandalous Story of L.
A.'s Other Basketball Team," premiering June 4 on Hulu. Usually, the mention of triangles in the NBA is a reference to an inventive, geometric style of offense that emphasizes precision positioning and was key in the championship runs of the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers coached by Phil Jackson.
But in "Clipped," the three sides are occupied by then-Clippers owner Donald Sterling; his wife and business partner, Shelly; and V. Stiviano, a visor-wearing fame-seeker who was Sterling's personal assistant — or, in her words, his "right-hand arm man"/"silly rabbit"— and mistress. The clash of these strong-willed personalities ultimately led to the April 2014 release of a recording of Donald Sterling telling Stiviano not to associate with Black people, including NBA superstar Magic Johnson.
The racist rant scored St.