He was the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Sterling bought the Clippers in 1981 for $12.5 million, and as of 2014, the team is valued at $575 million by "Forbes" magazine, ranking them 18th out of 30 teams. At 33 seasons of ownership (1981 to present), Sterling was the longest-tenured owner in the NBA since the death of Los Angeles Lakers majority owner Jerry Buss on February 18, 2013 up until his suspension on April 29, 2014.