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Sterling and Los Angeles Lakers majority owner Jerry Buss were each indirectly responsible for the other owning his respective NBA franchise. The first instance came in 1979, when Buss used the money he made from selling a portion of his apartment buildings to Sterling (worth $2.7 million), which covered the remaining balance in purchasing the Lakers, the Kings hockey team, and The Los Angeles Forum from Jack Kent Cooke for $67 million. Two years later, Buss suggested to Sterling that he could purchase his own NBA franchise, and Sterling bought the struggling San Diego Clippers for $12.5 million. Unlike Buss' instant success with the Lakers (including winning an NBA championship in his first season as owner, 1979–80), Sterling and his Clippers struggled through many lackluster seasons, and they did not have their first winning season until the 1991–92 season, eleven years into his ownership. In Sterling's 33 years of owning the Clippers through 2013–14, the Clippers lost 50 or more games 22 times, 60 or more on eight occasions, and 70 games once. Their 9–41 record in the lockout-shortened 1998–99 season projected to another 60-loss season.[16] Sterling in 1982 was fined $10,000 by the NBA after he commented that he would accept the Clippers finishing in last place in order to draft an impact player like Ralph Sampson.[17] In 1984, Sterling moved the Clippers from San Diego to Los Angeles. However, the move was not approved by the NBA, which fined him $25 million. He sued the league for $100 million, but dropped the suit when the league agreed to decrease the fine to $6 million.[9] Sterling has been widely criticized for his frugal operation of the Clippers, due in part to a consistent history of losing seasons. The club was long considered the laughingstock of the NBA.[18][19][20][21] With the Clippers' move into Staples Center in the 1999–2000 NBA season, the team began to become a contender, winning 47 games in the 2005–06 season. This was a record for the most victories in a single season since the franchise moved to California. It was also only the second winning season in Sterling's tenure as owner. In the lockout-shortened 2011–2012 season they made the playoffs with the best winning percentage in their history (.606) and they won their first round series against the Memphis Grizzlies, 4–3, before being swept by the San Antonio Spurs, 4–0, in the conference semi-finals. Led by Blake Griffin and Chris Paul, the Clippers posted two more winning campaigns in 2012–13 and 2013–14, setting new franchise records for regular-season wins with 56 and 57, respectively.