[1] The two Pacific Division teams both play their home games in the Greater Los Angeles area, thus inspiring their matchups to sometimes be called the "Battle of L.A." The Lakers originally relocated from Minneapolis in 1960, while the Clippers moved from San Diego in 1984 after previously moving to San Diego from Buffalo, New York, while going away from the original Buffalo Braves name in 1978.

While Los Angeles fans have historically favored the Lakers, the Clippers have sold out or filled capacity for every home game at Staples Center since Feb. 2011 and entered the 2016–17 season with the sixth-longest active sellout streak in the NBA, which continued up until the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Lakers lost a 3–1 series lead against another Pacific Division rival of theirs in the Phoenix Suns and failed to advance to the Western Conference Semifinals against the Clippers in 2006, while the Clippers also lost a 3–1 lead against the Denver Nuggets in 2020, nixing a Western Conference Finals matchup with the eventual NBA champion Lakers that was held entirely at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex that year due to the 2020 NBA Bubble.

For the first game of theirs in what was dubbed as the "Hallway Series" while under the Staples Center, the Lakers (holding homecourt advantage and being led by their dynamic duo of Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant) crushed the Clippers 95–68, with that game also being notable for the Clippers scoring a franchise-low 19 total points in the first half, including a lowly total of 3 points in the entire second quarter by a made basket from Michael Olowokandi and a free-throw made by Lamar Odom.

[14] The Lakers had existed in Los Angeles since 1960 after relocating there from Minneapolis, for which they had played in the NBA since 1948 since moving over from the NBL a season prior and won 5 championships there before the Clippers were founded in 1970 as the Buffalo Braves.

During their first match against each other, the Lakers beat the Braves 104–90 on October 30, 1970, at The Forum, continuing the middle of what became a 9-game losing streak for Buffalo after debuting with a 107–92 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

From the 1994–95 to 1998–99 seasons, the Clippers played a limited number of home games at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim (now Honda Center).

[30] In the 2006 playoffs, the Lakers built a 3–1 first-round series lead against the Phoenix Suns before losing 4–3, spoiling a potential crosstown matchup with the Clippers in the second round.

[29] Prior to a matchup in 2008 with the Lakers at 3–0 and the Clippers 0–4, the Los Angeles Times wrote that "even the involved parties have trouble referring to this thing as a rivalry.

[33][34] Prior to Paul's arrival, the Clippers had the worst overall winning percentage in the NBA (.349) since they moved to Los Angeles, while the Lakers during that same period had the best (.659).

[49] The Clippers later defeated the defending NBA champions, the Miami Heat, but the city was more engrossed in the Lakers' firing of Brown and the hiring of Mike D'Antoni.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra subsequently called the Clippers "legit contenders for the title", while Arash Markazi of ESPN.com called them "the best team in L.A."[50] Prior to their second meeting that season, the Clippers were 25–8 and fighting for the best record in the league, while the Lakers were 15–16—nine games behind the Clippers—and looking to secure a playoff spot in the Western Conference.

[51] For only the fourth time in their prior 127 meetings since they moved to Los Angeles, the Clippers had a better record than the Lakers entering their matchup when both teams had played 30 or more games.

[51] The Clippers won 107–102 in a nationally televised game that gave ESPN its best NBA regular-season overnight rating (2.7) in nearly two years.

[54] While both teams qualified for the playoffs that season, they were both eliminated in the first round, as the Lakers were swept by the San Antonio Spurs, and the Clippers lost in six games to the Memphis Grizzlies.

He previously coached the Boston Celtics, whom the Los Angeles Times called "the Lakers' true rivals", where he won one NBA Finals and lost another in the Celtics–Lakers rivalry.

[57] Rivers said that Los Angeles "always will be" a Lakers town, but he also predicted that people that moved from the East Coast to L.A. would root for the Clippers if they won an NBA title.

After the 2013–14 season, D'Antoni resigned as Lakers coach, and the team replaced him with Byron Scott, a former guard from their Showtime era.

[63] On April 5, 2015, the Clippers won its sixth straight against the Lakers for their longest winning streak in the series in the franchise's history.

[69] After acquiring free agent LeBron James, the Lakers hoped to re-establish their dominance in Los Angeles and were expected to end their five-year playoff drought.

The Lakers acquired Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans, while the Clippers signed free agent Kawhi Leonard and traded for Paul George from the Oklahoma City Thunder.

[77] Their marketing campaign sold the team's grit over the Lakers' Hollywood glitz with slogans including "Streetlights Over Spotlights".

[84] The Lakers advanced to the Conference Finals after eliminating Houston 4–1, and they awaited the winner of the other semifinals series, where the Clippers were up 3–2 at the time against the Denver Nuggets.

[82] The Lakers advanced to the Finals for the first time since 2010, where they defeated Miami 4–2 for their 17th NBA title, tying the Celtics for the most championships in league history.

[77] During the offseason, Clippers free agent Montrezl Harrell, who was the reigning NBA Sixth Man of the Year, signed a two-year contract for the mid-level exception to join the Lakers.

[75] Despite losing Leonard in the playoffs after a partial tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee,[88] they advanced to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history.

However, they ultimately lost their first Western Conference Finals series 4–2 to the Phoenix Suns, who coincidentally also beat the Lakers 4–2 in the first round in their first playoff appearance since 2010.

In 2021–22, the Lakers added Russell Westbrook to team with James and Davis, and were again favorites to win the West, while the Clippers expected Leonard to be out for most of the season after knee surgery.

The win ended the Lakers' 11-game losing streak over the Clippers, and was highlighted by LeBron James' 35-point performance, surpassing Karl Malone for the most 30-point games since turning 35.

In July 2020, the team received city approval for Intuit Dome;[108] as part of the deal, Clippers owner Steve Ballmer purchased The Forum (the Lakers' home arena from 1967 to 1999) from Madison Square Garden Sports.