The Warriors Had An Incredible Plan To Boycott Game 5 If The NBA Didn't Ban Donald Sterling
It would have been one of the most dramatic moments in the history of the league.
Here's how it would have worked, according to Thompson:
"The Warriors were going to go through pre-game warm-ups and take part in the national anthem and starting line-up introductions. They were going to take the floor for the jump ball, dapping up the Clippers players as is customary before games.
"Then once the ball was in the air, they were just going to walk off. All 15 of them."
The boycott was organized by Stephen Curry, David Lee, and Andre Iguodala, and the Warriors would have asked the Clippers to join them if Sterling's punishment wasn't harsh enough.
The plan was scrapped after NBA commissioner Adam Silver banned Sterling for life and moved to force him to sell the Clippers.
Interestingly, Thompson reports that the boycott would have been set into motion if Sterling received only an indefinite suspension and a fine.
That was the exact punishment that most observers expected Silver to hand down coming into the day.
If Silver hit Sterling with the punishment we all expected, the Warriors and Clippers would have walked off the court. Instead, Silver hammered him, and the protest was averted.