Top 5 active NBA players to play for LA Lakers and LA Clippers

De Andre Jordan and Rajon Rondo have become the latest players to play for both LA Clippers and LA Lakers. The pair, who has played previously with the Clippers, have signed with the Lakers ahead of the 2021-22 NBA season. They are not the only active players to turn up for both the LA teams, though.

Playing for NBA franchises in the same city isn't uncommon. In most cases, it is favorable for a player to return to a city where he has lived before, or continue staying in the same city after changing teams.

However, there is a growing rivalry between the LA Lakers and LA Clippers. Both franchises came alive in the 2019 offseason, when Anthony Davis arrived at the Lakers, and Kawhi Leonard and Paul George landed at the Clippers.

On that note, here's a look at five active players who have played for both the LA teams, the Clippers and the Lakers. Without further ado, let's get started.

#5 Ivica Zubac

Ivica Zubac started his NBA career with the LA Lakers after getting selected with the 32nd pick of the 2016 NBA Draft.

Since his NBA debut, Zubac has played five seasons in the competition, split equally between the Lakers and the Clippers. He played 114 games for the LA Lakers, doing so from the 2016-17 season till he was traded to the Clippers midway through the 2018-19 campaign.

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He has appeared in 170 games for the LA Clippers, and has been a decent rotation player for them. Zubac has averaged over 20 minutes per game, and has started 128 times for the Clippers. He averaged six points and four rebounds per game for the LA Lakers, while he has produced 8.8 points and 7.4 rebounds per game for the LA Clippers.

#4 Montrezl Harrell

Montrezl Harrell has been a great player off the bench for the LA Clippers and the LA Lakers.

Montrezl Harrell has played for three NBA teams since starting his career in the 2015-16 season. He is set to play for a fourth one in the 2021-22 campaign.

After starting his career with the Houston Rockets, Harrell was part of the trade that sent Chris Paul to Houston. With the LA Clippers, Harrell shone for three seasons, averaging 15.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game off the bench. He won the Sixth Man of the Year award in the 2019-20 campaign.

He then signed with the LA Lakers in 2020, where he has averaged 13.5 points and 6.2 rebounds per game in 69 regular-season games. Once again, Harrell was included in a big trade for a superstar point guard. That saw Harrell going to the Washington Wizards and Russell Westbrook moving to the LA Lakers.

#3 DeAndre Jordan

DeAndre Jordan's NBA career started with the LA Clippers, and is set to turn out for the LA Lakers. The big man will play for the Lakers after being waived by the Brooklyn Nets in the offseason. He could play a decent rim-protecting role for the LA Lakers.

Jordan played ten seasons for the Clippers, doing so from 2008 to 2018. During this period, he made an All-Star team, three All-NBA squads, two All-Defensive teams, and led the league in rebounding twice. He has bounced around in the last few years, playing for the Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks and the Brooklyn Nets.

Jordan averaged 9.4 points and 10.7 rebounds per game with the Clippers. He will hope to see the court often with the LA Lakers. Although it seems the 33-year-old is past his prime, Jordan started 43 games last year for the Brooklyn Nets before being left out of their rotation.

#2 Lou Williams

Lou Williams, a three-time Sixth Man of the Year award winner, played for the LA Lakers for almost two seasons, doing so between 2015 and 2017.

He appeared in 125 games with the Lakers, averaging 16.8 points per game. Williams had one Sixth Man of the Year award before appearing for the LA Lakers, and won two more with the LA Clippers.

Williams was a member of the LA Clippers from 2017 to 2021. He arrived as one of the players in the Chris Paul deal, and was later traded for Rajon Rondo in 2021. He came off the bench for the Atlanta Hawks last season, and played in the Eastern Conference Finals too.

#1 Rajon Rondo

LeBron James (#23) of the LA Lakers celebrates with Rajon Rondo.

Rajon Rondo is returning to the LA Lakers after a year where he played for the Atlanta Hawks and the LA Clippers.

He has already played for the two most successful teams in NBA history - the LA Lakers and the Boston Celtics - winning a title with both teams. He has also played for the two LA teams as well.

Rondo has been with various NBA teams since being traded by the Boston Celtics in 2014, but he found success with the LA Lakers. After playing 527 games with Boston, he appeared 94 times for the LA Lakers.

He was a member of the LA Lakers from 2018 to 2020, and played a key role in their 2020 NBA championship-winning campaign, especially in the postseason. He started the 2020-21 season with the Atlanta Hawks, but was traded to the LA Clippers.

Rondo appeared in 31 games for the LA Clippers last year, including 13 in the postseason). He was out of Tyronn Lue's postseason rotation, though. Now, after being traded to the Memphis Grizzlies and waived by the Grizzlies, Rondo is headed back to LA, to play for the Lakers again.