WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for Clipped episode 5.

The penultimate episode of Clipped titled "The Best Words" continues the show's mostly accurate portrayal of the infamous Donald Sterling scandal. In Clipped episode 5, both V. Stiviano and Donald's wife Shelly, who had owned 50% of the Clippers along with Donald before she was forced by the NBA and Commissioner Adam Silver to sell the team, speak to legendary journalist Barbara Walters in nationally televised interviews. With only one episode remaining of Clipped, Donald looks to retaliate for his lifelong ban from the NBA as well as his $2.5 million fine with swift albeit misguided legal action.

Doc Rivers, who coached the Clippers through this tumultuous period in their team history, was able to inspire his team led by Chris Paul and Blake Griffin to defeat the Gold State Warriors in the first round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs. Clipped episode 3 "Let the Games Began" [sic] chronicled the immediate aftermath of the scandal when it first made headlines across the United States. Clipped episode 4 interestingly puts the spotlight on Sterling's other scandals prior to 2014, particularly with his wrongful termination lawsuit from NBA legend and Hall of Famer Elgin Baylor, who had spent 22 years as the general manager of the Clippers organization.

Draymond Green Was Reportedly Not Involved In Warriors-Clippers Post-Game 7 Scuffle

A Clippers assistant coach allegedly taunted the Warriors' locker room, not Chris Paul

While there were reports of an altercation between members of the Clippers and the Warriors following the Clippers 126-121 Game 7 victory over the Warriors in Game 7 of the opening round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs, Draymond Green was not said to have been part of the behind the scenes scuffle. The tension and open dislike between Green and Clippers point guard Chris Paul was certainly well-known and has even been revised by the two NBA stars on Green's podcast "The Draymond Green Show". According to Bleacher Report, "Clippers Chris Paul, Matt Barnes and Glen Davis and Warriors Marreese Speights, Jermaine O'Neal, Stephen Curry and Steve Blake" were named to be involved.

It's certainly plausible in retrospect that Paul and Green, who would become teammates on the Warriors in 2023, spearheaded the confrontation in 2014, but this scene in Clipped appears to be informed by their known public feud more than the specifics of the actual altercation. Bleacher Report also noted that a Clippers assistant coach was reported to have made taunting comments to the Warriors locker room, not Paul as depicted in Clipped, which fueled the fire of the incident. Apparently, several Warriors disliked Paul so much that his "mere presence—not anything he may or may not have done—escalated the situation."

Shelly Sterling Told Barbara Walters She Believed Donald Had Dementia

The reenactment of Shelly Sterling's interview with Barabra Walters was mostly spot-on and word for word, but it did leave one key element out. The real-life Shelly told Walters on national television that she recalled Donald saying that he did not remember ever making those derogatory comments about Magic Johnson or black people in general. When Walters asked Shelly what she made of it, Shelly concluded that it was at that moment that she knew Donald was suffering from dementia. Shelly hadn't been covering for Donald in her other statements during the interview, but the point of his dementia overrides the possibility that Donald was lying.

Donald placed Shelly in a very complicated situation because of his off-color comments. Shelly had a vested interest in retaining ownership of the team, which made her sell herself in ways that would distance herself from Donald. She had been asked about her relationship with him and why she had never filed for divorce, which took on a whole new meaning given the controversy that Donald had started. Because the Clippers were owned by the Sterling Family Trust and not Shelly individually, she also lost the team due to Donald's statements. The health angles of Donald's dementia and prostate cancer were seemingly used as a way for him to gain sympathy from the press and public.

V. Stiviano's TV Interview Was Much Longer & More Confusing

Stiviano was more defensive & sympathetic of Donald in the real-life interview

The notorious highlights of V. Stiviano's bizarre "silly rabbit" and "right hand arm man" comments in the Barbara Walters interview were featured in the reenactment on Clipped. However, the full interview goes on for fifteen minutes and gets even more confusing, particularly when V. Stiviano tries to explain to Walters the nature of her relationship with Donald. As a personal assistant who gets paid by Donald "off the books", Stiviano curiously tries to defend Donald by saying he is not a racist but should apologize for his comments. In the real-life interview, V. Stivaino rationalizes that Donald was raised "in a different generation" and made those comments "in the heat of the moment", trying to justify them even after being the one who exposed them in Clipped.

Source: Bleacher Report, ABC News, ABC News,