--- description: Ballmer took the stage screaming during a Monday night press conference at the Staples Center, unleashing just a taste of what Microsoft employees have known for years: That this guy is a walking pom pom. title: Steve Ballmer Erupts at Clippers' Conference image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt826dde7739718311/6986a01a13c79f777d193855/453800038.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Basketball](/tag/basketball/) ## Basketball Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Watch Steve Ballmer's Volcanic Enthusiasm Erupt at Clippers Conference  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 19, 2014 7:01 PM CUT  New owner of the Los Angeles Clippers Steve Ballmer looks on after being introduced for the first time during Los Angeles Clippers Fan Festival at Staples Center on August 18, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. New owner of the Los Angeles Clippers Steve Ballmer looks on after being introduced for the first time during Los Angeles Clippers Fan Festival at Staples Center on August 18, 2014 in Los Angeles, California.Jeff Gross—Getty Images  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 19, 2014 7:01 PM CUT The Los Angeles Clippers’ cheerleaders better watch their backs, because the team’s new owner, Steve Ballmer, has enough pep to rival the squad. Ballmer took the stage screaming during a Monday night press conference at the Staples Center, unleashing just a taste of what Microsoft employees have known for years: That this guy is a walking pom pom. On the scale of Ballmer blow-ups that periodically crop up on YouTube, his Monday night performance was relatively restrained.Ballmer in all of his glory is a sight to behold: ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3144646/steve-ballmer-clippers-conference/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3144646/steve-ballmer-clippers-conference/"},"headline":"Watch Steve Ballmer's Volcanic Enthusiasm Erupt at Clippers Conference","datePublished":"2014-08-19T19:01:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:44:40.886Z","description":"The explosion actually ranks pretty low on the richter scale of Ballmer blow-ups","url":"https://time.com/3144646/steve-ballmer-clippers-conference/","keywords":["Basketball","clippers"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt826dde7739718311/6986a01a13c79f777d193855/453800038.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dan Kedmey","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt826dde7739718311/6986a01a13c79f777d193855/453800038.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Los Angeles Clippers Fan Festival","caption":"Los Angeles Clippers Fan Festival","creditText":"Jeff Gross—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/basketball/","name":"Basketball"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3144646/steve-ballmer-clippers-conference/","name":"Watch Steve Ballmer's Volcanic Enthusiasm Erupt at Clippers Conference"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Steve Ballmer's Craziest Moments","description":"The best moments of former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/Gho83GxD/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-05-31T19:09:04.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Gho83GxD.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3144646/steve-ballmer-clippers-conference/","duration":"PT2M4S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3144646/steve-ballmer-clippers-conference/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```