They had their differences, but Paul Allen was friend and mentor to Steve Ballmer
The former Microsoft CEO shared how Allen encouraged him to get involved with the NBA.

Paying tribute to the tech visionary who passed away on Monday due to complications from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Ballmer, who owns the Los Angeles Clippers, shared how Allen had encouraged him to get involved with the NBA.
Paul was a truly wonderful, bright and inspiring person—- and a great friend. I will miss him https://t.co/HYhtgZGo8C
— Steve Ballmer (@Steven_Ballmer) 1539642337000I also want to add that Paul’s insights were critical to the creation and success of Microsoft. He was a great prof… https://t.co/uTegxCbXWO
— Steve Ballmer (@Steven_Ballmer) 1539648152000And last Paul told me for years that I should own an nba team. He used to yell at me “steve, you got to do it, it w… https://t.co/N43ezwaaQH
— Steve Ballmer (@Steven_Ballmer) 1539648334000Allen himself owned two professional sports teams: the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League and the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association.
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