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.

By ET Bureau | Updated: Oct 18, 2018, 10.23 AM IST

They may once have been at loggerheads, but former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer considered the tech giant’s cofounder, the late Paul Allen, “a great friend… a great professional mentor and teacher for me”.

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) 1539642337000

I 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) 1539648152000

And 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) 1539648334000

Allen 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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