LOS ANGELES — When Shelly Sterling was approached by former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer about buying the Los Angeles Clippers, the wife of disgraced team owner Donald Sterling did not know who he was. But in short order she convinced him the team was worth an unprecedented $2 billion.

In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, Shelly Sterling offered details about how she negotiated one of the richest deals in sports after her husband’s racist rant to a girlfriend became public and prompted the NBA to ban him for life and decree he give up the team. At that point, Shelly Sterling stepped in.