Donald Sterling lashes out at wife Shelly Sterling over Clippers sale: 'Get away from me, you pig'

Sterling claimed his wife is terrified of the NBA and is incapable of running the family trustee in bizarre court rant

Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling gestures while watching the Clippers play the Los Angeles Lakers during an NBA preseason basketball game (AP)

The battle for the ownership of the LA Clippers basketball franchise continues unabated with Donald Sterling launching a scathing attack on his wife and the NBA.

In a fiery testimony in a Los Angeles court, Sterling, who sparked outrage for making racist remarks, insisted that he won't sell the team and referred to his estranged wife, Shelly Sterling, as a "pig".

"Get away from me, you pig", he shouted at her after she wrapped up her testimony on Wednesday, adding: "Shelly, how could you lie?"

The legal row follows Mrs Sterling's decision to sell the franchise to former Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer for a record $2 billion dollars as the sole trustee of The Sterling Family Trust, which owns the Clippers.

However, Mr Ballmer has requested legal confirmation from a judge that she can sell the team without her husband's approval, who has vowed to block the sale of the Clippers, before the deal is completed.

In May, Mrs Sterling had her husband evaluated by two doctors, who declared him "mentally incapacitated" and unfit to conduct his own business affairs, effectively handing her control of the Clippers.

Now, judge Levanas must rule whether Mrs Sterling acted in accordance with the family trust- a decision that could invalidate the deal with Mr Ballmer and revoke the sale of the NBA franchise.

In court, Sterling insisted that he won't sell the team and claimed his decision is not "about his ego", but economics, arguing that the team is worth a lot more and his wife "can't run anything" because they (NBA) are "bad people".

"My wife is terrified, frightened to death. She can't sleep because she's afraid the NBA will take everything away," he added.

The NBA banned Sterling for life and fined him $2.5 million in April after he was caught making racist comments in an explosive conversation with former girlfriend V. Stiviano, where he told her not associate herself with "black men".