NBA commissioner Adam Silver brought down the hammer on Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling for his racism by banning him for life from the NBA. It’s about time.

Sterling has been accused of far more terrible things  — criminal things — things that are far worse than just being caught on tape saying he didn’t want black people at Clippers games. But at least it finally happened.

It’s easy to applaud Silver’s decision and assume the story is over, but it’s far from over. The NBA is going to end up in an enormous legal battle with Sterling.

It should have never gotten to this point. There’s been plenty of evidence Sterling has done far worse things than not wanting black people at a Clippers game.

Elgin Baylor, former Clippers general manager, sued Sterling, then-team president Andy Roeser and the NBA in 2009 for discrimination. Baylor, who held the title of general manager for 22 years, claimed he was fired because of his race and age. While the lawsuit was rejected by a Los Angeles jury, it alleged the Clippers owner had a racist attitude.

Of course, that’s not the only instance of racial discrimination Sterling has been accused of. In 2006, the Department of Justice filed suit against him for discriminating against potential African-American tenants in his properties. The suit was settled, but the NBA should have acted then, not just after a recording.

There’s no way former NBA commissioner David Stern or other team owners were unaware of what kind of person Sterling is.

Instead of punishing this racist man, they rewarded him with the gift of Chris Paul in 2011. The trade turned the Clippers from a league-wide joke into one of the top teams in the Western Conference. Sterling sat back and watched the team he once bought for $12 million blossom into one Forbes estimated is worth $575 million and could fetch even more after a bidding war in its inevitable sale.

The league tolerated and rewarded this man for too long. The evidence has been out in the open for years. Stern should answer these questions, but at least his successor, Silver, had the guts to finally do what’s right.

Good riddance to Donald Sterling.