Our exit interview for the 2026 Clippers continues with another disappointing veteran guard, Bogdan Bogdanovic.
Basic Information
Height: 6’5
Weight: 225 pounds
Position: Shooting Guard
Age: 33
Years in NBA: 9
Key Regular Season Stats: 7.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.4 steals, and 1.2 turnovers in 19.7 minutes per game across 23 games played (3 starts) on 38.8/34.7/80 (4.1 3PA, 1.1 FTA) shooting splits (52.5 True Shooting)
Expectations
After the Clippers’ initial offseason, it was expected that Bogi would settle into the bench scoring, sixth man role that he was brought in for at the 2025 trade deadline, and performed capably in down the stretch for the Clippers last season. However, Bogi injured his hamstring in August at Eurobasket, and that injury kept him sidelined as the Clippers started training camp. That lack of health combined with Chris Paul’s play led to Bogi as seemingly the 11th man in the Clippers’ rotation heading into the season.
Still, considering the Clippers’ collective age and injury history combined with Bogi’s track record of solid bench play, it was reasonable to think Bogi would play a good deal for the Clippers this season as a sharpshooter, tertiary creator, and extra ballhandler off the bench to spell James Harden and Bradley Beal.
Reality
Like with so many other Clippers, things did not go as planned. Bogi did not play the first two games of the season, as he was rounding into shape and the Clippers had guys ahead of him. He got his first minutes in the 3rd game of the season, but then logged minimal minutes in the next game before sitting out the following two. So things went for the first couple weeks, until November 12, when injuries to Beal and Kawhi brought Bogi back into the thick of things. Over the next five games, Bogi played heavy minutes, including a season best performance on November 14, when he scored 21 points on 8-14 shooting to help beat the Mavs in double overtime.
Then, unfortunately, Bogi got injured, this time damaging his hip. He’d sit out a handful of games with that injury before returning on December 5, after which he played in another six games before getting injured in the seventh, against Portland, on December 26.
And with that, Bogi’s role as an active member of the Clippers more or less ended. He missed a bunch of time, first with the hip injury and then with another hamstring injury, and by the time he got healthy in early February the Clippers were moving forward with Kobe Sanders and Jordan Miller as their perimeter bench scorers. Bogi wasn’t moved at the deadline, but the addition of Bennedict Mathurin only pushed him further down the rotation. In fact, after that Portland game, Bogi appeared in only 16 games the rest of the season, and he only played in more than 12 minutes in three of them. He remained engaged as a cheerleader on the bench and presumably as a veteran presence in the locker room, but any on-court value for the Clippers had vanished.
There are many reasons why the Clippers’ season did not pan out. Some of them are nebulous (the Aspiration story probably had an impact at the start of the season), some are disputed (how much did Chris Paul damage the locker room?), and some could not be helped (all of the injuries). However, perhaps the biggest issue was the play of the three veteran guards the Clippers added to bolster their playmaking, ballhandling, and creation: Beal, Chris Paul, and Bogi. The three of them combined logged less than 50 games played, and incredibly enough, Bogi (who played less than 500 minutes) had the most positive impact of the trio.
Future with Clippers
The Clippers have a team option for Bogdanovic for the 2027 season that is worth $16.02M. Considering Bogi’s 2026 season, it’s safe to assume the Clippers will be declining that salary – unless they get a deal worked out early in free agency to trade him somewhere and need his salary as a ballast. Either way, it would be stunning if Bogi played a minute for the Clippers next season. Honestly, I think it’s quite possible Bogi goes back to Europe to finish his career. He seems like a competitive guy who wants to play, and even if he could stick around the NBA, it would probably be on a minimum deal getting depth rotation minutes. It’s really too bad Bogi didn’t work out the Clippers; he fit in well with the team, and he had some real flashes, but ultimately the injuries and age were too much. C’est la vie.
