Our player preview series on the 2027 Clippers continues with the team’s biggest veteran addition, forward Brandon Ingram.
Basic Information
Height: 6’8
Weight: 190 pounds
Position: Small Forward
Age: 29
Years in NBA: 10
Stats: 21.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 0.8 steals in 33.8 minutes per game across 77 games played (all starts) on 47.7/38.2/82 shooting splits (4.6 3PA, 4.6 FTA) with 57.3% TS
Contract Status: In the second year of a 3 year, $120M deal, making $40M this year
Expectations
When Ingram was first acquired as part of the Kawhi Leonard deal, he was expected to be the second-best player on a Clippers team that would compete for the play-in tournament. However, it was discovered that his offseason surgery was also to repair a partially torn Achilles, and that Ingram would not be ready for the start of the regular season. That news shifted expectations a bit, as we know Ingram won’t play the full season, and he might be a bit rusty when he does return. Still, unless he’s much worse than expected or someone else on the team outside of Darius Garland looks great, Ingram should still be the second-best player on this team when he does play. Unfortunately, Ingram’s injury combined with injuries to Max Strus and Jordan Miller have sapped the Clippers of offensive firepower, and the overall expectations for the team have been lowered as a result. When healthy, Ingram should provide reasonably efficient 20 point scoring, a handful of assists and rebounds, and just enough juice to help keep the Clippers competent on offense.
Strengths
First and foremost of Ingram’s strengths is his midrange scoring. Over the past five years, Ingram has taken around 25% of his shots from the 10-16 foot range on the court, and has shot over 50% on those shots in each of those seasons. That’s insanely impressive, as midrange shots are usually quite difficult and are usually highly contested looks. Ingram’s height is a huge factor there, as he’s able to rise up over defenders and get his shots off mostly unbothered even with hands in his face. That ability to create and score from the midrange does not drive great offenses, but it does provide a solid floor on a possession-to-possession basis.
Ingram is a pretty good passer and playmaker for a wing, averaging 4.2 assists per game for his career and holding four seasons with over 5.2 assists per game. He’s not a flashy or brilliant passer, but he can run a pick and roll, he’s good at passing out of the triple-threat position, and he’s capable of making quick reads out of the post. Again, he’s not someone who will consistently create easy looks for his teammates, but he’s someone you can run an offense through and not have it be a disaster – and that’s really impressive at the NBA level.
Weaknesses
The biggest disappointment of Brandon Ingram’s career is that he’s never developed into a plus defensive player. With his height and wingspan he was always touted has having excellent two-way potential, and that just has not developed. He’s not an abysmal defender, but he falls asleep off-ball too much and is not close to a lockdown player on the ball either. Ingram won’t kill the Clippers on defense, but he won’t help either, and after years of the Clippers having Kawhi and Paul George on the wing, having a star wing that doesn’t contribute much on that end will take some getting used to.
For a player who has consistently averaged 20+ points per game the past seven seasons (with most of those in the 23+ range), Ingram does not generate many easy shots. To be more specific, he rarely gets to the rim (around 14% of his shots have come from there over the past six years). That lack of downhill scoring punch also limits Ingram’s playmaking, as he doesn’t consistently break down defenses and get all the way to the rim to create easy kick-outs for threes or dump passes under the basket for dunks. The lack of speed and explosiveness in fully getting by defenders is partially why Ingram takes so many midrangers, and it also keeps him as a very good offensive players instead of a great one.
The final issue with Ingram is one Clippers’ fans are familiar with, which is availability. Last season BI played 77 games, the most since his rookie season – and the most by a significant margin. In fact, in the eight seasons in between those two years, Ingram’s highest games played was just 64, with the average being in the high 50s to low 60s. He’s already going to miss a chunk of time this season as he recovers from the offseason surgery, and there’s no guarantee he’ll stay healthy the rest of the year. He’s steady enough when he is on the court, but his ability to get there is in question.
Summary
I don’t foresee Ingram being on the team long-term considering his age, price, and injury history. However, he is one of the most important players on this season’s Clippers, and the team punching above expectations will probably only happen if Ingram gets healthy soon and has a good year. I can’t stand watching Ingram play, but he is a very good offensive player who can help keep this team afloat and makes sense as a one-season stopgap as this team moves out of the wreckage of the Kawhi era and prepares for the future. Hopefully Ingram’s tenure on the Clippers is short and productive!
