Editor’s Note: Erik turned in an excellent 7,000 word article. While it might read a bit smoother as one long experience, that’s a lot of words for a sports article, so the story has been split into four. With that said, here’s part one. Enjoy!

For the People in the Back

In March 2019, after a 113-105 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, Patrick Beverley defined who the Clippers are fighting for when they play: 

That’s who we do it for: The people in the back. The blue-collar people who don’t have a lot given to them. Who work for everything they deserve. And that’s what we’re doing right now. We do it for them.

Before the season was suspended, I had made up my mind that the next article I would write would be for Clipper fans—especially those Clipper fans who had been through the ups and downs of Clipper fandom for decades. I wanted to explore how those fans, after years and years of getting their hopes up only to see some freak occurrence dash them away, were finally getting the team they’d always dreamed of; the team they deserved. Those Clipper fans embody the team identity that Pat Bev so perfectly described. 

And for newer fans of the Clippers, I wanted this to give some context as to why this means so much to the long-suffering fans, and to show why this is such a ridiculously awesome fanbase to be a part of. Despite the lazy internet joke that the Clippers have no fanbase, I can assure you that not only does it exist, but it’s made up of a wonderful group of underdog-loving, welcoming, knowledgeable, loyal fans that are truly some of the best in all of sports. 

I mean, what would you expect from a fanbase that chose a team that had been the most unsuccessful professional sports franchise in US history, when the Lakers, one of the most successful professional sports franchises, were an available option?

Well, with Lawrence Frank and Jerry West at the helm, by 2020 the Clippers have finally put together a team that was built to withstand all of the obstacles that had derailed contending Clippers teams of the past. There is no doubt in my mind that this is the greatest and deepest Clippers squad ever assembled, and if the season resumes, this team will still be a shoe-in for the Conference Finals—a feat no Clippers team has ever been able to achieve—and in this writer’s opinion, the favorite for the NBA title. And if the season is unfortunately cancelled, the team still has the ability to maintain the foundation and bring back the necessary pieces to make another run.

So now that we all have some time to reflect, let’s dive into the past because, as the great Willard Carroll Smith Jr. once said, “You can’t really know where you’re going until you know where you’ve been.”

Writer’s note: Since I didn’t actually start watching the Clippers until 2004 (casual), my wife Ali (@AY_23) helped out and provided me with her input and insight for everything before then.

Knuckleheads

2000-01

In the 90’s, the LA Clippers hadn’t had any winning seasons, except for two seasons under Larry Brown, both of which saw them bounced in the first round of the playoffs. So it wasn’t until the 2000-01 season that the Clippers finally had something worth watching, with a young team featuring Lamar Odom, Darius Miles, Quentin Richardson, Corey Maggette, and Keyon Dooling.

With so many rookies in prominent roles, these Clippers (under Alvin Gentry) were so much fun to watch because there were no expectations and they played with so much joy and love for the game. As a side bonus, this helped Clipper fans get over the disappointment of former #1 pick Michael Olowokandi (sorry Kandi Man). Although they only had a record of 31-51, it was a massive improvement over their previous record of 15-67 (wow) in the 1999-00 season. 

2001-02

The next year in the 2001-02 season, the Clippers obtained Elton Brand on a draft night trade and added him to the young core, and just barely missed the playoffs with a 39-43 record, despite Odom missing a large portion of the year.

The vibe around the team was a lot like the 2018-19 Clippers. Even though the Lakers were in the midst of a 3-peat, a large portion of Clipper fans can trace their fandom back to this era, when a lot of young hoopers were banging their fists on their head after a fast break (myself included).

The Andre Miller Effect

2002-03

So close to relevance, the Clippers decided to make a trade to get over the hump. Fan favorite Knucklehead Darius Miles was traded to Cleveland for Andre Miller, a 26-year-old point guard and LA native who had just led the league in assists (above the likes of Jason Kidd and Gary Payton). The trade made a ton of sense at the time—a point guard upgrade over Jeff McGinnis was the one thing this team needed. We were finally going to join the big leagues!

FREAK OCCURRENCE ALERT

Ah, our first Freak Occurrence Alert. Get used to them, Clipper Nation. So during the 2002-03, Miller’s assists per game mysteriously dropped from 10.9 to only 6.7 per game with the Clippers. This is one of, if not the biggest drop in assists for a former league leader in the history of the league. Miller was just a terrible fit, and it seemed like he didn’t even like being on the team, never once speaking to Ralph Lawler and Mike Smith (seriously). The Clippers won only 27 games, and all the promise the Clippers had built under Alvin Gentry began to fade away as he was replaced by Dennis Johnson mid-season. Miller and Odom were lost to free agency, and Mike Dunleavy Sr. was brought in to coach.

2003-04

2003-04 was no better, with a 28-54 record for the Clips. Corey Maggette turned himself into a bonafide 20 PPG star alongside Elton, but it felt like the upward trajectory that the Clippers had in 2001 was gone, and that they were just a floundering lottery team now.  With Quentin Richardson and Keyon Dooling leaving via free agency that summer, and the playoff drought (and sub-.500 record streak) at 7 years, it was a tough time for Clipper fans. A lot of us blamed Andre Miller for destroying a good thing, and whether that’s fair or not, he hasn’t given us much reason to like him since.

The Next Era Begins

2004-05

Fortunately for the Clippers, a new era was about to begin. In 2004, the Clippers drafted a fresh new prospect in 6’7” point guard Shaun Livingston, thought perhaps to be the next Magic Johnson. 2004-05 was a step in the right direction, with Brand and Maggette carrying the team to a record of 37-45.  

2005-06

In 2005-06, the Clippers added veteran guards Sam Cassell and Cuttino Mobley, joining an extremely solid starting lineup of Elton Brand, Chris Kaman, and defensive specialist Quinton Ross, bringing high-scoring Maggette, highlight playmaking Livingston, and sharpshooting Vladimir Radmonovic off the bench.

These Clippers were a lot of fun to watch. The balance of players was a recipe for success, and the team as a whole worked. Sam Cassell was a cool and collected floor general, and used his “torture chamber” post game, where he’d back down other guards on the baseline and do a simple bump-fade-away shot, to great effect. Elton Brand had an unconventional looking mid-range jumpshot, but it was absolutely deadly, and despite being only 6’8”, he used his bulky frame, ridiculously long arms, and soft touch to be an absolute menace when he got the ball at the elbow or on the block. Corey Maggette was all but guaranteed to slash his way into the paint and get to the line, where he led the team with 8 attempts per game and shot well over 80%. Cuttino Mobley was well-rounded and skilled from anywhere on the court, able to put the ball on the floor or pull-up from anywhere. Kaman had a solid bag of tricks in the post, all conventional but extremely well-practiced post moves, shooting almost 60% from within 3 feet. Shaun was a dazzling playmaker and highlight reel. Q-Ross was able to lock down just about anyone—I distinctly remember a play when Ross was on the Clippers where he shut down Tracy McGrady so badly, T-Mac just laughed and took the shot clock violation. Vlad did the one thing he was brought to do and shot over 40% from deep. And deep into the bench, Jumping James Singleton and Chris Wilcox provided the kind of hustle and readiness you expect from the end of your bench.

They ended up with a record of 47-35, the most for the franchise since 1976 (and 2 more than the Lakers), and earned the 6th seed heading into the 2006 playoffs. 

In the first round, facing the 3rd seed Denver Nuggets (which featured our old friend Andre Miller), the Clippers and their steady diet of halfcourt offense obliterated the Nuggets 4-1 (ha ha Andre). Down the hall, the Lakers had just lost in 7 games to the Phoenix Suns, so the Clippers for the first time ever had achieved the impossible: they were the only team left in Los Angeles playing basketball in May. This was an insane time to be a Clipper fan, and the Clipper faithful were the loudest they’d ever been during games at Staples.

Due to the way playoff seeding was weirdly set up at the time, the Clippers weren’t actually an underdog going into the first round, but were certainly the underdog heading into the second round against the 2-seed Phoenix Suns. After each team stole a game on the road, the series was tied 2-2 heading back to Phoenix for game 5. 

Game 5 was tightly contested all night. Steve Nash was dealing with nagging injuries, giving the Clippers a window. Elton Brand and Sam Cassell were having particularly big nights too, so the Clippers were in prime position to go up 3-2 heading back to LA. 

With 39.8 seconds left in the 4th quarter, Sam hit an absolutely huge three to tie up the game. On the subsequent possession, Shawn Marion was fouled, but missed two free throws, giving the Clippers an opportunity to finally take the lead in regulation.

FREAK OCCURRENCE ALERT

In the waning moments of a tied playoff game, Sam Cassell, 36-year-old former NBA champion and 13th year veteran, somehow, in probably one of only a handful of instances in his entire career, accidentally committed an 8-second back-court violation. What the hell, man. So the Clippers turned it over with 31 seconds left on the clock, and after a couple of misses by Nash and Sam, we went to overtime.

During the overtime, Elton and Sam were tremendous, and Sam drew a foul and sank two free throws to give the Clippers a 3 point lead with 3.6 seconds left. The Clippers just had to defend one more possession, and they’d get the victory.

FREAK OCCURRENCE ALERT

Again? Yup. So with 3.6 seconds left, Coach Mike Dunleavy Sr. has the bright idea to insert Daniel Ewing into the game for Elton Brand, to get another perimeter defender on the court. Of course, Ewing hadn’t played a single minute and his legs were ice cold, and he’s only 6’3” and isn’t really much of a defender. But what do I know? I’m just a Clipper fan, and as Coach Dunleavy would say, Clippers fans, we’re not technically savvy a lot of the time.

Anyway, Ewing did nothing to prevent Raja Bell from getting the ball in the corner, and Raja Bell nailed a corner three in his face. It was awful, the Phoenix crowd went nuts, the game went to a second overtime, and the Suns won game 5. But at least we’d be able to bring the band back and try again next year, right?

Pain and Heartache

2006-07

In the 2006-07 season, the Clippers didn’t really take a step forward. Sam was finally starting to show his age, going in and out of the lineup with injuries, and Kaman had inexplicably transformed into what became known as Mr. Flippy: a weird bizarro version of Kaman that couldn’t make his previously unstoppable post hook shots anymore. Fortunately the Clippers still had Shaun Livingston, who was really starting to come into his own, perfecting a pretty mid-range jump shot and showing that he could consistently defend with the best of them. (What Clipper fan doesn’t remember the time he blocked Prime Kobe?)

FREAK OCCURRENCE ALERT

A night after tying his career high (to this day) in assists with 14 against the Warriors, Shaun suffered one of the wildest knee injuries we’d ever seen. On a completely standard, wide-open fast break layup, Shaun landed awkwardly and tore 3 major ligaments in his knee. There were questions as to whether he’d ever be able to walk again, much less have a career. Somehow, Shaun ultimately recovered and won multiple championships, but after that injury we’d never see him in a Clipper uniform again. That was the nail in the coffin for the season, and with a record of 40-42, the Clippers missed the playoffs by 2 games. 

Clipper fans were more than disappointed; we were hurt. But loyal as we were, we accepted the season’s end and looked toward the next draft. Plus, we got to watch the Mavericks, who rested everyone in a late April game to the Warriors that ultimately destroyed the Clippers’ playoff chances, lose to those very Warriors in the first round.

To Be Continued

That brings us to the end of Part 1 of our journey through Clipper history. In Part 2, we’ll go through the painful (but hopeful) rebuilding years, and the long journey back to the playoffs.

The 2020 LA Clippers: For the People in the Back, Part 1
Erik Olsgaard