It has become commonplace in NBA discourse to see the Clippers and their fanbase being relentlessly slandered, but as the franchise has grown in recent years, Clipper Nation has become a global movement. With the perennial playoff collapses, most notably 2015 and 2020, such slander is certainly justified. With that being said, who would want to be a fan of such a team? Well, according to many of those partaking in the slander, the answer is nobody. There is a vocal group who truly believe that any professing Clippers supporter is merely playing the role of antagonist to LeBron and the Lakers. Their argument is that even with the recent surge of regular season success over the last decade, why would anybody choose to the Clippers? The Lakers, their hallway rivals, started off the 2010’s with a championship, underwent a full rebuild, and still got another title before the Clippers could even make their first Western Conference Finals appearance. Strictly from a basketball standpoint, there is seemingly no reason to be a fan of the Los Angeles Clippers. However, for Clipper fans, the decision to adopt this team has always been about more than basketball.

Every Clipper fan has a story on how their fandom came to be; however, not one of these stories can reference a championship run that ignited a life-long passion for the team. Throughout the years, this is the way we have seen fanbases grow. The Miami Heat regained global popularity during the Big-3 era, the Golden State Warriors had fans in every corner of the earth during their dynasty, and if we take a trip back to the 90’s, this reality was ever-present with Michael Jordan and the Bulls. It is no secret, but winning attracts fans. This reality will always be true, so because of it, every Clipper fan must answer the question, “How are you a fan, despite all of the losing?” Why become a fan of the worst franchise in NBA history, when a historically great alternative resides just across the hall? Once again, the answer transcends basketball.

The Underdog Mentality

It wasn’t until just last season that the Clippers became title favorites for the first time in franchise history. Even during the Lob City era, which was the most sustained success the Clippers had ever seen, the team was never once widely regarded as title favorites. Those teams were good, but the Western Conference went through Golden State, San Antonio, and Oklahoma City during those years. Because of this, unless a fan just recently hopped on the Kawhi-PG bandwagon, their fandom was birthed during a time when the Clippers were not only underdogs in the Western Conference, but in their own city as well. For Clipper fans, this is far more appealing than it is repelling. Many of them cite this very reality as a significant driving force of their passion for the team. In a survey conducted on my Clippers Instagram page (@clips.convos), I asked fans to reply with their story on how they became Clipper fans. Over half of the responses cited the team’s “underdog mentality” or “low-key persona” as at least one of the contributing factors that attracted them to the team. It’s a reality that’s rooted in the deepest part of our sports fandom, but it is undeniably enjoyable to root for an underdog.

It feels almost ironic to lead with this “underdog” narrative, because this could not have been any further from the reality we just experienced in the 2019-20 NBA season. Almost every major sports network, analyst, player, and fan had the Clippers as the favorites to win it all. After yet another season that ended in a disappointing 2nd round exit, this is no longer the case. ESPN recently reported that the Clippers have surrendered their place as title favorites to the Lakers for this upcoming season, and rightfully so. With a collapse as significant as the one the Clippers pulled off against Denver, pessimism surrounding the team was certain to follow. For Clipper fans, this is actually embraced. As represented by the data I collected in my survey, the very driving force for the fandom of many Clipper fans, is their attraction to an underdog.

Justin Russo, @FlyByKnite on Twitter, shared a sentiment that many Clipper fans can relate to. When asked why he has stayed a Clipper fan all these years, despite the perennial pain that comes with it, he answered by saying, “There’s no reason to jump ship. Watching them win a title would mean more than any other.” This mindset that after all of the years that produced nothing but disappointment, finally winning a championship would be a feeling like no other, is one that is consistent amongst the fanbase. Justin Wilson, @LAClippersFilm on Twitter, echoed this same sentiment when he stated that “In a weird way, the losing and collapses hurt, but there’s an optimism to it because you know when they break through it’ll mean more.” As shared by two of the most prominent voices on Clippers Twitter, Clipper fans aren’t going anywhere. In fact, they’ve always been here.

Clipper Nation: A Global Movement

In the survey conducted on my Instagram page, there was a portion that specifically encouraged Clipper fans from outside of the United States to share their stories on how they became fans. I was overwhelmed by not only the number of responses I received, which exceeded 200, but the widespread nature of where they were coming from. Fans from Australia, Poland, New Zealand, England, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Bahamas, Canada, Germany, Israel, Honduras, Chile, Brazil, France, Belgium, Columbia, Iraq, the Philippines, Japan, Singapore, Finland, Serbia, Italy, Argentina, Taiwan, Bulgaria, and Greece all came forward with unique stories about how they ended up falling in love with the Clippers. Their reasons for choosing the Clippers over any of the alternatives varied, although Lob City was an unsurprisingly popular response. Ralph Lawler and the unappealing nature of Laker fans also received heavy recognition in the free-response survey. While each of these stories varied in nature, they were all consistent in one area: these fans could never root for another team. Something about the combination of excitement and unmet expectations keeps them coming back. These fans know that experiencing this team’s first championship will be a feeling of rewarding satisfaction that is exclusive only to those who stayed loyal during the times when it was most difficult to do so.

Lob City’s Impact

It’s no secret that Lob City inspired a generation of basketball fans, but the significance of this reality is severely underrated. In a survey conducted by Jovan Buha of the Athletic, 24.2% of the Clipper fans who responded to the survey claim to have become fans during the peak of Lob City. The same survey determined that Blake Griffin is still king amongst Clipper Nation. Over 38% of responders named Blake as their favorite player to ever wear a Clippers jersey, which was 22% higher than the next closest player. This data affirms the already commonly held belief that a significant amount of Clipper fans discovered or reignited their passion for the team through Blake Griffin and the Lob City era. With Blake playing such a significant role in my own personal journey as a basketball fan, I decided to collect some stories by inviting my Twitter followers to share their sentiments regarding Blake.

While this provides an explanation for the arrival of many Clipper fans, it does not explain why they’ve stayed. Lob City has come and gone, but the playoff disappointments have not. Jamal Cristopher, formally @in_the_know__, and currently @NBAClippersBeat on Twitter, compares being a Clipper fan to life. When asked why he’s stuck with the Clippers, Jamal answered, “It’s personal for me. I don’t believe in giving up on something you believe in, in any facet of life… I can’t let go of this squad if I tried.” He went on to say that he believes the Clippers are an elite organization from top to bottom, that is on the verge of accomplishing special things. Based upon my own testimony as a fan, combined with the hundreds of stories that I have read from Clipper fans across the globe, Jamal sums it up perfectly. Whether a Clipper fan was born during the dark ages of the sports arena, or the unprecedented excitement that was Lob City, this journey has become personal for them. This is something they want to see through, and when that time comes, they will have earned it.

“The Clippers Have No Fans”

The reasons for supporting a historically unsuccessful team are widespread and diverse. To those outside of the fanbase, most specifically Laker fans, the mere existence of passionate and loyal Clipper fans exceeds their comprehensive ability. Whether their disbelief is rooted in ignorance or insecurity, the presence of Clipper Nation is undeniable. The fanbase has grown exponentially over the years, but it is a fanbase made up of unique individuals with unique stories. As previously mentioned, the Lob City era was the driving force of passion for many young fans across the globe.

Fede Missart grew up in Argentina, where he knew very little about basketball other than the highlights he would come across. During the peak of Lob City, Clipper highlights dominated the internet. When Fede discovered Blake Griffin, he knew he had to watch him as often as possible. Living in Argentina, he didn’t have access to Clipper games until they made the playoffs, so he continued to watch highlights until that time came. It was April of 2015, and the Clippers were set to face the defending champion San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. Fede, a newly born Clippers fan, faced a moral conundrum. The Clippers were his team, but Manu Ginobli was an Argentinian hero. As Fede describes it, the whole country was rooting for Manu and the Spurs. Despite this, Fede’s mind was made up. He had fallen in love with the Clippers, and cheered them on all seven games of their historic series win. Fede describes Chris Paul’s series winner as the moment that transformed him into a diehard Clipper Nation fan for life.

It has been well documented, but Lob City’s global impact on the NBA basketball scene cannot be overstated. Nadav Lewit was an 8-year-old kid in Israel when his dad introduced him to the NBA. Where Nadav grew up, Clipper games would start around 4:00 AM his time. His dad would occasionally wake him up to watch whatever game happened to be on that morning, but there was one game in particular that made Nadav into the diehard fan he is today. It was 2010, which was Blake Griffin’s rookie season, and the Clippers were opening up their season against the Portland Trailblazers. With this being the long awaited debut of Blake Griffin, it was one of just four games the Clippers had on ESPN that season. Nadav’s dad woke him up for the game, and when Blake scored his first career basket on a one-handed alley-oop finish, Nadav was hooked. From then on, it did not matter how early Clipper games begun, Nadav would be up watching. Him and his family have since moved to the Bay Area, and rep Clipper Nation amongst a sea of Golden State fans.

There is something about the excitement of Blake Griffin and Lob City that is indescribable outside of the testimonies from those who were captivated by it. The passion that Lob City ignited in a generation of Clipper fans has been strong enough to keep them coming back despite the perennial disappointments. This is exactly what Santiago Fernández, a Clipper fan in Chile, described when asked why he has stayed a fan of the team throughout all of the letdowns. Living in Latin America, Santiago described basketball as an afterthought, with soccer at the forefront of the country’s sporting interest. He was introduced to basketball during the Miami Heat Big 3 era, and he said he was stunned. As much as he enjoyed those Heat teams, he wanted to support a team that was just as exciting, but not as popular. This is how he discovered the Clippers. Santiago said, “I stumbled across this Griffin guy, dunking on everyone, Lob City, CP3, and DJ. I became a fan, and in my first year following the team, I had to go through the 3-1 collapse against Houston.” Santiago admitted it was hard to stay a fan after that, but he was so attached to the team, that he had no choice but to stick around. That attachment has only grown throughout the years, and while Santiago admits he is still suffering from the yearly unmet expectations, the hope of that first title is what keeps him coming back.

Clipper Nation’s Diversity

The personal testimonies of fans who caught on during Lob City’s reign could fill up a Player’s Tribune sized article on their own; however, part of Clipper Nation’s beauty is not only the diversity amongst its representation, but the diverse stories that have led each individual to this moment in their fandom.

Payman Benz moved from the Bay Area down to Los Angeles in 2006, and as fan of basketball who never latched onto the Warriors, Payman was ready for the basketball scene in his new city. He began attending Clipper games solely because he loved basketball, and the tickets were in his price range. Upon his arrival to LA, Payman got the opportunity to attend a few Laker games as well, but he always felt much more at home when watching the Clippers. While he acknowledges the incredible history that the Lakers have, it was ultimately the underdog persona of the Clippers that got him hooked. The combination of the fanbase’s relatable and friendly nature, along with a roster that complimented those values, Payman became a fan and hasn’t looked back.

The formula that turned Payman into a fan, the underdog mentality and the affordable ticket prices that come with it, is one that has created more Clipper fans than it’s given credit for.

Luis Galvan grew up in the Los Angeles area. It was the year 2004, and he had just turned 14, while his little brother had just turned 12. The two began selling Mexican candy at school in order to make a little bit of money. Neither he nor his brother were into sports at the time, but the first purchase his brother made with his profits, was a Shaun Livingston Clippers jersey. Luis asked him what the significance of this purchase was, and his brother responded by saying, “I bought this jersey because all of my friends like the Lakers, and I don’t want to be like them.” From that moment, the two brothers began watching every game that they could. A certain portion of the Lakers’ fanbase struggles to grasp the idea that not everyone is attracted to historical greatness, because quite frankly, it isn’t always relatable. For Luis and his brother, who sold Mexican candy to make their own money, it was the overlooked and underrepresented Clippers team in 2004 that sparked their fandom for life.

When discussing the diverse group of fans that the Clippers have attracted with their underdog culture, it would be criminal not to mention the 2018-19 team.

Teodora Stefanović had grown up following basketball from her home in Finland, but never latched onto a specific team until one Christmas when her family visited Los Angeles. The family, being fans of basketball, wanted to attend an NBA game for the first time in their lives. The discrepancy of ticket prices between the Clippers and Lakers ultimately led them to a Clippers game. Teodora described the atmosphere, the fans, and the fighting spirit of the team as something she’d never experienced before. She said, “After this trip, I had definitely found my team. I wouldn’t change my decision for anything, and I still can’t believe people choose to be a Laker fan when you can just be a Clipper fan instead.” Teodora is using the inverse of a popular criticism facing Clipper fans, that questions why anyone would choose to root for the historically bad Clippers, when a historically great alternative is right across the hall. For Teodora, historical greatness is not her measure of joy. The underdog, and fighter mentality of a franchise desperate to break through, is what makes her passion for the Clippers unwavering.

The Time Is Coming

Whether a fan fell in love with the underdog culture in the early 2000’s, caught onto the electricity of Lob City in the 2010’s, found their identity in the 2018-19 cinderella story, or just recently hopped on the Kawhi-PG wave, one thing remains consistent: they are all still waiting for their first championship. No matter the different backgrounds that have brought each Clipper fan to this point in their journey, they are all joined together in their unmatched desire to experience a Clippers championship together. When this time finally comes, and like Ralph Lawler promised, it’s certainly coming, there won’t be a fanbase in sports who deserves it more than the Clippers faithful.

Clipper Nation: A Global Movement
Joey Linn

Recently, to celebrate the NBA’s 74 years of existence (and, really, to fill the pages while sports are on hold), ESPN put out a list ranking the 74 greatest players in NBA history.

Normally, I don’t care much for these things, but after seeing a friend of mine who covers another of the NBA’s less-accomplished franchises remark that his team had no players in the top 74 side-by-side with Magic Johnson’s tweet lauding the Lakers for having six of the top ten players, I decided to take a glimpse at the Clippers on the list. At first, you might assume that LAC, who has never made a conference finals and experienced very little success, wouldn’t be well-represented, but there are actually seven players on the list who at one point wore the uniform of either the Buffalo Braves, San Diego Clippers, or L.A. Clippers (plus two executives, Elgin Baylor and Jerry West).

Of course, the Lakers and the Celtics are all over the list, with 17 and 16 players chosen, but even the teams with lesser selections seem to reflect major high points for the franchise. The Clippers’ selections, however, speak to the team’s long-running history of what-ifs, on the fringe of relevance. Let’s take a look at the seven players chosen:

59. Bob McAdoo: The team’s lowest-ranked player on the list, McAdoo was one of the few major stars of league history who actually had his best years with the franchise. Playing for the Buffalo Braves, McAdoo made three consecutive All-Star games from 1974-76, scoring over 30 points per game in each season and winning the 1975 NBA Most Valuable Player award. The Braves were also good during those three years. In ’74 and ’75, they lost in the first round, first to the eventual Champion Boston Celtics led by John Havlicek, and then to Wes Unseld, Elvin Hayes, and the eventual NBA Finalist Washington Bullets. In 1976, they made it to the second round, beating the Philadelphia 76ers before losing again to the Boston Celtics, who would go on to win yet another NBA title.

54. Paul Pierce: The Clippers, for a variety of reasons including a favorable location, have attracted a handful of well-past-their-prime big names over their history. Pierce, making a Los Angeles homecoming and reuniting with his championship coach Doc Rivers, brought a level of excitement when he signed with LAC on a cheap deal in July 2015. Everyone knew he was no longer an All-Star caliber player, but he was fresh off of shooting 39% from three and making clutch shots for the Washington Wizards. Unfortunately, he was awful in L.A., and his relationship with Rivers meant Clippers fans were forced to endure watching one of the worst players of the Lob City era start 38 games and make an additional 30 appearances off of the bench in 2015-16. He was bad enough that even Rivers had to remove him from the rotation in 2016-17 before his eventual retirement. Pierce’s short Clipper tenure was not only a costly misuse of limited financial resources to put talent around the Lob City core, but also a tragic firsthand look at a Hall of Famer who stayed in the league after his ability to contribute to a team had faded.

48. Bill Walton: On a list of “what-ifs” for one of the most tortured franchises in American professional sports, Walton may represent the greatest opportunity in franchise history that was squandered due to bad injury luck. The Hall of Fame center, who was born just outside of San Diego and won two national championships at UCLA, was set to return home to the San Diego Clippers after being drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers. He had won the 1977 NBA Championship (including a Western Conference Finals sweep of the Lakers where Walton matched up with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and was named Finals MVP. The next year, he won the 1978 NBA MVP. After missing the entire 1978-79 season due to injury, he signed with the Clippers, marking a free agent signing with a comparable magnitude to last summer’s acquisition of Kawhi Leonard.

Then, things fell apart. Walton played just 14 games in the 1980 season and did not make a single appearance in the ’80-’81 or ’81-’82 campaigns. When he returned to (partial) health and played 154 games across the next three seasons, he wasn’t himself anymore. To add insult to injury, this was when NBA teams were still required to compensate teams when acquiring their free agents–meaning the Clippers sent a top-10 draft pick, starting power forward Kermit Washington, and rotation center Kevin Kunnert to sign Walton, who essentially did not play for three years. Overall, despite the potential offered by signing a recent Finals MVP and regular season MVP, the Clippers didn’t even make the playoffs once during Walton’s six-year tenure. It was only salt in the wound for Clippers fans, who were in the midst of a franchise-long 15-year playoff drought, that Walton bookended his time with San Diego/L.A. by winning a second championship as a backup with the Boston Celtics the year after departing Southern California.

46. Dominique Wilkins: Growing up a Clipper fan, I knew who ‘Nique was as an NBA legend, but I actually didn’t learn until later that he had (briefly) played for my favorite team. Wilkins’ legacy as a Hall of Famer and legendary two-time Slam Dunk Contest champion came with the Hawks, of course, but it was strange for me as a kid to even imagine a player with such historical stature ever suiting up for LAC. In truth, Wilkins was still quite good when he wore the Clippers’ uniform, averaging 29 points and 7 rebounds. But after acquiring him in a mid-season trade, the Clippers won just 8 of the 25 games he played in (they were 19-38 before his arrival, so it was hardly his fault), and he quickly departed the next summer, making his Clipper tenure nothing more than a footnote.

40. Chris Paul: It’s entirely possible that down the line, with a couple of decades of space between us and Lob City, the Chris Paul era of Clippers basketball will feel slightly less disappointing. Paul, of course, was individually epic, playing six seasons of his prime in L.A. and earning appearances on three All-NBA First Teams, two All-NBA Second Teams, and all six All-Defensive First Teams. But you all know the story of how those teams went: championship aspirations (and internal expectations) were consistently undercut by gut-wrenching injuries and collapses. Paul and his running mate, Blake Griffin, consistently missed or played injured in the post-season, and two epic playoff collapses shattered the teams’ psyche.

In the second round of Rivers’ first year as coach in 2014, the Clippers were tied 2-2 had a 7-point lead with 49 seconds to play in game 5 on the road against Oklahoma City. The Thunder, who trailed by as much as 13 in the quarter, closed on a 17-3 run to win the game by 1 point. The disastrous run included Paul turning the ball over up 2 with 14 seconds left as he attempted to draw a 3-shot shooting foul instead of accepting a 2-shot intentional foul, fouling poor three-point shooter Russell Westbrook on a three-point attempt with 6 seconds to play and a 2-point lead, and then losing the ball on the Clippers’ final possession as he attempted to win. It only hurt morale more that in these closing seconds, the Clippers were harmed repeatedly by the referees–the non-call on Paul’s first turnover, a botched out of bounds review when Matt Barnes stripped Reggie Jackson after that turnover, the phantom foul called on Paul that sent Westbrook to the line, and an uncalled reach-in foul on Jackson that resulted in Paul’s final turnover. The next year, the Clippers made the second round again, winning a road game 1 with Paul hurt after his heroic, hobbled game 7 buzzer-beater against the Spurs in round 1. They’d go on to take a 3-1 lead against the Rockets before the wheels came off in game 6, where the Clippers blew a 19-point lead and lost the fourth quarter 40-15 at home, including 29 points from Corey Brewer and Josh Smith and not a single second of court time for James Harden.

It feels easy to say, after his six-year tenure, that Chris Paul is the greatest Clipper of all time, as he led the team to its most successful era and is the highest-ranked player to have an extended tenure with the team. But it also feels noteworthy that his time in L.A. seemed to be marked by frequent disappointment and rare successes. Maybe the team was never quite as good as the hype suggested, or maybe poor front office management held back a title-worthy core, or maybe they simply had a couple of years’ worth of bad injury and on-court luck. It’s likely that Paul’s own intense personality contributed to the team’s mental baggage following their playoff collapses, making him the rare all-time great who is still met by his team’s fanbase with never-ending what-ifs.

25. Kawhi Leonard: After perhaps the most depressing entry on this list, here’s the one with the most hope: Leonard, the reigning NBA Finals MVP with the Toronto Raptors in 2019, chose to leave his northern throne and return home to Los Angeles in free agency. Most notably, both Los Angeles teams had salary cap space and championship-caliber rosters with which to recruit him, and he chose the Clippers over the storied Lakers. But windows of opportunity are fleeting, and the Clippers seem on the cusp of another horrific what-if, as the season’s unprecedented suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with Leonard’s degenerative quad injury and choice to sign a short contract that only guaranteed LA two years of contending with him, makes a disappointing tenure terrifyingly popular.

Still, like I said: hope. Kawhi’s injury might cause him to miss some regular season games, but that load management is helping him ensure that he can be a top-level playoff performer as he was for Toronto last year. The 2020 playoffs haven’t been canceled yet, and even if they are, the Clippers would be able to keep the best team in franchise history intact for the 2021 season. And if Kawhi wanted to be a Clipper badly enough in July 2019 to walk away from the defending champions and turn down LeBron James and Anthony Davis, there’s no compelling reason yet to believe he’d be a major flight risk in July 2021.

18. Moses Malone: Like ‘Nique, it’s easy to forget that Malone was ever a part of the franchise. After starring in the ABA and then being drafted by Portland in the summer of 1976 following the league’s merger with the NBA, the Trail Blazers traded Malone to the Buffalo Braves for a first-round pick. After just two games (and only six minutes played) with the Braves, Malone was on the move again: this time, to Houston for two first-round picks. His six minutes in Buffalo were followed by six years in Houston, where he won two of his three NBA MVP awards and began a string of 12 straight All-Star selections. He won a championship and Finals MVP with Philadelphia in 1983, and after 19 NBA seasons he is all over the league’s career leaderboards: 2nd in free throws attempted and 4th in made (8,531 and 11,090), 1st in offensive rebounds (6731, and he led the league eight times), 5th in total rebounds (16,212), 9th in points (27,409), 26th in blocks (1733). An NBA career that began with six minutes in Buffalo would feature a title, three MVP awards, eight All-NBA selections, and a Hall of Fame selection. Buffalo traded him for two draft picks they would never use, trading one for big man George Johnson and then packaging Johnson, the other pick, and an additional draft pick package for Tiny Archibald (who never played for the team due to an Achilles injury).

The Archibald wrinkle makes for another twist to the Malone what-if: the Braves not only quickly traded away one of the best players in league history, but they used those assets to eventually acquire another Hall of Famer who would never play for the team due to injury. When the Braves re-traded him to the Boston Celtics in August 1978 (as part of a massive franchise swap between the two teams’ owners that led to former Celtics owner Irv Levin moving the Braves to San Diego and selling the team to Donald Sterling in 1981), they didn’t get a player nearly his caliber in return, and Archibald went on to win a title with the Celtics while Bill Walton was sitting on SDC’s injured reserve list.

Which of these legendary Clippers (or, legends who happened to be Clippers) had the most compelling story? Do you have any memories of these players’ time with Buffalo, San Diego, or L.A., or thoughts on how they were ranked by ESPN (and who was excluded)? Let us know in the comments below.

The Clippers’ appearances on ESPN’s Top 74 list are a series of what-ifs
Lucas Hann

We’re back once again. To recap, in Part 1 we talked about the fun upstart Clippers of the early 2000’s, and the Clippers’ 2005-06 playoff run.  And in Part 2 we talked about the painful (but hopeful) rebuilding years, and the long journey back to the playoffs.

It’s Going to be Lob City

2011-12

In the summer of 2011, the league underwent negotiations with the players for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, and by the time that was settled, we were left with a shortened 66-game season beginning in December 2011. But during that off-season, the Clippers made a blockbuster trade: The Clippers traded Gordon, Kaman, Aminu, and a 1st round pick to New Orleans for Chris Paul, arguably the league’s best two-way point guard. Blake and DeAndre were heard celebrating and coined the nickname “Lob City” for this team. (I still haven’t watched the video of Eric Gordon finding out he was traded while hosting a fan-event on a bus, because he is/was one of my favorite Clippers of all time, and I just… can’t.)

The Lakers had attempted to trade for Paul earlier, but with no team owner for New Orleans, the NBA played the role and turned down the trade. So nabbing CP3 was truly a monumental victory for the Clippers. The Clippers also added veterans Caron Butler, Chauncey Billups, Kenyon Martin and Nick Young (at the deadline) that season, giving them tremendous talent and experience. 

Chris Paul was as great as advertised—for me he was even better than advertised—and he took the Clippers to another level. The free-flowing but chaotic brand of basketball that Baron Davis orchestrated was replaced by Chris Paul’s incredibly cerebral and meticulous playing style—and it was far more effective. The Clippers lived up to their nickname and naturally led the league in dunks, including the one where Blake Mozgov’d Kendrick Perkins into oblivion, and for the first time since 1978 they put 2 players on the All Star team. The Clippers finished the 2011-12 season 40-26 (50-win pace) and finally returned to the playoffs! In the 2012 playoffs, the Clippers faced the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies were a tough, physical competitor, and it took what was the second largest comeback in NBA playoff history (thanks Swaggy) to defeat them in 7 games. But then the Clippers ran into a red-hot San Antonio Spurs team that had won 14 straight coming into the series, and were quickly swept as the Clippers were both out-played and out-coached.

2012-13

The following summer, the Clippers traded for Lamar Odom and Willie Green, and signed Jamal Crawford, Grant Hill, Matt Barnes, Ronny Turiaf, and Ryan Hollins. This would be one of the greatest Clipper benches ever assembled, which would earn the nickname A Tribe Called Bench (it’s still so awkward and forced but whatever you know you love it). Everyone’s numbers dipped slightly because there was so much wealth to be shared.

Finally, the Clippers were top 10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency. Aside from Chauncey Billups, who went down with a torn Achilles, the Clippers managed to stay mostly healthy and finished with a 56-26 record, a franchise record at the time. Teams just couldn’t handle the initial punch of the Clippers’ starting lineup of CP3, Griffin, Jordan, Butler, and Billups/Green and their deliberately surgical style of play, only for it to be followed up by a hay-maker bench unit of Bledsoe, Crawford, Barnes, Odom, and Turiaf/Hollins and their hyper-aggressive style on both ends of the court. 

For many Clipper fans, this was their favorite season of the Lob City era. The team seemed to be perfectly in tune with one another, the locker room was packed with players’ kids, and the game just looked easy. DeAndre put the league on notice that he was one of its best dunkers, at the unfortunate expense of Brandon Knight. The team even had a stretch where they won 17 straight, including all 16 games in the month of December (only the 3rd time a month has ever been won in NBA history), eliciting this gem from Ty Lawson, as some fans may remember. 

The season had so many memorable moments, and the Clippers won their first division title. But toward the end of the season, the Clippers lost the groove they were in earlier in the season, and ended the season on an 8-8 stretch, as cold as any team in the playoffs. In the first round, the Clippers were once again matched against the Memphis Grizzlies, who they’d beat 3-1 during the season, but after winning the first 2 games of the series at home, the Clippers rattled off 4 straight losses, with Blake only playing 14 minutes in the final game on a bum ankle.

The team entered the off-season with tons of question marks. After peaking in December, what more could this team do to turn the corner and truly ascend to the next level?

2013-14

Well, the Clippers did make one big change: their coach. It was felt that championship caliber leadership was needed, and so the Clippers traded a 1st round pick to the Celtics for coach Doc Rivers. Known to be both a player’s coach and a wizard with out-of-timeout plays, Doc was seen as the key to getting the Clippers a championship. 

This was enough to convince Chris Paul to stay (also the Clippers could offer a lot more money than anyone else), so he was re-signed to a max contract. Additionally, the Clippers decided to take another look at their roster. Bledsoe had a great season and was due for a payday, so they included him and Butler in a trade to Milwaukee that netted the Clippers sharp-shooting J.J. Redick and 3-and-D small forward Jared Dudley. 

The change was immediately noticeable—the starting lineup became one of the strongest in the league. J.J.’s instincts as a shooter lined up perfectly with Chris’ expectations for where he was supposed to be, and the two were frequently in sync to free-up J.J. for wide open shots. Barnes and Dudley split the starting small forward role, and Jamal continued to be dynamite off the bench, winning his second 6th man of the year award. Despite Chris missing 20 games with minor injuries, the Clippers sported the #1 offense in the league, while remaining top 10 on the defensive end, and cruising to a 57-25 record, another new franchise record.  However: t-shirt jerseys.

The 2014 playoffs started with a first round matchup against the Golden State Warriors. The Clippers barely lost game 1, before blowing out the Warriors by 40 in game 2 (a franchise record), and barely escaping with a win in game 3. 

The day after game 3, the earth cracked open and a major shift began. The Clippers’ owner Donald Sterling, arguably the worst owner in sports and one of the most disgusting and toxic humans in the entire world, was recorded making racist comments to his personal assistant. 

In game 4, the Clippers silently protested during pre-game warm-ups, but ultimately got blown out by Steph Curry’s absurdly hot shooting. Then, before game 5, Donald Sterling was formally banned from the NBA.  At game 5, a home game, black t-shirts had been given to all of the fans that read, “We are one” representing the unity between the team and the fans in removing Sterling from our collective lives. I was at the game, and when the sold-out Staples Center chanted in unison, it was something special.

It was a turbulent time for Clipper fans and for the team, and Doc Rivers was instrumental in leading us all through the storm. So when the Clippers finally won in game 7, you could see the weight being lifted off of Doc Rivers’ shoulders as he pumped his fist in the air and shouted, “YES!”

In the second round of the playoffs, the Clippers were able to move past the Sterling drama, and focus on their next opponent: the Oklahoma City Thunder. The series went back and forth, with each team stealing a game on the road, which led us to game 5.

Game 5 was a close contest that went down to the wire. With 49 seconds left, the Clippers led by 7. Durant quickly knocked down a 3, cutting the lead to 4 with 44 seconds left. Jamal Crawford barely missed a layup, the Thunder got the rebound, and Durant scored in transition, cutting the lead to 2 with 18 seconds left. 

FREAK OCCURRENCE ALERT

Chris Paul, known for having one of the best assist-turnover ratios of any point guard in the history of the NBA turned it over at half-court, and the ball got to Reggie Jackson on the break before Matt Barnes prevented the layup by knocking the ball out of bounds.

Or did he? See for yourself.

Video replays had only recently been added for such plays, and the replay clearly showed the ball went off of Reggie Jackson’s hand last. But in a double freak occurrence, the officiating staff decided to award the ball to Oklahoma City. In the end, the Clippers shouldn’t have blown such a large lead—but then again, they didn’t really blow the entire lead, since that was supposed to be our ball.

The Clippers, deflated by the game 5 loss, went on to lose the series in 6 games. Season over.

2014-15

That summer, the Clippers were bought by Steve Ballmer, the former CEO of Microsoft, worth upwards of $51 billion, making him the wealthiest owner in the NBA. But more importantly, this was a man who was incredibly passionate about basketball, having wanted to purchase a team for years. Ballmer owning the team would complete the Clippers’ transformation from a franchise that was the butt of every joke to an upstart franchise destined for greatness.

The Clippers also signed Spencer Hawes, a stretch center, as they felt they needed more flexibility at the center position (spoiler: Manbun Hawes would not provide that flexibility, or really anything). After only one season, the disappointing Jared Dudley experiment was over, costing the Clippers a 1st round pick to dump him—Dudley would later explain he’d been battling nagging injuries all year, while shit-talking the Clippers whenever possible, which the Elmer Fudd-looking forward continues to do to this day. Cool!

The 2014-15 Clippers were still very good, although the formula was becoming a bit stale. Always on that second tier of contending teams, they could never quite find that extra gear. They obtained Austin Rivers via trade halfway through the season; a move which was much maligned at the time, but ultimately turned out to be a solid get. After coasting through the season, and briefly losing Blake to a staph infection, the still-talented Clippers managed a 56-26 record, good enough for the 3-seed, and headed into the playoffs.

In the first round of the 2015 playoffs, the Clippers faced the veteran Spurs once again. This time, the Clippers weren’t out-coached as Doc Rivers held his own against Gregg Popovich. Blake was playing at an MVP-level, averaging an absurd 24 PPG, 13 RPG, and 7 APG, while Chris chipped in averages of 23 PPG, 5 RPG, and 8 APG to carry the Clippers. The series went back and forth, with each team trading wins until a pivotal game 7 at Staples Center. Chris had suffered a hamstring injury during the series, and had been noticeably limping throughout game 7. 

But tied 109-109 with 9 seconds left, the Clippers trusted their final possession to the Point God who had gotten them this far. On essentially one leg, Chris drove past Danny Green, was met by Tim Duncan at the rim, and tossed up a prayer floater, which bounced off-the-glass and fell perfectly through the net with 1 second remaining. I remember video taping this moment, dropping my phone in the stands when the bucket went in, and not really caring what happened after that. It is, to this day, the most incredible shot I’ve ever seen.

In the second round the Clippers faced what was thought to be a much less daunting opponent, the Houston Rockets. Their defense wasn’t nearly as stingy as the Spurs’, and the Clippers seemed to be able to get to their spots much easier. The Clippers quickly stole homecourt advantage in game 1, and then won both home games, taking a 3-1 lead. In game 5, the Clippers took their foot off the gas and were defeated. Still, they appeared poised to close out the series at home in game 6.

Up 87-68 in the third quarter, the Clippers managed to blow a 19-point lead. Now, teams lose 19 point leads all the time, so we shouldn’t write this off as a freak occurrence, right?

FREAK OCCURRENCE ALERT

Wrong. Yeah, this wasn’t just any 19-point comeback (in-fact it was a full 31 point turnaround as the Rockets won game 6 119-107); this was a 19-point comeback led by the unlikeliest of Houston heroes. And given that Houston had built their team based on statistical probabilities, these were heroes that the Rockets would almost never, ever allow to do what they did.

With their primary and most efficient scorer James Harden on the bench, Corey Brewer (27% from deep that season, 28% career 3P%) and Josh Smith (32% from deep that season, 29% career 3P%) shot a combined 5-7 from downtown in the fourth quarter. These were guys that the Clippers game-planned to leave open from the arc, and who would never shoot like that again in such an important game.

And so the Clippers lost game 6, to Corey Freaking Brewer and Josh Freaking Smith, and fell on the road to Houston in game 7. All of that work to get past San Antonio was for nothing. Isn’t being a Clipper fan fun?

2015-16

That summer, the Clippers mixed things up, trading fan favorite Matt Barnes and the underwhelming Spencer Hawes to the Hornets for Lance Stephenson, added Luc Mbah a Moute, Wesley Johnson, Cole Aldrich, Pablo Prigioni, Paul Pierce (oh), and sharpshooting Josh Smith.

Writer’s note: As Citizen DieterDeux pointed out, I completely whiffed and forgot to mention the DeAndre Jordan kidnapping and re-signing saga. So, I would like to formally submit an I-O-U for an article specifically recapping that incredible event.

Surprisingly, Luc Mbah a Moute ended up taking the starting small forward spot away from Lance Stephenson, with Luc’s stellar defense fitting in nicely with the powerhouse foursome of CP3, Blake, DeAndre, and J.J. Redick. Jamal Crawford was still electric off the bench, winning his (at the time) record 3rd Sixth Man of the Year award. Despite cries of nepotism, Austin Rivers was extremely solid and rightfully earned his spot in the rotation. Wes Johnson was pretty mediocre, but if it weren’t for him the Clippers’ official Twitter account would never have tweeted “W3T JOHNSON ” so there’s that. And the Prigioni-Aldrich chemistry was awfully fun, even if we only saw it a few minutes each game.

The Clippers were still very good, top 10 on both ends of the court, but were really playing beneath their potential, only 16-13 heading into a Christmas day matchup against the Lakers. They defeated the Lakers, but unfortunately Blake Griffin suffered a quad injury injured, which would keep him out for an entire month. But the win and Blake’s injury sparked something in the Clippers, as they rallied and strung together a fantastic stretch, winning 11 of their next 13, with Blake due to return in a few days. 

FREAK OCCURRENCE ALERT

During a team dinner in Toronto, the team’s equipment manager (and Blake’s personal friend) teased Griffin that the team seemed better without him. The usually reserved Griffin lost his cool and punched the equipment manager, breaking his hand and drastically delaying his return. 

The Clippers inserted Paul Pierce into the starting lineup as a stretch 4, and while Pierce wasn’t spectacular, having an extra shooter on the floor provided more spacing for Chris Paul to work. And a few weeks later, the Clippers traded Lance Stephenson and a 1st round pick for Jeff Green. The team ended up going 30-15 over the period that Blake was out. Blake returned on April 3rd, and the team closed the season winning 6 of their final 7 games, ending with a 53-29 record, good for the 4th seed.

The 2016 playoffs had the Clippers matched up against the 44-win Portland Trailblazers, with the Clippers expected by most everyone to win. The series started off as expected, with Los Angeles winning both home games. The Blazers managed to take game 3, riding 59 combined points from Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. Which brings us to game 4. 

The Clippers trailed the entire game and outside of Chris Paul couldn’t buy a bucket. But the score was close all evening thanks to their stingy defense. Despite shooting only 33% for the half, the Clippers were only trailing by 4 heading into halftime! Then in the 3rd quarter, the unthinkable, but seemingly inevitable, happened—bring on that alert.

FREAK OCCURRENCE ALERT 

Late in the third quarter, after finally being healthy for basically the entire season, Chris Paul got his hand caught in Gerald Henderson’s shorts and fractured his hand. His freaking shorts. What the hell, man? Has this kind of injury ever happened before?? And then to add insult to injury (or rather injury to injury), early in the fourth quarter Blake Griffin re-aggravated his previously injured quad and had to go back to the locker room. He briefly re-entered the game, but after grimacing on a routine jump-shot, he was done for the night. I will never forget this game because I had the unfortunate job of writing the game recap. The next day the Clippers announced that Chris and Blake would be shut down for the rest of the season.

With their stars all wearing suits, the Clippers lost game 5 by double digits. But in game 6, on the road, the remaining Clippers fought tooth and nail to give the Clippers a fighting chance at a game 7. Austin Rivers, in particular, made a lot of fans that night, as he showed tremendous toughness in leading the team with a 21-8-6 performance after suffering a bloody facial fracture early in the first quarter. But despite all of that effort, the Clippers lost game 6 by 3 points, and the season was over.

2016-17

By this time, the Lob City Clippers were running it back for the 6th straight time. The season started off extremely well, with the Clippers 14 of their first 16 games. It was their best start in franchise history, and it had writers talking about how they’d finally put it all together. But the momentum couldn’t be maintained, as in December Blake sprained his left knee (requiring surgery, which kept him out until mid-January) and Chris strained his hamstring (which kept him out for stretches in December, January, and February). Despite the injuries, the Clippers finished with a 51-31 record for the 4th seed. 

In the 2017 playoffs, the Clippers faced the Jazz in the first round. After dropping game 1 to a buzzer beater by Iso Joe Johnson, the Clippers won games 2 and 3 to regain homecourt advantage. But the win in game 3 came with an unfortunate price tag, as Blake Griffin suffered a season-ending injury to his… big toe. (At this point, an injury doesn’t even warrant a Freak Occurrence Alert.)

So without their second star, the Clippers lost the series in 7 games. Yet another playoff run, ultimately this group’s last, derailed by an injury to Paul and/or Griffin.

To Be Continued

Time for our final break as we wrap up Part 3. In Part 4, the Clippers will press the reset button and set themselves up to create the greatest Clipper team ever assembled.

The 2020 LA Clippers: For the People in the Back, Part 3
Erik Olsgaard