In the most expected Clippers news of the entire offseason, the Clips re-signed veteran forward Nic Batum to a two-year, $11.5M contract. The second year is a team option and Nico also gets a trade kicker as part of the deal. It’s a raise for Nico while remaining very team friendly for the Clippers.

Nico has spent 4+ of the last 5 years on the Clippers and has become one of the most beloved role players in franchise history. Nico is in the waning days of his career and is no longer capable of starting or playing heavy minutes regularly, but he’s still an excellent backup power forward who can handle stints at small-ball center as needed. His combination of shooting, defense, and connective play makes this contract a real value play, even at his age.

Nico is one of the few rotation players on the team the past few seasons who has earned the respect of the team’s stars, coaching staff, and front office as well as the love of fans, making him an essential bench guy for the Clippers. The Clippers openly stated that they missed him the one season he spent in Philadelphia after the James Harden trade, and Nico in return has said he doesn’t want to play for another NBA team the rest of his career.

On the court, the Clippers now have most of their rotation set. The only real need on the roster is a backup point guard, and that signing will probably come in the next few days.

Welcome back, Nico!

Clippers Re-Sign Nic Batum to Two-Year Deal
Robert Flom

Our exit interview series on the 2025 Clippers continues with beloved fan favorite Nicolas Batum.

Basic Information

Height: 6’8

Weight: 230 pounds

Position: Power Forward/Center

Age: 36

Years in NBA: 17

Key Regular Season Stats: 4.0 points, 1.1 assists, 2.8 rebounds, 0.7 steals, 0.5 blocks, and 0.4 turnovers in 17.5 minutes per game across 78 games played (eight starts) on 43.7/43.3/81.0 (2.6 3PA and 0.3 FTA attempts) shooting splits (63.3 True Shooting)

Key Playoff Stats: 5.6 points, 2.0 assists, 3.9 rebounds, 0.9 steals, 1.7 blocks, and 0.4 turnovers in 24.6 minutes per game across 7 games played (0 starts) on 39.4/39.4 (4.7 3PA and 0 FTA attempts) shooting splits (59.1 True Shooting)

Expectations

After being traded in the James Harden deal early in the 2024 season, Nico re-signed with the Clippers to much rejoicing. Fans, players, coaches, and the front office all missed Nic in LA, and he and his family clearly missed being with the Clippers in Los Angeles. The expectations for Batum were clear: be a very similar role player to the guy he’d been for three years for the Clips, just on a slightly smaller minutes load. All Nico had to do was his usual 40% from three, connective passing, and solid defense, and he would be meeting the mark.

Reality

As he basically always has as a Clipper, Nico came through. He was incredibly reliable for a 36-year-old, playing in nearly every game and maintaining a steady level of play befitting a 7^th man on a playoff team. Nico made over 43% of his threes (albeit on relatively low volume), was a lynchpin on defense for one of the best defensive teams in the NBA, and helped with ball movement, entry passes, and general flow on offense. The production was far more limited than it was even earlier in his Clippers tenure, but the impact was undeniable.

Nico continued his strong campaign with a fantastic playoffs. He was one of two players on the Clippers, along with Ivica Zubac, that either met or exceeded expectations in the postseason, upping his minutes, points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks while making a solid number of his threes. The series did showcase some of Nico’s weaknesses, especially his lack of versatility on offense – he took no free throws in the series, and somehow did not take a single two-point shot in seven games. That said, he was good on defense, was the only Clippers’ role player to shoot well from deep, and proved essential to balancing the Clippers’ lineups as a two-way player.

If anything, Nic Batum’s importance to the Clippers this late in his career showed some of the weaknesses of the roster. The Clippers kept him mothballed for most of the regular season with very low minute loads, but he was a key piece in the playoffs, and quite frankly, 36-year-old role players should not be as important as Nico was. While Nico is a singularly gifted role player, it would be nice if the Clippers found a true starting-level power forward so they could prepare for a roster post-Nico.

Future with Clippers

Nico has a $4.9M player option for next year. Just about all reports are that he will pick that player option up to suit up for the Clippers in the 2026 season. Nico could retire, but he clearly showed he still has something left in the tank, and it’s tough to pass up that much money, even for a long-time NBA player. Of course, it’s possible Nico could decline the option and go elsewhere, but that seems incredibly unlikely given his fondness for the Clippers – and the team’s trust in him. I think Nico will be on the Clippers in 2026 for the last season of his quite incredible NBA career, and I just hope that it’s a season where they are able to remain relevant.

Clippers 2025 Exit Interviews: Nic Batum
Robert Flom

Our player preview series for the 2024-25 Clippers concludes with beloved fan favorite Nicolas Batum.

Basic Information

Height: 6’8

Weight: 230 pounds

Position: Forward

Age: 35

Years in NBA: 16

Key Stats: 5.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.6 blocked shots in 25.5 minutes per game across 60 games (38 starts) with the LA Clippers and Philadelphia 76ers with 45.3/39.5/71.4 shooting splits.

Contract Status: First year of a two-year contract worth $9.6 million.

Expectations

Nicolas Batum will most likely be the main forward off the bench for the Clippers this season. He has Ty Lue and his teammates’ trust and he can still be a productive player. What makes him unique and well-suited to the Clippers rotation is his ability to play both forward positions.

Depending on the matchup, he’ll see minutes as a small-ball center as well. During his first stint with the Clippers, he often played the five in small lineups. He’s going to be counted on this season to be one of the Clippers’ most dependable players off the bench.

Strengths

Batum’s positional versatility makes him a positive to any lineup. He can switch between both forward positions and center. He can guard multiple positions even at his age. He does so many of the little things on the court that even if his shot isn’t falling, he can still make an impact.

He’s one of the best three-point shooters on the team and arguably the best off-ball. His relocation and catch and shoot ability is still among the best in the league., especially at his size.

Weaknesses

There are times when Batum’s shot eludes him, but there as mentioned before, he contributes in so many other areas that he can still find ways to be effective. But this season in particular, the Clippers are going to need him to be on most of the season – they simply lack outside shooting.

There’s also the question of how much does he have left in terms of taking on tough defensive assignments and playing multiple positions given his age. But there’s not really any reason to expect a sharp decline at all this season. But just something to monitor.

Summary

Batum did not want to be traded from the Clippers last year and he’s openly spoken about how signing with the Clippers saved his career. And Clippers fans certainly did not want him traded. But he was one of the pieces Philadelphia asked for in return for James Harden.

He’s back though, and given his affinity for Ty Lue and the organization, it’s tough to imagine him not finishing his career here. Whatever the future holds, Clippers fans are certainly happy to have him back. And he’s going to play a key role towards whatever success the Clippers hope to have this season.

Clippers 2024-2025 Player Preview: Nicolas Batum
David Yapkowitz

In the most widely adored (by fans) Clippers move in years, the Clippers have agreed to terms to bring fan favorite Nic Batum back on a 2 year, $9.6M deal.

I don’t need to write about Nic Batum as a player. If you’re reading this site, or listening to our pod, you know how good Nic Batum is, how incredible a role player he is, and how much he will help this team. He’s what last year’s team was missing after the Harden trade and immediately fills a gap on this team.

Let’s talk next steps. The Clippers just signed Kris Dunn (a full article on him soon), and are getting pretty close to a full roster. The Clippers just used their BAE on Nico, so all they have left is the remains of the MLE (just a few million) and vet minimums. Right now, it seems as though the Clippers want to bring Nico off the bench, which means a starting unit of Harden-Mann-DJJ-Kawhi-Zu with a bench of Dunn-Norm-Amir-Nico-?, and depth of Bones, Kevin Porter Jr., Jordan Miller, Kobe Brown, and Cam Christie.

The Clippers clearly have too many guards, still need a backup center, and could probably use a starting-level power forward. So far, all of the Clippers’ signings (outside of Porter Jr) have been defense-first, which means they might be gearing up for an offense-first player (Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan?) to replace Paul George.

In the meantime, while we wait on the Clippers’ other moves, we can celebrate two more years of Nic Batum’s steadiness, defense, smart passing, and three-point shooting. Batum Battalion back!

The Return of the King: Nic Batum Signs With Clippers On Two Year Deal
Robert Flom

Our exit interview series for the 2024 Clippers starts with beloved former role player Nic Batum.

Basic Information

Height: 6’8

Weight: 230 pounds

Position: Power Forward/Small Forward

Age: 35

Years in NBA: 16

Key Clippers Regular Season Stats: 2.7 points, 1.7 assists, 2.3 rebounds, 1.0 steals, 1.3 blocks, and 0.3 turnovers in 18.0 minutes per game across 3 games played (0 starts) on 37.5/28.6 (2.3 3PA and 0 FTA attempts) shooting splits (50.0 True Shooting)

Expectations

Going into his 4^th season on the Clippers, it was expected that Nic’s role would be relatively similar to prior seasons, just in a scaled down minutes load. That meant playing the backup 4 off the bench, filling in as a starter as needed, and frequently closing games as the 4 or small-ball five. The expectations for Nico were as high as the bar he set – consistently good defense, excellent outside shooting, and the ability to make quick decisions on both sides of the ball. With minutes declining each of his previous seasons with the Clippers, the thought was Nic would play fewer minutes in the regular season and then ramp up in the playoffs.

Reality

Nic was traded just three games into the 2024 season as part of the James Harden deal. He was looking to be a bench player behind Robert Covington, but it was clear the roster was going to get shaken up by the Harden deal or some other move. Still, it was a shock to see the Clippers move on from Nico, who was beloved by fans, coaches, other players, and the front office alike.

After understandably taking a week or so to mentally deal with the trade, Nico joined the Sixers and ended up being by far the biggest on-court piece of the Harden trade. He averaged 5.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 25.9 minutes per game while playing his usual terrific defense and shooting 39.9% from three on medium volume. Classic Nico stuff. Along the way, he won the hearts of Sixers’ fans for his clutch play and ability to do the little things, like throw entry passes to Joel Embiid. Sadly, despite a terrific individual postseason, Nico’s season ended just like the Clippers’ – a first round exit in six games.

The Clippers desperately missed what Nic brought to the table, even though James Harden was obviously the more impactful player. They missed his three-point shooting, his defensive versatility, his steadiness, and his ability to unlock multiple different kinds of lineups. It’s really too bad he had to be part of the trade, especially since it seems like the swap of him for PJ Tucker was maybe the last chip that pushed the deal over the finish line.

Future with Clippers

Nico talked last summer about how the 2024 season was quite possibly going to be his last in the NBA. Nico’s season on the Sixers showed he still has a lot of juice left – in fact, all the key stakeholders on the Sixers seem to be going full-court press on Nico to convince him to re-sign this summer. So, it is possible that Nic Batum is back in the NBA next year. However, if he does return, it seems likely he’d go back to the Sixers, not the Clippers. Thus, I’d imagine the chances of Nic Batum in a Clippers’ jersey again are slim – but you never know.

2024 Clippers Exit Interview: Nic Batum
Robert Flom

Per Hoops Hype and other sources, Nic Batum will retire after the 2024 Paris Olympics, meaning his last NBA season will be this upcoming 2023-2024 campaign.

Batum, 34, was drafted with the 25th pick in the 2008 Draft by the Rockets though he was selected by the Blazers on a draft night trade. Thus, he’s going into his 16th season, and has played 29,740 minutes across 993 regular season games, with an additional 1812 minutes across 63 playoff games. He’s 15th in active players in games played, and 17th in minutes played. For his draft class, Nico is 2nd in games played, 3rd in games played, 9th in points, 5th in rebounds, 5th in assists, and 3rd in VORP.

It has been a long and successful career for the Frenchman, who hasn’t received any awards in the NBA, but who has been on some excellent teams and been a starter for almost all of it. He’s also had a distinguished international career for French teams that have medaled at the top level of global competitions.

For the Clippers, Nic Batum has played a key role across three seasons – he was a critical part in the Clippers’ 2021 Western Conference Finals run and was a stabilizing force in the disappointing 2022 and 2023 campaigns. Still, Nico’s minutes have ticked down every year on the Clippers, and he clearly doesn’t have the ability to play huge minutes any more. His retirement makes sense in this context, as a couple years more would probably see him fade to not being an NBA caliber player.

Of course, none of this is official – Nico could still change his mind at any time. But still, it seems like Nic Batum will retire at the end of the 2024 season, meaning the departure of a beloved Clippers’ role player.

Nicolas Batum to Retire After 2024 Season
Robert Flom

Our exit interview series on the 2023 Clippers continues with beloved veteran role player Nic Batum.

Basic Information

Height: 6’8

Weight: 230 pounds

Position: Power Forward/Small Forward

Age: 34

Years in NBA: 15

Key Regular Season Stats: 6.1 points, 1.6 assists, 3.8 rebounds, 0.7 steals, 0.6 blocks, and 0.6 turnovers in 21.9 minutes per game across 78 games played (19 starts) on 42.0/39.1/70.8 (4.1 3PA and 0.6 FTA attempts) shooting splits (59.4 True Shooting)

Postseason Stats: 4.4 points, 1.2 assists, 2.2 rebounds, 0.4 steals, 0.4 blocks, and 0.4 turnovers in 18.4 minutes per game across five games played (three starts) on 42.1/35.3 shooting splits (3.4 3PA, 0 FTA) shooting splits (57.9 True Shooting)

Expectations

Nic Batum had some of the most straightforward expectations on the 2023 Clippers. He was projected to come off the bench as the reserve power forward behind Marcus Morris, play some center in small-ball lineups, and maybe even a little small forward in bigger lineups. Clippers fans knew not to expect a ton of production, but to see high-level three-point shooting on decent volume, excellent defense across multiple positions, and an ability to do all the little connective things on offense.

Reality

Nic Batum was one of the rocks for the Clippers this season, just as he had been the previous two seasons. He appeared in 78 games, an impressive number for a 34-year-old with more than 31,500 minutes played across his career. His minutes ticked down again, all the way to the low 20s, as the Clippers clearly did not want to tax him too much. Still, he was available every game, just about, and his defense remained strong all season even as the Clippers’ overall defense crumbled around him. Batum’s shot attempts went down as well, as he averaged an incredible 0.8 two-point field goals per game, taking just 64 all season. In short, he’s essentially just a three-point shooter on offense now, but is a good one and more consistent than Marcus Morris or Robert Covington.

Really, the main issue with Nico in 2023 is that the Clippers just didn’t feel like they could play him as much, which led to a ton of Marcus Morris (why Robert Covington couldn’t soak up some minutes remains a mystery). He will be 35 next year, and while he’s still quite good on defense, he’s definitely slipped a bit from where he was a couple years ago. In the playoffs, the defense remained there, but he was 1-9 from the field across the first four games (and played just 6 minutes in Game 4) before exploding for 19 points in Game 5. In short, Nic Batum was still a good rotation player, but he probably can’t be a high-minutes starter consistently anymore. Considering his age and miles, that’s totally understandable.

Future with Clippers

Nic Batum has one year worth $11.7M left on his deal, which is a prime trade contract – big enough to be moved for other pieces or as a smaller part of a mega-deal. Despite his slippage, Nic Batum would still be valued as a “3 and D” forward for a win-now team, though I imagine he’d have more value to the Clippers than other teams.

Still, Nico has said many times that he loves Los Angeles and playing for the Clippers. He has the rare combination of fan adoration, head coaching trust, and overall team respect. It’s unclear how many years Nic Batum has left, but one would think he and the organization would prefer he spends the rest of his career in a Clippers jersey. I think it’s certainly possible he gets moved, but of the three veteran forwards Nic Batum is likeliest to be on the Clippers come September 2023.

2023 Clippers Exit Interview: Nic Batum
Robert Flom

Our 2022-2023 player season preview series continues with the versatile veteran, Nicolas Batum.

Basic lnformation

Height: 6’8

Weight: 230 pound

Position: Small forward/Power forward/Center

Age: 33

Years in NBA: 14

Key Stats: 8.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.0 steals in 24.8 minutes per game over 59 games played with shooting splits of 46.3/40.0/65.8.

Contract Status: Second year of a two year, $22,554,168 contract paying $11,710,818 this season.

Expectations

The expectation for Nicolas Batum is the same as it’s been since he’s been a Clipper: provide veteran leadership while being able to knock down the open jumper and play solid defense. 

His role has changed a little bit over the past couple of seasons, however. In Tyronn Lue’s small ball lineups, Batum has found himself playing the four and even the five. And he’s done it admirably. His play at center was a big part of the Clippers 2021 playoff series win over the Dallas Mavericks.

Nicolas Batum will be counted on to do the same thing in the 2023 season, i.e. space the floor in small ball lineups and find his opportunities where he can. He’ll also most likely get reduced minutes throughout the season to keep him fresh.

Strengths

Batum is one of the better three-point shooters on the roster and he’s been a solid marksman throughout his entire career. He’s a career 36.3 percent shooter from distance and the last two years with the Clippers he’s enjoyed some of his best shooting years from beyond the arc. He’s always ready when the kick out comes his way and he’s knocked down some clutch ones too.

Defensively, Batum has always been a capable wing defender using his length and quickness to disrupt opposing offensive players. In recent years, he’s slowed down a little bit, but his strength has given him the ability to defend bigger players at the four and five. He might not be out chasing quicker wings so much anymore, but his combination of strength and size allows him to still be an effective defender.

Batum is solid rebounder too on both ends of the court. He gets himself in proper position and helps keep possessions alive, something that’s needed on this Clippers’ roster. 

Weaknesses

There’s not much to say about Batum’s weaknesses. He plays his role to perfection and doesn’t stray too far from what he’s good at. His last year in Charlotte there were questions about his durability, but he’s been available for the Clippers. He was essentially left for dead after the Hornets bought out his contract but he’s had a strong resurgence in LA. 

If anything, hitting his mid-30’s he might start slowing down a little bit, but Batum keeps himself in great shape and stayed fresh this summer playing for the French National team. 

Summary

Expect Batum to continue his role as veteran all-around player who can start if need be. He’s played point guard before and his playmaking is pretty solid for a wing. He said he’s watched a lot of Boris Diaw and Draymond Green footage to learn how to adjust to playing a dual playmaker/small ball four/five role he’s been tasked with.

Batum’s presence and skill are key to the different lineups the Clippers can throw out on the court, and he will be critical for any championship run.

2022-2023 Clippers Season Preview: Nicolas Batum
David Yapkowitz

Our look at the 2022 Clippers’ offseason leisurely strolls along with an examination of the Nic Batum signing for 2 years, $22M.

Shapan Debnath: A-
One year Nico is going to come back and prove that Father Age is undefeated. That’s the only reason this grade is knocked down; Nico is already 33 and will be 34 before the year ends. But, otherwise, bringing the do it all forward back for this price after paying him peanuts after a stellar couple of years is totally fine. Nico is arguably the most important role player on the team after the team’s big stars, as he has legitimately shown an ability to guard 1-5 aside from the speediest point guards, has been an absolute sniper for LAC that doesn’t even need to bring the ball all the way down, and always seems to make the right play and be in the right spot. Pretty much every best version of the Clippers has a lineup that includes an in-form Nico. He’s done enough to earn our trust be good this coming year and RoCo is a great player to help keep him fresh.  Here’s hoping arguably the most reliable Clipper over the past couple seasons keeps it up.

Lucas Hann: A
I’m being a little generous here and giving the Clippers credit for the multi-year trend of Nico contracts here, which I think is fair considering all signs point towards his taking a massive paycut last year being done with this early bird payday in mind.  Paying a guy who turns 34 later in 2022 above-MLE money (ie, the most he could have gotten on the open market) isn’t actually the best value on its face.  It’s likely that Nico, who will be 35 in the 2024 NBA playoffs when he’s making $11.7M, is going to have notable age-related decline over the course of this contract.  But if you close your eyes and pretend that the team gave him a 3-year, $25M contract last summer, it feels like great value.  That’s essentially what happened here, just manipulated in a way that made it legal for the team to keep him (they couldn’t have legally offered 3/25 last year).  Any age-related downside on this deal is easily offset by the Clippers actually keeping him last summer and having one of their most valuable two-way role players around as they push for a title.

Erik Olsgaard: A
The Clippers have REALLY focused on building an incredible team culture over the past few years. And the results, like Nic Batum returning without even a moment’s hesitation, speak for themselves. Batum is as solid a glue-guy as there has been in this league. He legitimately defends 5 positions, he can knock down threes in bunches, he just tends to make the right plays, and he’s done it all with a phenomenal attitude. With a reasonable contract on an optimal timeline, this is as good as it gets. I fully expect Nic to retire a Clipper and take another role within the team. And until that time, let’s just enjoy our time with the humble, but damn near perfect role player that is Nic Batum. 

Robert Flom: A-
With 40% three point shooting on high volume, excellent defense across multiple positions, an an innate knack for “doing the little things”, Nico has been worth well over $22M over the past two years. The question is whether he’ll be worth that over the next two years, and my guess is possibly, possibly not, but that it doesn’t matter much. Nico is an incredibly important member of this Clippers’ team that they had to keep due to his versatility and fit with their stars. If the Clips win a championship in the next two years and Nico plays a contributing role, nobody will remember that he was making $11.7M as he faded into his mid-30s. And honestly, even if he drops off a bit he’ll still be worth around that much.

Cole Huff: A-
I understand that his age is something to theoretically be concerned about, but Nico has had relatively low usage over the past couple of seasons (especially last year). I don’t really worry about his game falling off of a cliff, being that it is largely dependent on IQ. And his ideal basketball size, to go along with those aforementioned basketball smarts, make him positionally versatile enough to fit well with mostly any other configuration of four players he takes the court with. Assuming the Clippers retain their depth going forward, Batum should be able to make good on that contract throughout the next two regular seasons without having to overdo it out there — leaving him in an ideal role for this point in his career.

David Mendez-Yapkowitz: A
Re-signing Nic Batum was another no-brainer for the Clippers. When the Clippers first signed Batum two years ago, he was coming off of the most disappointing season of his career with Charlotte. It wasn’t always certain what kind of player they were getting, but he’s become one of the team’s most dependable role players. Perhaps the biggest way he’s helped the Clippers is his newfound ability to play some small ball center. He’s returned to his Portland levels of defending and he’s a consistent three-point shooter. A lot of the Clippers most effective lineups include Batum. For a team looking to contend for its first championship, keeping Batum goes a long way towards that.

What do you all think of the Nic Batum signing by the Clippers? Leave your comments below!

213 Hoops 2022 Offseason Roundtable: Nic Batum Signing
Robert Flom

Our staff roundtable grades continue with a look at Nic Batum, the 2022 Clippers’ starting small forward for most of the season.

Lucas Hann: A-

We know that Nico is the kind of guy who is at his best when he’s a connector on an elite team.  He’s a ceiling-raiser, not a floor-raiser.  And at times this season, I think we felt that, because he could be invisible in moments where the star-less Clippers desperately needed someone to step up into center stage.  But on the whole, it was a positive surprise for him to maintain his outstanding 2021 levels of production as he progresses further into his 30s without stars to play around.  He has a real case for third most important player on a fully healthy Clippers team, and the fact that his three-point shooting actually improved even more this season (higher volume and better corner %) instead of regressing can only make you optimistic for what he can bring in key moments next season with Paul George and Kawhi Leonard back. ]

Ralston Dacanay: B+

Being that Nicolas Batum is simply at his best when setting up Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, the cards were perhaps especially stacked against him to begin with, as compared to the rest of the guys on the team. Additionally, he had multiple stretches of good play interrupted by various momentum-killers (ankle, Achilles soreness and H&S Protocols) that made it difficult to keep any sort of rhythm going pre-2022. Despite that, the main thing to takeaway is that from January onward, Batum consistently brought his do-it-all versatility that has made him a beloved fan favorite with Clipper Nation — even directly against the likes of Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns. The fact that his stats are nearly identical to last season, despite the increased opportunity, is very encouraging for next season’s potential reloaded run.

Cole Huff: A-

It’s honestly surprising that Nico played as well as he did this past season. He was great in 2021 because he benefitted from playing alongside Kawhi and PG, so with both missing mostly all of the season, the late-tenure Charlotte Hornets version of Nic Batum making an appearance would have made sense. That did happen occasionally but fairly infrequently. Injuries and COVID aside, Nico looked very athletic and it was great to see that his shooting remained, and mobility as a point-of-attack defender hasn’t yet escaped him. Both physically and statistically, he was every bit as good in Year 2 as he was during his first season in LA, which leaves me optimistic for next season.

Shapan Debnath: A-

There was a big concern that we’d get regression from Nico coming into the season, and with Paul George being out the majority of it, such slippage felt like even more of a certainty. Well, not only did Nico not regress, he continued to excel. Nico got more shots up, shot the same % from three despite being a more known commodity on the squad, and flashed even more defensive versatility whether it was denying guys like Joel Embiid or Nikola Jokic in huge regular season comebacks, or clamping Brandon Ingram during the play-in game. He’s become an indispensable glue guy, fits with virtually any lineup, and elevates all of them. Here’s hoping he retires a Clipper many years down the line.

Robert Flom: A

Nic Batum gets the rare full A grade from me for his 2022 season because realistically, I don’t think he could have played any better. The one knock is lack of overall impact due to games missed (23) and reduced playing time (just over 24 minutes per game), but I won’t blame him for injuries and reducing his minutes played is a smart long-term decision. Otherwise, he hit every expectation out of park – shooting, defense, relative consistency, and fit. Nico is not perfect, but at this stage of his career, you couldn’t possibly ask any more from him. What he provided this season was more than enough.

Niels Pineda: A

It’s easy to overlook how impactful and important Batum’s contributions are to the team, because he’s just so incredibly consistent.  He’s the friend in your life who is just always there.  You may lose touch with him for a year or two, but when you reach out, your friendship feels like it never skipped a beat.  While he was never going to be able to fill the shoes of Paul George or Kawhi Leonard, he was an important factor in the team’s success this season.  His defensive IQ and versatility allowed him to slow down otherwise unstoppable players, including the top two MVP candidates, and his well rounded offensive arsenal helped them in scoring droughts that became all too common.  Health is a difficult thing for the Clippers to maintain, but if they can find some stability in this regard, it will be incredibly exciting to see what Batum can do along with the other plethora of 2-way wings the Clippers have.

Randi Geffner: A

Almost always reliably showed up to contribute offensively or defensively; which prompted Reggie Jackson to call him “the best glue guy in the league”.  When the Warriors were pursuing Nico last summer, Steve Kerr described him as a “brilliant basketball mind”, which Clippers fans were able to experience this past season as Nico seemed to have solid instincts for being in the right place at the right time.  Nic Batum rarely disappointed this past 2022 season, stepping up to fill in giant Kawhi and PG13 sized gaps on both ends of the floor.  Not to mention his wife Lily’s brilliant Twitter contributions, which give him a little bit of extra credit toward a solid A grade.

Leave your thoughts and grades for Nic Batum’s 2022 season below!

213 Hoops 2022 Season Player Grade Roundtable: Nic Batum
Robert Flom