- Home court: Crypto.com Arena
- G.M: Michael Winger
- Coach: Tyronn Lue
- Star: F Kawhi Leonard
- 2021 Season: 42-40, lost in the Western Conference play-in.
- NBA Titles: 0
- Greatest Player: G Chris Paul.
- Factoid: The Clippers are the oldest NBA franchise to have never played in The Finals.
There are many professional sports franchises that play second fiddle in their own town. The Mets will forever toil in the huge shadow of the Yankees. The White Sox are shaded by the Cubs. And the Clippers have one of the most iconic franchises in the Lakers to compete with.
To make it worse, the Clippers have had to share a home arena with the Lakers.
And while the Lakers might as well have Rodeo Dr. as their address, the Clippers came to Los Angeles amid turmoil, endured embarrassment and finally are poised to at least steal some of the spotlight from the purple and gold.
But let’s stick with the royal blue, red, silver, black and white of the Clippers. Former owner Donald Sterling moved the franchise from San Diego to L.A. in 1984 without the approval of the NBA. Sterling went to court and ultimately got his way. It went from bad to worse for Clippers fans.
Sterling had zero interest in putting a winner on the court and over their first 27 seasons in the City of the Angels, the Clippers qualified for the playoffs just four times. But in 2014, recordings of Sterling making racist comments surfaced and the league banned Sterling for life. His wife sold the team to businessman Steve Ballmer and in two years the Clippers will move into the state-of-the-art Intuit Dome.
The Clippers might move into that sparkling facility with their first Larry O’Brien Trophy.
Star Forward Kawhi Leonard is healthy after missing 55 games to injury over the last two seasons since signing a free agent deal with the Clippers. Teamed with Paul George, there isn’t a more versatile and dynamic wing pairing than Leonard and Paul. If point guard John Wall is recovered from a torn Achilles, the Clippers can put their version of a Big 3 on the court.
The Lakers won their 17th NBA title in 2020. If the Clippers can win their first, and move into a superior home court, the battle for L.A. could finally be a Hollywood production.