basketball is surely the most popular sport in the United States, perhaps only comparable to baseball and American football, thus making up the triad of great sporting events in the North American country. The professional basketball league, known as the NBA , is surely one of the most important competitions in the world of sports, with repercussions throughout the planet, billions at stake and the emotion of a system that ensures that there are always surprises and teams that go far on their own merits. The draft system, for example, allows the best young talents to be chosen from those teams that have not finished the regular league so well in the previous year, to balance the balance a bit. The same goes for the salary cap, or the possibility of signing players as free agents.
Although we have seen several dynasties in recent decades, with teams that have won many championships in a row , such as the Bulls, the Boston Celtics or the Lakers, the alternation of power is the most common in this competition , where teams that until a few years ago could hardly get any revenue from their games today sneak into almost the last rounds of the playoffs. This is the case of Los Angeles Clippers, a humble team that for many years has been in the shadow of its neighbors, the Lakers, great winners in the last two decades of this competition and that had players like Kobe Bryant or Pau Gasol. Today, however, the tables have turned and it is the Clippers who are now presenting themselves as candidates for the ring , thanks to the latest signings last season, which have managed to reinforce a very limited, even leading him to become one of the referents of his conference, even surpassing his neighbors.
History of the Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers were born in 1970 in the city of Buffalo , where they remained their first years. It is commonplace in the United States leagues for a franchise that starts in one city and then moves to another. During the first seven years, in fact, the Clippers had another name, calling themselves Buffalo Braves , and reaching the conference playoffs three times, but never playing the final. In the 77/78 season the team moved to California, specifically to San Diego, and already changed its name to Clippers. The situation, however, is getting worse and worse, and the team does not qualify for a single year for the conference play-offs , becoming one of the worst teams in the league. The final change to Los Angeles would come in the 84/85 season, although it would not bring the long-awaited good career in the league. Now, in addition, they had to “compete” against the rich neighbor, the Lakers, a team much fitter.
They were disastrous years, saving some specific seasons where the Clippers managed to qualify for the play off, always falling in the first round. But something changed in 2021, when the team got rid of the complexes and decided to give everything for everything with young people and big stars like Blake Griffin . Suddenly, the Clippers were winning again, assiduously qualifying for the conference playoffs and even reaching the semifinals on several occasions. The power of the team grew stronger and stronger, attracting free agents who came to reinforce a squad that could already dream of anything. Thus, last season, the arrival of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard placed them within the shortlist of favorites for the ring. They fell to Denver in the conference semifinals after doing a great course, but perhaps too confident of being favorites in those later rounds. In this last year, the big stars seem to have learned their lesson, and everyone attends nervously before the absolute confirmation of the Clippers in what may be their great year.
Squad and players
Currently, the Clippers have a series of very good and powerful players both in attack and defense. Paul George and Kawhi Leonard stand out, who are their star players and who came to strengthen the team and make them dream of everything a year ago. But it’s not just them. The Spanish Serge Ibaka has also improved a lot in his years in the NBA and is today a fundamental player for the team. Other players, such as Rondo or Batum , also bring a lot of seriousness to a team that seems to have learned not to live only on a couple of stars, and to play as a team, under the orders from Tyronn Lue, who has taken over the reins of the Clippers this past season with a fairly positive streak of results.
Team Awards
Throughout their history, the Clippers have received different nominations and honors, especially for their players. They have never played a conference final and therefore have never been able to contest the title either, but they have had stars included in the Hall of Fame, such as Bill Watson, Moses Malone or Jamall Wilkins, and more recently, Grant Hill and Paul Pearce, two of the architects of the team’s rebirth in the last decade. Blake Griffin and Chris Paul also managed to enter the quintets of the year in numerous editions of the last decade, as well as getting to play the All Stars . The Clippers’ trajectory seems to always point upwards, towards the very sky of the championship, as seen in recent years.
Where the team is today
After getting carried away by the favorite band last season, especially with the Leonard-George duo, the Clippers have learned to strengthen the team much better as a whole, and the result is being one of his best seasons ever. The team is currently third in the Western Conference standings , tied for wins with the Denver Nuggets and only behind the mighty Phoenix Suns. The qualification for the Play Off seems certain, and this time the players are better mentalized to achieve, once and for all, reach the great NBA final , which would end such a negative vision that some still hold about the Clippers.