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Basketball / Teams
FRANCHISE

NBA franchise story

Los Angeles Clippers

From Buffalo and San Diego through decades of dysfunction in Los Angeles, the Clippers finally built enduring relevance with Lob City and the star-driven teams that followed.

Every era · The defining players · Five essential games

The franchise timeline

Every era of the Los Angeles Clippers.

Move through the franchise chronologically. The jerseys identify each chapter’s central cast, and every curated card opens the complete story of that era.

Historical reference: LA Clippers official team history ↗
The beginning↓
01▼

Franchise era

1970–71—1977–78

01
LACMCADOO11Bob McAdoo
LACSMITH9Randy Smith
LACDIGREGORIO15Ernie DiGregorio

McAdoo gives an expansion team an MVP

The Buffalo Braves

McAdoo won three scoring titles and an MVP as Buffalo reached three straight playoffs, but ownership instability undermined the momentum.

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Chapter 01

1970–71—1977–78

02▼

Franchise era

1978–79—1983–84

02
LACFREE21World B. Free
LACNATER31Swen Nater
LACWALTON32Bill Walton

A new name without a breakthrough

San Diego Clippers

The move to San Diego brought entertaining scorers but little health, stability or winning.

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Chapter 02

1978–79—1983–84

03▼

Franchise era

1984–85—2008–09

03
LACMANNING5Danny Manning
LACHARPER4Ron Harper
LACBRAND42Elton Brand

Rare playoff sparks amid dysfunction

The long Los Angeles struggle

The Clippers spent most of their first quarter-century in Los Angeles near the bottom, with brief respites around Manning and Brand.

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Chapter 03

1984–85—2008–09

04▼

Franchise era

2009–10—2016–17

04
LACPAUL3Chris Paul
LACGRIFFIN32Blake Griffin
LACJORDAN6DeAndre Jordan

Paul, Griffin and relevance at last

Lob City

Paul's command and Griffin's explosiveness turned the Clippers into a perennial 50-win attraction, though the conference finals stayed out of reach.

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Chapter 04

2009–10—2016–17

05▼

Franchise era

2017–18—2018–19

05
LACWILLIAMS23Lou Williams
LACBEVERLEY21Patrick Beverley
LACHARRELL5Montrezl Harrell

A starless team earns its next swing

The culture reset

A tenacious transitional group won 48 games and created the credibility and flexibility for another superstar pursuit.

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Chapter 05

2017–18—2018–19

06

Franchise era

2019–20—present

06
LACLEONARD2Kawhi Leonard
LACGEORGE13Paul George
LACHARDEN1James Harden

Championship ambition and a new home

The Kawhi era

Leonard and George delivered the franchise's first conference-finals appearance as the organization prepared to leave its shared arena past behind.

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Chapter 06

2019–20—present

◆Present day

The essential watchlist

Five Los Angeles Clippers games to start with.

Curated from the franchise’s defining eras, championship stakes and the games that still carry its story.

#01 · Western Conference Finals

Western ConferenceFinals
2021
GAME5
LOS ANGELESCLIPPERS
PHOENIXSUNS
JUN 28, 2021

Clippers vs Suns

Jun 28, 2021

#02 · Regular Season

Regular Season
1993
SAN ANTONIOSPURS
LOS ANGELESCLIPPERS
APR 24, 1994

Spurs vs Clippers

Apr 24, 1994

#03 · Regular Season

Regular Season
1999
LOS ANGELESLAKERS
LOS ANGELESCLIPPERS
MAR 6, 2000

Lakers vs Clippers

Mar 6, 2000

#04 · Regular Season

Regular Season
2011
OKLAHOMA CITYTHUNDER
LOS ANGELESCLIPPERS
JAN 30, 2012

Thunder vs Clippers

Jan 30, 2012

#05 · Regular Season

Regular Season
2012
DETROITPISTONS
LOS ANGELESCLIPPERS
MAR 10, 2013

Pistons vs Clippers

Mar 10, 2013

Season history

Past seasons

56 seasons · newest first

Game archive

Los Angeles Clippers games

4,684 total · loaded 10 at a time