LA Clippers: Top five Clippers of the decade
With the 2010 decade coming to a close, let’s take a look at the top five members of the LA Clippers over the last ten years.
In 2010 I was a senior in high school watching a rookie Blake Griffin tear up the league. That’s what made this guy from Virginia an LA Clippers fan. Ten years later, a lot has transpired in the league, but especially for the Clippers.
We watched the rise of Blake Griffin which eventually led to the start of Lob City. We watched a historically awful franchise become something great, only to be marred with the Donald Sterling scandal. We watched Steve Ballmer come in and change the culture. We watched this front office tear the team down and build it back up in the blink of an eye.
Through it all, there have been plenty of memorable moments, highlights and members of this franchise. Today, we take a look at the top five members of the Clippers over the last decade.
Honorable Mentions
Getting the list to five was tougher than you might think. The top three were easy, but picking the remaining two and leaving out so many others was a debate. We didn’t want to do this positionally, which made it that much tougher. Your honorable mentions are:
Paul George and Kawhi Leonard might be the two most talented players in franchise history, but they have only played a combined 27 games for the team at the time of writing. For that reason alone, I couldn’t include them in the top five. However, should they bring a title in the next season or two, they’ll likely be vaulted to the top five all-time for the franchise.
Montrezl Harrell has been an absolute stud during his time with the team. Tossed into the Chris Paul trade, Harrell seemed like just an energy guy. He is that and so much more. Harrell has seen his scoring increase each of the past three seasons with the team. Last year, he finished third in Sixth Man of the Year voting and has a real shot to win the award this season.
Trezz is a fan favorite with his ferocious slams and amazing shoes, but what really separates him is the genuineness he brings as a person. If the Clips are able to retain him this summer, I can easily see him moving up this list in the next decade.
J.J. Redick and Jamal Crawford were both key cogs during the Lob City era. J.J.’s shooting fit perfectly with the superstar trio of Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan. He was a consummate professional who was always ready.
Speaking of professionals, Jamal Crawford was another perfect fit during Lob City. Crawford was a professional scorer and won Sixth Man of the Year twice with the Clips. Although it seems his career has unceremoniously ended, he will always be remembered for how much he meant to the Clippers.
Finally, Danilo Gallinari, while often forgotten by national media, was huge for the Clippers. He was deserving of an All-Star nomination in 2018-19 and he helped push a team that featured no superstars to the playoffs where they fought valiantly against the Golden State Warriors. Although only a member of the team for two seasons, it was tough to see him go in the trade for Paul George.
With that, let’s jump into our top five.