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Los Angeles Clippers: Ranking 10 best big men of all-time

By Tom West

Dec 19, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan (6) and forward Blake Griffin (right) warm up before playing against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 19, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan (6) and forward Blake Griffin (right) warm up before playing against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 6, 2016; Winston-Salem, NC, USA; Wake Forest Demon Deacons head coach Danny Manning yells out in the first half against the Duke Blue Devils at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Duke defeated Wake Forest 91-75. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 6, 2016; Winston-Salem, NC, USA; Wake Forest Demon Deacons head coach Danny Manning yells out in the first half against the Duke Blue Devils at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Duke defeated Wake Forest 91-75. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports /

5th place – Danny Manning (PF)

Clippers per game averages: 34 minutes, 19.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1.5 steals, 1.1 blocks.

Clippers totals: 5 full seasons (1988-89 to the start of 1993-94), 373 games, 7,120 points, 2,399 rebounds, 1,132 assists, 548 steals, 406 blocks, 51.8 field goal percentage, 17.9 PER.

Honors with Clippers: 2x All-Star (1992-93 and 1993-94).

Danny Manning became one of several big men taken in the first few picks of the draft in an attempt to resurrect the Los Angeles Clippers from the depths of the NBA. Coming off an exceptional final year in college at Kansas in 1998, averaging 24.8 points per game on 58.3 percent shooting (27.1 in the NCAA tournament), winning the John R. Wooden Award and becoming national champion and the NCAA Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player.

It was an incredible college career, and Manning was taken No. 1 overall by the struggling Clippers because of it.

While the wins didn’t come immediately, Manning still helped right away. He scored 16.7 points per game on 49.4 percent shooting as a rookie, adding 6.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.7 steals and a block. He wasn’t an immediate All-Star like Blake Griffin, but Manning went on to earn his spot as a top-five big man in Clippers history.

Following a few more impressive scoring seasons, Manning broke through to the All-Star game in 1992-93 with a career-high 22.8 points per game. As his impact rose, so did the team’s win total. He led the Los Angeles Clippers to their first two playoff trips in 1992 and 1993, but both times they were eliminated in the first round.

Manning left the Clippers in a trade for Dominique Wilkins in February of 1994 (who stayed for only 27 games) after becoming disgruntled with his time in L.A.

“I’m relieved that it’s finally over,” Manning said in an interview with TNT. “And I’m just glad I know where I’m going to be for the next few months.”

The messy end can’t be ignored with Manning. If he was content, maybe he and the Clippers could have found more success together and possibly even earned themselves a playoff series win or two. Who knows. It’s now no more than a footnote in the troubled tales of the Clippers’ past.

Even still, Manning put together quite the career. He ranks 6th for the Clippers in points (7,120), 10th in steals per game (1.5) and 9th in win shares (31).

Next: 4th place - The All-NBA First Team gold medalist