Before he forgot who Terry Rozier was, before he wanted to get out of a hair salon and before he was part of an ill-fated experiment to play three point guards at once, Eric Bledsoe was drafted by the Clippers. He arrived in 2010, one year before “Lob City” officially began, and served as the primary backup to Chris Paul from 2011-2013.
Similarly to Nick Young, Bledsoe played a key part in the big comeback postseason win for the “Lob City” Clippers over the Memphis Grizzlies. Bledsoe played the entirety of the fourth quarter alongside Paul and finished +24 for the game in 20 minutes.
It was in his third season that Bledsoe really broke out, adding a 3-point shot on offense and significant strength and muscle on defense. Because of this, Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro often played Bledsoe and Paul alongside each other in the backcourt, perhaps channeling the success of that comeback win the year before.
Bledsoe’s penchant for collecting steals sparked many a transition opportunity for the Clippers. He threw a number of highlight passes to DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin leading to thunderous slams.
Bledsoe was not simply the instigator of the alley-oop dunks, however. He received a fair number of those as well.
Bledsoe would be traded to the Phoenix Suns after the 2012-13 season in the deal that brought J.J. Redick to the Clippers. His time in Los Angeles was filled with a number of lobs and dunks, a brief but fitting role in the “Lob City” era.