Eric Gordon was just a 20-year-old when he was partly tasked with revitalizing the Clippers as the seventh overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. Fate would have him last just three seasons in Los Angeles, but during that time, he certainly looked the part of a franchise cornerstone.
While listed as a shooting guard, Gordon really was a combo guard at heart. He was incredibly quick off the dribble, able to explode in an instant and get to the bucket. Gordon was able to handle the ball and a unique brand shiftiness that kept defenders on their toes. Once there, he had sneaky athleticism, leading to some pretty terrific poster slams.
Despite an unorthodox shooting form, he was a dead-eye shooter from beyond the arc. He shot 37.5 percent from beyond the arc as a Clipper, both coming off screens or simply as a stationary threat.
It was his skills from both inside and out that made Gordon such a terrifying scoring threat even as a youngster. If you were to take away the 3-point shot, he could and would break you down and get all the way to the rim.
The Clippers likely knew what they had in their prized youngster. However with the opportunity to acquire Chris Paul via a trade with the then-New Orleans Hornets, they knew they’d have to give him up.
He would increase his scoring average in each of his three campaigns in Los Angeles, going from 16.1 a game in year one to a career-best 22.3 in his third. If it weren’t for a string of injuries in the following years, Gordon may have theoretically turned into one of the league’s best scoring options.