Revisiting the LA Clippers over the last 10 seasons
By Ethan Smith
The future of the LA Clippers franchise is upon us, but before that begins, we take a look back and see how they got here.
It is always fun looking back at how a team has changed just over the course of a decade, but the LA Clippers may be one of the best turnarounds in all of sports from 2009-2019.
The Clippers were once the little brother to the Lakers and despite changes likely still are due to the purple and gold’s storied history, but tons has changed in Staples Center over the course of ten years, so let’s revisit the Clippers past decade year by year to see what has changed and possibly what’s to come.
2009-2010: Blake Griffin Becomes No. 1 Overall Pick
The decade began after the LA Clippers came off a 19-63 season in 2008, a team which featured Baron Davis, Eric Gordon, Deandre Jordan, Zach Randolph and others.
The Clippers won the 2009 NBA Draft Lottery over Memphis and Oklahoma City and would select a power forward out of Oklahoma number one overall in the form of Blake Griffin.
Griffin was easily the most athletic player in the draft and was known for his amazing dunking skills, as well as being able to create contact and draw fouls in the post with ease.
Of course, as we all know, Griffin wouldn’t play his first season with the Clippers, as he suffered a stress fracture in the team’s final preseason game. The injury would eventually persist, requiring Griffin to undergo surgery and miss what was to be his first season in the NBA.
Nonetheless, Chris Kaman would go on to lead the team in scoring with 18.5 points per game, Marcus Camby would lead in rebounds with 12.1 per game, Davis led the team in assists with 8.0 per game while Rasual Butler was the only player to play in all 82 games that season.
The drafting of Griffin opened the eyes of NBA fans to the other team in LA and that their mediocrity would soon be over with his talent. The season ended with Mike Dunleavy being relieved of his duties as head coach and Vinny Del Negro would step in and take over the reigns, which leads us into the 2010-2011 season.