With the start of a new decade upon us, we take a look at why LA Clippers’ fans should be excited about the next ten years.
As the end of 2019 eclipses, thankfulness fills our hearts with what this LA Clippers franchise has accomplished. In the last decade, the Clippers formed into a real threat. They were nobody but grew into arguably the top team in the League. Now, looking ahead to 2020, here are some things Clipper fans can look forward to.
Paul George and Kawhi Leonard joining forces for a championship is more than possible. Looking at what these two players have accomplished in their careers is something else to marvel at, more respectively what they accomplished this year is far from just improvement. George (per game) averages 20 points, on 3.3 assists for his career, this has steeped up to 23.7 pts and 3.6 asts this year. The improvement in George’s play must have been a spark in what Leonard’s flame has brought this year. Leonard averages 18.1 pts and 2.5 ast for his career, but this year alone, Leonard has leveled up drastically, averaging 25.6 pts with 5.1 ast.
These numbers alone are scary. But, the power duo that seems to have shaken the whole NBA with an unforeseen collaboration turned into a team of 17. They define teamwork in the NBA as it should be. Leonard and George have a connection that bases everything on defense first, and it affects the whole team dynamic. Players like Patrick Beverley, Maurice Harkless, Montrezl Harrell, Patrick Patterson, and JaMychal Green have filled defensive shoes this season and it’s only going to continue. It’s only up from here. The lethal-silent leadership attributes ingrained in Leonard and George are going to lead the Clippers to an NBA championship, if not in 2020, then in the next few years of the decade.
It’s safe to say the Clippers are backed with a new regime. This regime is being given time to mold together to form the next dynasty and 2020 is ready to fulfill that expectation.
Now, this could’ve only been possible through the likes of Jerry West, Lawrence Frank, Doc Rivers and Steve Ballmer’s collective formation of the team. Ever since Ballmer bought the team he had high hopes, and only wanted to fill the arena with Clipper championship banners. Luckily, the only way to go was up and the Clippers made the moves necessary in aspiration toward the goal. It was finally time to ditch the old regime into the new style, teamwork now reigns supreme over the failed lob city era.
Although enjoyable and fun to watch, the Clippers talent that captivated the League didn’t mesh right. The Clippers front office set their mind on a new team that produces a fury, moving as a unit rather than individual talent stacked up into a starting five.
2020 will be the year will the Clippers front office shows what they’ve been able to do with relatively nothing to show. They left their mark with making blockbuster trades and unpredictable movement due to their silence during free agency. In preemptive judgment leading to smart decisions by the best minds in sports, their reign over the market was exclusively lead by none other than the great Logo (Jerry West) himself. Where are the Clippers going to hang those championship banners when they win them you ask? Well, here’s the answer, and it’s already in the works.
Steve Ballmer is building a new stadium for the Clippers in Inglewood. Ballmer’s vision for the “best home in sports” is a mammoth of a stadium. It will cost Ballmer over a billion dollars to build, at least, but money isn’t as important as championships and redefining the Clippers for Ballmer. The 18,500 seat arena is set to appear to the public in 2024. This will reinvent the Clippers indefinitely, but until then the Clippers have a job to do, and that is simply: to win.
The decade to follow 2020 will surely encompass a large variety of Clipper mayhem. Bold predictions like the Clippers winning a championship next year, especially in the next decade, don’t seem too bold anymore after the capability they’ve shown this season. The Clipper culture and who they are becoming will render over into 2020 with a defining point in their legacy. The LA Clippers’ could become champions sooner than we think, or we could just be still awaiting that banner until then Clipper Nation awaits patiently and hopeful to the coming decade.