LA Clippers: Who made the cut in part two of ESPN’s top 74 players?
Two LA Clippers made the second installment of ESPN’s list of the best 74 NBA players of all time. Who are they and where do they rank?
ESPN released the second part of their list ranking the top 74 NBA players of all time today. Two LA Clippers made the cut in who ESPN experts have picked as their 40th through 11th best ballers in the history of the league.
Coming in at number 40 on their list is former Clippers floor general Chris Paul. The current Oklahoma City Thunder is in his 15th NBA season out of Wake Forest. He was named 2005-06 Rookie of the Year is his first season with the New Orleans Hornets, and spent his first six seasons with the franchise before joining the Clippers.
Paul spent six seasons in Los Angeles, making the All-Star team in all but one of his campaigns with the team. He lead the league in steals three times as a Clipper and was the NBA’s assist king in two seasons with the team. Paul was the leader of the Lob City era of basketball in Los Angeles, bringing the Clippers some of their most exciting, and successful years in franchise history.
For his career, Paul holds averages of 18.5 points, 9.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.2 steals per game. He’s been named an All-Star ten times, with eight appearances on All-NBA teams. He’s also been consistently a great defender at the point guard position, being named to an All-NBA Defensive team nine times, and leading the league in steals six times in his career.
Paul is currently leading a surprising Oklahoma City Thunder team to a 40-24 record, good enough for fifth place in the NBA’s Western Conference.
Current LA Clipper Kawhi Leonard is the second player revealed by ESPN today, making the cut as their 25th best player of all time.
Leonard is in the midst of his first season with the Clippers and is leading the team into what they hope will deep a deep playoff run to the franchise’s first NBA title. He spent the first seven seasons of his career with the San Antonio Spurs, winning a title and being named Finals MVP along the way. Before coming to Los Angeles, Leonard spend one year with the Toronto Raptors, bringing the franchise their first NBA title and winning his second NBA Finals MVP trophy.
Leonard is a four-time All-Star, three-time All-NBA player, two-time Defensive Player of the Year, and five-time member of the All-Defensive team. Clippers fans are hoping he can soon become the third player in NBA history (after Robert Horry and John Salley) to win a championship with three different franchises.
dark. Next. LA Clippers: Which former players make the cut in ESPN’s top players list?
As ESPN continues to release their list, we’ll keep you informed of any LA Clippers who might manage to crack the top ten. We’ll also let you know who we think deserved a place on the list, but didn’t make the cut.