LA Clippers: The best centers in franchise history

(Original Caption) Buffalo's Bob McAdoo, (11) goes over Cavalier's Lenny Wilkens (19 and bending over) and John Johnson (32) to score a basket during half play here on November 3rd. The Cavaliers won their third straight game, dumping the Braves 124-97.
(Original Caption) Buffalo's Bob McAdoo, (11) goes over Cavalier's Lenny Wilkens (19 and bending over) and John Johnson (32) to score a basket during half play here on November 3rd. The Cavaliers won their third straight game, dumping the Braves 124-97.
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Benoit Benjamin #00 of the Los Angeles Clippers (Photo by Stephen Dunn/NBAE/Getty Images)
Benoit Benjamin #00 of the Los Angeles Clippers (Photo by Stephen Dunn/NBAE/Getty Images)

LA Clippers best centers in franchise history: 3) Benoit Benjamin

The seven-foot center out of Creighton joined the Clippers as the third overall pick in the 1985 NBA draft. While the team may have left some future stars on the board in favor of drafting him, Benjamin would go on to have five-plus productive seasons in Los Angeles, where he still ranks second in career blocked shots for the franchise, and comes in eighth place on their all-time leaderboard for rebounds.

Benjamin spent the first five-plus seasons of his 15-year NBA career patrolling the paint for the LA Clippers, where he would average 13.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks per game in 406 career games with the team. His most productive season would come in the 1988-89 campaign where he would post averages of 16.4 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks per game in 32.7 minutes of action per night in 79 total games.

On February 20, 1991 his time with the Clippers ended when he was traded to the Seattle SuperSonics for Olden Polynice, a 1991 first round draft pick, and a 1994 first round draft pick. He would go on to play for seven additional teams in the remainder of his journeyman career going from Seattle to the Los Angeles Lakers, then the New Jersey Nets, to the Vancouver Grizzlies, then the Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors, Philadelphia 76ers, and finally the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Not exactly a Hall-of-Fame career, but good enough for the third spot on our list of greatest Clippers centers of all time.