Putting the 2020 LA Clippers into perspective

The hurt is real, but putting the 2020 NBA and the LA Clippers into perspective is important.

With the exception of my 92-year-old dad who is one of the original season ticket holders for the LA Clippers, a fixture in his seat on the aisle behind the visitors’ bench at almost all of the home games, there is likely no one more saddened by the unexpected end of the Clippers’ season than I am.

Clippers basketball runs deep in my family; we go to most of the home games, we travel for some away games, we analyze every rumor, we represent in our Clippers swag, we spend the off-season counting days until the preseason begins.  We even had imaginary plans of how we would get into the bubble for the NBA Finals.  I can barely remember a time in my life when this was not the case, back in the empty days when there was only one NBA team in Los Angeles.

So games 5, 6, and 7 of the Denver series landed hard on my family.  Like all of Clipper Nation, we watched the dream slip away possession by possession, minute by minute.  I never leave a game early; whether we are up by 20 or down by 20, I don’t believe in “beating the traffic” by dipping out of the Staples Center before the final buzzer.  If my team is still on the floor, I am in my seat.  So it hurts me to admit that with five minutes left in the decisive game 7, I turned off the television.  In the midst of all of the national and global sadness that has been our baseline in 2020, I just couldn’t watch any more.  And for that, I apologize to the Clippers.  It won’t happen again.

After the game ended, I started getting text messages that, without context, read like condolences one would receive following a death in the family.  And I leaned into it; pain dissipates when it is shared.  Nearly 48 hours post-game, I still did not know what the final score was, have not read a single bit of basketball news or checked social media, and have folded away my lucky Clippers jersey that I brought out only for game 7.

Finding Gratitude

But in the clear light of day, I have found gratitude for all of the Clippers basketball that we were able to experience.  Shifting focus from the potential 14 games that we won’t be playing, I’m looking back on all of the obstacles that seemed insurmountable, but weren’t.  Rather than thinking that we missed four weeks, I’m realizing that we gained months that it seemed would never occur.

When the NBA shut down on the evening of March 11, the future of the 2019-2020 season was in serious doubt.  With no handle on the rapidly evolving coronavirus pandemic, the thought of basketball coming back at all this season was inconceivable and frankly unimportant. But over the course of months of research, worry, and painstaking plans and backup plans involving the entire NBA community, the bubble arose and basketball was on its way back. However, the journey was not easy.  Some players made the difficult decision to sit out the bubble for personal reasons, or for concerns about loved ones who are at higher risk.   In our own Clippers bubble, all of the players opted in.

Following the tragic murder of George Floyd by police, the NBA family reeled along with the rest of the nation.  Hard questions were asked about whether basketball was even relevant.  The community worried, rightly so, that playing would draw focus from the real and life-threatening issues of systemic racism.  Again, the Clippers opted in; the daily NBA spotlight was rightly seen as a means toward amplifying the concerns on a daily basis.

So, against all odds, with a massive testing and quarantine protocol, the NBA resumed with preseason games, and then an abbreviated round of seeding games.  Again, the Clippers’ path was not easy as Landry Shamet and Ivica Zubac both tested positive for Covid-19 and thus could not join the team from the jump.   Patrick Beverley and Lou Williams had to leave the bubble for personal family reasons, to return later with the required quarantine period.

And Montrezl Harrell endured the loss of his beloved grandmother, his role model, during which time he left the bubble for close to a month to be with family.   The raw emotion of his loss was shared with the Clippers community via social media, and the chances of his coming back seemed unclear.  But again, in this improbable year, the new Sixth Man of the Year returned, was embraced by his teammates, and the playoffs began.

Paul George struggled in the early going, bravely sharing his battles with depression in the bubble.  With both professional help and the support of his teammates, he found his groove.  For the first time in memory, the entire Clippers squad was locked in and healthy.

On August 26, 2020, the NBA season was again in flux, as the Milwaukee Bucks organized a strike of game five of their series with the Orlando Magic in protest over yet another police shooting of a black man.  Immediately following, professional sports teams nationwide took a metaphorical knee.  The NBA players held meetings; it was widely reported that the Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers voted that night to end the season.

It’s not about me, but I was moved to tears as that news broke, both tears of pride over the unfathomably difficult decisions being made by the players I love, and tears of sadness that this carefully crafted bubble was on the verge of breaking.

And yet again, improbably, the playoffs resumed, with a real and immediate commitment by ownership and the league to address and advance the life-threatening issues of racial injustice.

Once again Clipper Nation was caught up in the whirlwind of playoffs basketball being played at an uncharacteristic breakneck pace of games every other night.  We barely had time to analyze one game before the next began.  For fans, this constant stream of crazy high-level competition was adrenaline straight into our veins, while always recognizing the unprecedented public health crisis that engendered the bubble playoffs.

And then Denver happened.  So, yes, the Clippers’ playoff run ended much, much sooner than we expected, hoped, and dreamed.  But the Clippers played 24 games after the shutdown on March 11.  24 games that we never would have anticipated if you had asked us six months ago.  24 games to enjoy with my dad.  Those are irreplaceable moments.

I’m still sad, I’m still avoiding all basketball-related news, and will root with my whole Clippers-heart for whoever is playing against the Lakers.  But I’m also so incredibly grateful for all of the Clippers basketball that we did get to enjoy, against all odds.