LA’s draft history: Ranking every #7 overall pick

2. Lamond Murray

LA Clippers stats: 11.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.3 apg

The LA Clippers looked up to the Heavens, clasped their hands together, and screamed in joy. Lamond Murray, their seventh overall pick in the 1994 NBA Draft, was everything they were hoping for.

Needing absolutely no time to adjust to a faster game, Murray was a fairly dominant player from the get-go. In year one, he easily floated to the rim, finished over bigger defenders, and scored essentially whenever he wanted. Murray, in addition to the superlatives surronding his game near the hoop, was a capable 3-point shooter, nailing just under 30% from distance.

While offensively, Murray was terrific, defensively, he showed little to no passion. With only 1.1 defensive win shares, Murray was a complete liability on that side of the floor. Also, while offensively he was talented, his countless buckets did little to help his teams in the scoring column. In fact, Murray’s -1.4 offensive win shares were the worst on LA for any player logging at least 25 minutes a night in 1994.

In years two and three, Murray fell completely out of favor with the coaching staff as he would go on to average just 8.4 and 7.4 points respectively. Murray would eventually bounce back though, averaging a career high of 15.4 points in year four but LA continued to struggle in the win column. While talented beyond belief, LA grew tired of his up and down play, ushering him out the door in 1999.