The current season has been all about a "next man up" mentality for the LA Clippers. After it was announced that Kawhi Leonard would miss the start of the 2024-25 campaign, many counted the Clippers out. Some even thought they could be headed straight for the NBA lottery.
But against the odds, the Clippers have produced winning basketball due to others stepping up to the plate and bringing their own unique talents to the table. The most interesting part about all this is that leading scorer Norman Powell predicted this outcome on the final day of September at media day, when he now famously stated that he believed Paul George's departure from Los Angeles would become an "addition by subtraction" situation.
As much as he may have been ridiculed for his comments at the time, no one is laughing at Powell now. LA has been playing like one of the most gutsy squads in the league, and they have become one of the best stories in the association this year.
Alongside guys like Norman Powell and James Harden, among others, Ivica Zubac deserves his due credit for the way he has been playing this season as well. Clipper nation has known how talented and impactful Zubac has been for many years, but more and more outsiders are picking up on his play now.
Zubac is tied for the most games with 10+ rebounds
In 2024-25, Zubac holds the top spot in a very impressive statistical category: players with the most games this season recording 10 or more rebounds. Ivica has reached this mark in 21 of the 25 games he has played this year, while averaging a career-best 12.2 rebounds per night.
Tied with Zubac for the most 10-rebound games is Domantas Sabonis, who also has 21 of these performances to his name this season. Behind Zubac and Sabonis are Karl-Anthony Towns, with 19, along with Jarrett Allen and Giannis Antetokounmpo, both with 18 such performances this year.
It is obvious that Zubac has put himself among elite company this season, and he has done it all while playing every single game for the Clippers and remaining an extremely steady force at the five. For the season, Big Zu is averaging 14.8 points per game, 2.3 assists, and is bringing down 4.0 offensive boards as well. All these numbers are career-highs for him.
Zubac is one of the biggest reasons LA has remained a winning club this season despite missing their best player for every single game so far. The more he can keep up his current level of production, the more the Clippers will look like a real contender when Leonard returns to the floor.