The Clippers made just four playoff appearances between 1984-85, when they moved to Los Angeles from San Diego, and 2010-11, the season before signing All-Star point guard Chris Paul. The Lakers won eight championships during that span.
“The Clippers have always been seen as the other team,” said Paul Pierce, the Hall of Famer who grew up in Inglewood and spent the last two years of his 19-year NBA career with the Clippers.
There have been times when the Clippers have entered the imagination of the basketball world. In the early 2000s, a group of young players, including Darius Miles, Lamar Odom and Quentin Richardson earned the adoration of fans with their funny personalities and talented improv teamplay. But the Clippers only made the playoffs once in the first decade of the century.
“The Clippers never really had a seat, you know what I mean?” said Baron Davis, 43, a two-time retired All-Star guard who grew up in Los Angeles and played for UCLA. “And I knew when I signed with the Clippers, my three-year, four-year goals, we wanted to achieve them. another destination in Los Angeles.”
They didn’t become serious contenders until they traded New Orleans for Paul in December 2011 and ushered in the so-called Lob City era, named for the way Paul connected with forward Blake Griffin to dunk and hype counterattacks . .
That period coincided with a recession for the Lakers, opening the door for some fans, especially younger ones, to retire the Clippers.
“The Lakers sucked when I first started watching basketball,” said Charlie Muir, a high schooler, at a recent Clippers game. He added: “I’ve seen the Clippers. They had, like, Chris Paul, Blake Griffin. He was the Lob City era, so he was really exciting to watch.”
