A few years ago, the Los Angeles Clippers were known as the other team in LA. But that is no longer the case as the Clippers are finally starting to build an identity of their own.
The reason behind this sudden rise of the team can be surely linked with it signing big-name players like Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Although the superstar duo is yet to help the team win an NBA Championship, they helped the team reach the Western Conference Finals last year.
Either way, if someone asks who is responsible for the rise of the Steve Ballmer-owned team, many will take the name of veteran NBA coach Doc Rivers. Rivers served as the coach of the team for seven seasons and saw his fair share of ups and downs with the team.
“Listen, I was with this organization for [seven] years. But a lot happened in that [seven] years. I left [the organization] a place of destination. We were the laughingstock. No one wanted to play for the Clippers. We heard all of that. If there’s a free-agent war versus the Lakers, don’t try. That’s something that I will always be proud of. The Clippers now are in the NBA, and I feel like I played a major part in that.”
As Rivers mentioned, the Clippers are a great team now. Unfortunately, his term with the team didn’t end well. He was fired by the franchise back in 2020. The reason for it was that Doc failed to live up to the high expectations of the fans.
At the end of the day, one cannot take away what Rivers did for the franchise. Maybe if it weren’t for him, the team’s culture and reputation wouldn’t have developed the same way it did with him at the helm of the franchise.
