Los Angeles Clippers Franchise Awards: Blake Griffin Is The Clippers GOAT

For years, the Los Angeles Lakers have stolen the show in the city. It wasn’t until 1984 that the Clippers moved to the city after stints with the Buffalo Braves and San Diego Clippers. During this time, the Lakers were “Showtime” and had players like Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. It’s a tough product to show when your franchise is not competitive and the Lakers are successful. With that said, there were a few players such as Randy Smith and Bob McAdoo that were all-time greats but were overshadowed by the greatness of the Lakers.

With that said, it wasn’t until the 2010s that the Clippers began to see a change. Once Donald Sterling was out and Steve Ballmer was in, the Clippers began to bring talent to the team. The team is searching for their first NBA Finals appearance, but Kawhi Leonard and Paul George seem eager to change that now. From 2010 to 2014, the Clippers featured some of their best overall talents with “Lob City” taking over.

Here are the Clippers franchise award winners.

GOAT Of The Franchise – Blake Griffin

Randy Smith might be the all-time leading scorer, but Griffin finished his career as one of two Clippers to ever score at least 10,000 points in a career. Smith remains the all-time leader in steals and is second in assists, but Smith played during a time when the Clippers were not competitive. With Griffin, he was a part of a core where the Clippers won their first and second division titles in 2013 and 2014. With Griffin in the mold, the Clippers were seen as a team that could make a run to the NBA Finals with Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan.

Griffin was a five-time All-Star while playing for the Clippers and all of those times were consecutive. That also included making the All-NBA Second Team from 2012 to 2014, as well as the Third Team in 2015. Griffin won the world over when he was the Slam Dunk Contest champion in 2011 too. Altogether, he lived up to being the No. 1 overall pick in 2009.

Offensive Player Of The Franchise – Bob McAdoo

McAdoo owns the third-most points in team history with 9,433 points. With that said, he is by far the most skilled offensive player the team has ever had. McAdoo was the 1975 MVP while playing for the Buffalo Braves. This season was one of three seasons that saw him average at least 30 points per game. McAdoo would have likely owned the career record for points with the Clippers had he played more than four seasons.

During the 1974-75 season, McAdoo averaged a career-high 34.5 points and 14.1 rebounds. The year before, he averaged 30.6 points, while the 1975-76 season saw him average 31.1 points per game. McAdoo was traded to the Knicks during the 1976-77 season. Despite playing just over four years with the team, he nearly made it to 10,000 points.

Rookie Of The Franchise – Blake Griffin

Griffin was the No. 1 overall pick in 2009 but missed the entire 2009-10 season due to a knee injury. Despite being a sophomore, technically, he was officially labeled as a rookie. He began his career with 20 points and 14 rebounds against the Trail Blazers and never looked back. He scored 47 points in a game against the Clippers, which was the most points by a rookie in a game. It was also the first time a rookie had two 40-point games in a season since Allen Iverson in 1996-97.  

Griffin was voted to the All-Star Game as a reserve and won the Slam Dunk Contest. By the later part of the season, he recorded his first triple-double. He played in 82 regular season games and became the first rookie to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds since Elton Brand. It was the first time a rookie had been the unanimous award winner since David Robinson in 1990.

Defensive Player Of The Franchise – Chris Paul

When it comes to defense, Paul is one of the best. He had made the All-Defensive Team nine times in his career. From 2012 to 2017, he made the All-Defensive First Team every season with the Clippers. That included leading the league in steals each season between 2012 to 2014. Paul averaged 2.5, 2.4, and 2.5 steals during those seasons. For those accomplishments, that is why he nearly took the crown from Randy Smith.

Paul’s 902 career steals ranks second in Clippers history. His 2.2 steals with the Clippers is a franchise record for steals per game. His defensive win shares ranks fourth in team history, but he is the only guard in the top 5. Paul owns the most win shares in team history, including the most offensive win shares. What we often forget is how essential he was to team defense.

Coach Of The Franchise – Doc Rivers

The Clippers have employed Jack Ramsay and Bill Fitch during their time. Both are considered to be top 10 coaches in NBA history, but their time with the Clippers franchise did not go well. There is only one coach in team history with a winning record and that is Rivers. With his 356-208 overall record, Rivers is also the all-time wins coach for the franchise. He leads all coaches with 59 games coached in the playoffs as well as 27 playoff wins.

Rivers will be remembered for the team coming up short in the playoffs. The Clippers had the talent to make the Conference Finals but never made it. That included losing to the Thunder in the semifinals in 2014 and 2015. The 2015 playoffs were especially frustrating as the Clippers held a 3-1 lead over the Rockets before losing in seven games. With that said, no coach has ever won more than Rivers, for now.

Fan Favorite – Blake Griffin

The big three of Paul, Griffin, and Jordan were all loveable. Because of that group, the Clippers transformed from a dumpster fire franchise to a team that fans legitimately believed could make the Finals. All three were in their prime and were playing in the All-Star Game. With that said, it all started with Griffin. He was the player that changed the course for the franchise as the first piece of the puzzle. While Jordan was drafted before in 2008 with the No. 35 overall pick, he was never seen as a superstar player. Griffin had that weight on his shoulders right as he entered the league.

He never wavered, though. He immediately became the team’s best player during that run. When healthy, he was one of the most athletic players on the court. Since then, we have really taken for granted how great of a dunker he was. He is not able to fly like that anymore these days. When looking at highlight reel dunks from the 2010s, Griffin is a player we will see frequently. There are not too many fans that have something bad to say about him. 

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