Baron Davis has nothing but love for the early 2000s Clippers, even if they couldn’t win many games. During a recent interview, the former NBA star opened up about his respect for the squad, calling them one of the most exciting young teams in the league despite their record. For Davis, the wins were secondary. It was about the culture, the energy, and the way they earned respect night after night.
“Ya’ll was out there losing, having fun, crossing people up, throwing lobs,” said Davis on the Knuckleheads podcast. “Y’all was making losing look fun, and I was like ‘Damn, I wanna go over there and lose with them fools. They’re over there cracking.'”
The Clippers were far from contenders during this era of the NBA, and they were basically an afterthought in the West for years until the arrival of Chris Paul in 2011. Still, they never let it ruin the vibes, and it made a strong impression on their peers.
“Y’all was good and y’all was winning, but it didn’t matter if you won or lost. Y’all came, y’all put on a show, y’all was young, and y’all was earning respect. Everybody respect y’all,” Davis claimed. “The only reason y’all was losing is because you were so young. Y’all had the energy and everything.”
Baron Davis was drafted third overall by the Charlotte Hornets in 1999. By his third season in the NBA, Davis was named an All-Star for the first time in his career, but it was just the start of a successful career.
In total, he played for 13 years in the league, with averages of 16.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 7.2 assists per game on 40.9% shooting. His best years were in Charlotte and New Orleans, but he did eventually make his way to the Clippers, which totaled just two and a half seasons.
While he came too late for the “good times,” those early 2000s squads are what drew him there in the first place. From 2001 to 2004, the franchise was very much on the come-up with players such as Quentin Richardson, Darius Miles, Lamar Odom, Elton Brand, and Corey Maggette (among others). During this stretch, the Clippers were a team rooted in culture, tight bonds, and putting on a show for their loyal fans. While many players came and went after that period, the energy carried over for a few more years, thanks to Elton Brand, who stuck around for seven years until his departure.
While they never won more than 47 games during the 2000s (2004-2005 campaign), they had fun while doing it and were seemingly building a new identity after decades of dysfunction and irrelevance. Of course, as we now know, the positive vibes didn’t last.
The same summer that Davis decided to join (2008), they lost Elton Brand (2000 Rookie of the Year) and any hope of finally competing for a title. Between despised former team owner Donald Sterling and infamous executive Elgin Baylor, the Clippers lost momentum and an opportunity to do something special with a stacked roster. Still, many remember what they had going before there was Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, or Kawhi Leonard.
While the early 2000s Clippers may not have earned many banners, they earned respect, and that’s something numbers can’t measure. For Baron Davis and countless other players who watched from afar, that era represented something rare in the NBA: a team that found joy in the grind and made losing look like art.
