The Los Angeles Clippers have been in existence within the NBA for the last 53 seasons. From 1971 thru 1978, the team was known as the Buffalo Braves and played their games in upstate New York. From there, the team moved to California, where they would change their name to the San Diego Clippers and eventually the Los Angeles Clippers. In their 53 seasons, the Clippers have only made the playoffs on 17 occasions, with one appearance in the Western Conference Finals and zero appearances in the NBA Finals. The lack of a championship and consistent success tells me two things. The Clipper curse could very well be a real thing, and they have some of the most loyal fans in the history of the league.
- Tier 5
- Baron Davis, Sam Cassell, J.J. Redick, Montrezl Harrell, Eric Piatkowski, Loy Vaught, Cuttino Mobley
- Tier 4
- Bob Kauffman, World B. Free, Ron Harper, Lamar Odom, Corey Maggette, Charles Smith
- Tier 3
- DeAndre Jordan, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Elton Brand, Chris Kaman, Danny Manning, Lou Williams, Jamal Crawford
- Tier 2
- Bob McAdoo, Blake Griffin, Randy Smith
- Tier 1
- Chris Paul
If you have been reading with us over the last year, then you have seen my previous 10 GOAT pyramids for 10 other NBA franchises. If this is your first time visiting our site, I recommend checking them out below:
– The Los Angeles Lakers All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The Chicago Bulls All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The Golden State Warriors All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The Boston Celtics All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The Detroit Pistons All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The Miami Heat All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The Houston Rockets All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The Brooklyn Nets All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The New York Knicks All-Time GOAT Pyramid
– The Milwaukee Bucks All-Time GOAT Pyramid
As you read through our past work and the Clippers Pyramid today, please note that this is based on what they accomplished as members of the team that is being represented. Leave everything you know about each player’s career elsewhere and focus solely on their time with each specific team. Trust me, if it hadn’t happened constantly before, I wouldn’t have to tell you again. Now that information is out of the way, let us move on to the Los Angeles Clippers.
This is the Los Angeles Clippers’ all-time GOAT pyramid.
Tier 5
Baron Davis, Sam Cassell, J.J. Redick, Montrezl Harrell, Eric Piatkowski, Loy Vaught, Cuttino Mobley
The bottom of the pyramid for the Los Angeles Clippers is filled with some great and talented players who excelled in their roles as Clippers. The first of these players is 13-year NBA veteran Baron Davis. Having spent just two full seasons with the Clippers in 2009 and 2010, Davis served as their starter in both seasons and averaged 15.1 PPG, 7.9 APG, and 1.7 SPG over those two seasons. He would join the Clippers once more in 2011 for 43 games before stops in Cleveland and New York before retirement.
Sam Cassell is another Clippers point guard who did not spend a long time with the team but made an even bigger impact. Cassell would join the Clippers in 2006 and immediately become a leader for them on the court. As the starter in 2006, Casell would help the team win 47 games averaging 17.2 PPG and 6.3 APG and earn a trip to the NBA playoffs. Cassell would help the Clippers defeat the Bucks in five games in the first round and forced seven games with the Phoenix Suns led by MVP Steve Nash in the second round. Cassell averaged 18.0 PPG and 5.8 APG in one of the more successful playoff runs in team history.
J.J. Redick is one of the great three-point shooters in NBA history as well as NBA analysts out there today. Redick found homes in various spots throughout his career, but none seemed more right than with the Clippers. Redick was a member of the Lob City era of basketball in Los Angeles from 2014 thru 2017. Over those four seasons, Redick averaged 15.8 PPG on 44.0% shooting from three. Redick helped the Clippers reach the playoffs in all four seasons he was there and advanced to the second round twice.
It may seem that Montrezl Harrell is an odd choice to help fill out the bottom of this pyramid, but during his time with the Clippers, he became one of the best bench players in basketball. From 2018 thru 2020, Harrell appeared in 221 games for the Clippers with just 10 starts averaging 15.2 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and 1.1 BPG. In 2020, Harrell became the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year winner averaging 18.6 PPG, 7.1 RPG, and 1.1 BPG off the bench. Harrell helped the Clippers reach the postseason twice during his time in L.A. and is currently seeing minimal time off the bench in Philadelphia.
Eric Piatkowski will not be one of the names that come fresh to everyone’s mind when discussing Clippers’ history, but it should be. Piatkowski joined the Clippers via trade on draft night in 1994 and would spend the first nine seasons of his career with the team. Piatkowski would become one of the greatest three-point shooters in franchise history over that time with 738 made threes, a Clippers record, on 40.2% shooting from distance. Despite being a member of some of the worst teams in team history, Piatkowski shined through to make our list.
Loy Vaught was the 13th overall pick by the Clippers in the 1990 NBA Draft and would spend the first three seasons with the team adjusting to the league. Once he became the starter in 1994, he would have a four-year stretch of 15.1 PPG, 9.6 RPG, and 1.1 SPG. He had back-to-back seasons averaging a double-double in 1996 and 1997 and helped them reach the playoffs three times in eight years but never past the first round.
The final member of Tier 5 is a beloved member of the Clippers from 2006 thru 2009, Cuttino Mobley. It was Mobley’s addition, along with Cassell, that improved the Clippers by 10 wins in 2006 and within one win of the Conference Finals. Mobley averaged 14.8 PPG that season and 13.3 PPG in the playoffs as the team’s starting shooting guard. In all four years spent in Los Angeles, Mobley averaged 13.8 PPG on 43.3% shooting.
Tier 4
Bob Kauffman, World B. Free, Ron Harper, Lamar Odom, Corey Maggette, Charles Smith
Moving into Tier 4, we now begin to encounter some of the more accomplished players in team history. We kick things off with Bob Kauffman, who played with the Buffalo Braves from 1971 thru 1974. Kauffman would be an All-Star in the first three years, with the Braves averaging 19.0 PPG and 10.7 RPG on 49.0% shooting during that stretch. With a decline in health and playing time in 1974, Kauffman’s time was all but up in Buffalo as well as the NBA, as he would retire following the 1975 season.
Make no mistake about it, World B. Free was a superstar during his time with the Clippers. The only issue is that time was limited to two seasons in 1979 and 1980. In his first year with the Clippers, Free averaged 28.8 PPG, 4.4 APG, and 1.4 SPG. In 1980, Free would become an All-Star averaging 30.2 PPG, 4.2 APG, and 1.2 SPG for San Diego. As great as his numbers were, the team had no success, but Free would ultimately exceed elsewhere down the line in his career.
Ron Harper is best known for his days with the Bulls, where he won three NBA championships alongside Michael Jordan as well as his days with the Lakers and Cavaliers. Harper made an extended stop in Los Angeles with the Clippers between Cleveland and Chicago, where he played arguably some of his best basketball. During his five seasons with the team, Harper averaged 19.3 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 4.8 APG, and 2.0 SPG. The team made the playoffs twice, where Harper also played extremely well but failed to make it out of the first round.
Lamar Odom was selected fourth overall in 1999 by the Clippers and would become one of their go-to options right away. Over his first two years, Odom averaged 16.9 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 4.7 APG, 1.1 SPG, and 1.4 BPG. He was as versatile as any rookie we had seen up to that point in Clippers history, and looked like a promising career was ahead of him with the Clippers. Instead, it ended with Odom leaving after four seasons and later winning two NBA championships with the Lakers alongside Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol.
During the 2000s, the NBA was filled with athletic wings attacking the rim with high-flying authority. Corey Maggette was one of them. Maggette played for eight seasons with the Clippers from 2001 thru 2008 and averaged 17.3 PPG and 5.2 RPG overall. Maggette would have three different seasons of at least 20.0 PPG and 5.5 RPG but only resulted in one playoff appearance during that time. In 2006, Maggette helped the Clippers come within one game of the Western Conference Finals, averaging 17.8 PPG and 5.3 RPG.
Swen Nater will not be a name that many are unaware of, but his time with the San Diego Clippers from 1978 thru 1983 was fantastic. He isn’t someone who would be considered one of the best rebounders in NBA history, obviously, but he is in Clippers history. Nater led the NBA in rebounds with 15.0 RPG in 1980 with the team as well as 13.4 PPG. He ranks sixth in team history with 4,168 rebounds and third in RPG with 12.0.
Charles Smith played just nine short seasons in the NBA, spending the first four with the Clippers from 1989 thru 1992. In 1990 and 1991, Smith had his best seasons as a pro with back-to-back 20.0 PPG years as well as an average of 7.4 RPG, 1.1 SPG, and 1.7 BPG over that time. Smith helped the Clippers reach the playoffs once in 1992, but injuries stifled any major production that was to come from him. Still, Smith is recognized for being one of the few players in team history to have consecutive 20.0 PPG seasons.
Tier 3
DeAndre Jordan, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Elton Brand, Chris Kaman, Danny Manning, Lou Williams, Jamal Crawford
The next tier is when we really begin to get to the true legends of the Clippers franchise. The first player to achieve this status is DeAndre Jordan, who was a premier part of the team from 2009 thru 2018. Jordan’s 10 seasons with the Clippers were memorable as he became an All-Star and All-NBA Team selection and as he put helpless defenders on posters. Jordan would also win two rebounding titles with the Clippers and lead the NBA in field goal percentage five times. Although his Lob City Clippers never amounted to a championship run, Jordan remains one of the greatest Clippers ever.
If you would like to contend with Kawhi Leonard’s placement in Tier 3, I am not going to argue with you. Leonard’s time has been an overall disappointment in Los Angeles, and to say otherwise would be a balance lie. Still, there is no denying how great he is when he is on the court and how much he steps up when he is available for big games. In his four years with the Clippers, Leonard has only played 161 games and averaged 25.3 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 4.7 APG, and 1.6 SPG. He has been an All-Star, All-NBA Team selection, and All-Defensive Team selection as recently as 2021. Now facing another knee injury that cost them a deep playoff run, the team has a big decision to make on his future in L.A. Although, the team believes they have more time with him and Paul George leading the way.
If Kawhi Leonard is going to be a part of Tier 3, then Paul George is an automatic lock for it as well. George may have had a disastrous start to his Clippers career in the 2020 playoffs but made up for it just one year later. As the Clippers lost Kawhi Leonard to a knee injury in the 2021 playoffs, Paul George put the Clippers on his back and led them to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history. On that playoff run, he averaged 26.9 PPG, 9.6 RPG, 5.4 APG, and 1.0 SPG. If George accomplishes nothing else with the team, it would be disappointing, but no Clippers fan will ever forget what he gave them that season.
There are many who would be willing to contend that Elton Brand deserves to be the power forward one tier above Tier 3 instead of the one who sits there now. Brand played seven seasons with the Clippers from 2002 thru 2008 and was one of the greatest players in franchise history when it was all said and done. He would make two All-Star appearances as well as one All-NBA Team selection in 2006 as he led the Clippers to new heights as a team. Brand averaged 20.3 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 1.0 SPG, and 2.3 BPG during his time with the Clippers, does he belong one level above this?
Chris Kaman is one of the best and most important big men that the Clippers have ever had. Kaman played with Los Angeles from 2004 thru 2011, earning one All-Star appearance in 2010. During that time, the Clippers went to the playoffs one time but nearly went to the Conference Finals in the process. In his time with the team, Kaman averaged 11.8 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and 1.4 BPG on 48.7% shooting from the field.
Another surprise for many will be the presence of Danny Manning in Tier 3. The Clippers made Manning the number one overall draft pick in 1988, and he did not disappoint. Manning would earn two All-Star selections in his final two seasons with the Clippers in 1993 and 1994. In those two seasons, he averaged 21.8 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 1.4 SPG, and 1.2 BPG. He led the Clippers to the playoffs twice, where they lost in the first round both times, but still, Manning ranks among the top Clippers ever in points, rebounds, steals, and blocks.
The final two players on Tier 3 happen to be the two of the best bench players to ever play the game. Lou Williams played with the Clippers from 2018 thru 2021 and became one of the game’s biggest scoring threats from the bench during that time. He averaged over 22.0 PPG his first season in 2018 and 20.0 PPG in 2019, winning back-to-back Sixth Man of the Year awards in the process. He averaged 19.1 PPG overall in his three and a half seasons there on 36.0% shooting from three.
The final member of Tier 3 is one of the best ball-handlers in NBA history as well as isolation scorers and ball-handlers as well. Jamal Crawford played five seasons with L.A. from 2013 thru 2017, averaging 15.3 PPG off the bench. He, too, would win two Sixth Man of the Year awards with the Clippers in 2014 and 2016. Crawford and the Clippers reached the playoffs all five seasons he was with the team getting to the second round twice.
Tier 2
Bob McAdoo, Blake Griffin, Randy Smith
The player that kicks off Tier 2 has the best case of any other player on this list to replace our franchise GOAT. Bob McAdoo played for the Buffalo Braves from 1973 thru 1977, turning in some of the best seasons in team history. McAdoo would win the Rookie of the Year award in 1973, averaging 18.0 PPG. He would win three straight scoring titles from 1974 thru 1976, averaging 32.1 PPG and 13.8 RPG over that stretch. He was named MVP in 1975, averaging 34.5 PPG, and is the only MVP in franchise history to this day. McAdoo may be forgotten by the casual fan today, but Clippers fans know how important he will always remain to their history.
During his time with the Clippers from 2011 thru 2018, Blake Griffin was among the most exciting players and best power forwards in the NBA. His freak athleticism provided us with some of the nastiest poster dunks and greatest memories of the decade as he gave Clippers fans more hope than ever before about their future. He averaged 21.6 PPG, 9.3 RPG, 4.2 APG, and 1.0 SPG during his time with the Clippers along with five All-Star selections and four All-NBA Team selections.
The final member of Tier 2 is forgotten legend Randy Smith of the Buffalo Braves and San Diego Clippers during the 1970s. Smith made his NBA debut with the Braves in 1971-72 and immediately became one of the best players on the floor. Smith would earn two All-Star selections and an All-NBA Team selection during his career with the franchise as well as an All-Star Game MVP in 1978. At his peak, Smith was a two-way menace good for 24.0 PPG and 2.0 SPG on any given night.
Tier 1
Chris Paul
When the Clippers landed Chris Paul in 2011-12, the NBA world was elated with the possibilities that could come from him and Griffin, as well as Jordan, teaming up. Although they failed to win an NBA championship, Paul became the GOAT of the Clippers franchise over the next six seasons. He would win two of his five assists titles as well as three steals titles during those six years. He also earned six All-NBA and All-Defensive team selections during this time. Paul is the Clippers’ franchise leader in assists and ranks second in steals and sixth in points as well.
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