Los Angeles Clippers: Ranking the Best Players by Position in Team History
By Phil Watson
The Los Angeles Clippers have wound their way through three cities since joining the NBA as the Buffalo Braves as part of a three-team expansion in 1970-71 that included the Cleveland Cavaliers and Portland Trail Blazers.
The Braves opened play in 1970 with most of their home games at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, or as it was known, simply “The Aud.” But the Braves also played 16 games at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto in an attempt to expand its fan base. The expansion draft yielded six-time All-Star and future Hall of Famer Bailey Howell from the Boston Celtics, but he was flipped almost immediately to the Philadelphia 76ers for Bob Kauffman. Other nearly recognizable names out of the expansion draft were Ray Scott from the Baltimore Bullets, who opted to sign with the ABA’s Virginia Squires rather than report to Buffalo, and Cincinnati Royals guard Herm Gilliam.
Their first draft pick was a swing and miss. Buffalo took Princeton forward John Hummer with the 15th overall pick, passing on local collegiate hero Calvin Murphy from Niagara—who went on to a Hall of Fame career with the Rockets in San Diego and Houston.
It’s been that sort of history for this franchise, though. The team enjoyed a short run of success under coach Jack Ramsay in the mid-1970s, reaching the playoffs in three straight seasons from 1974-76, but by 1978, the core of that team had been traded away and owner John Y. Brown negotiated one of the more creative moves in NBA history, swapping franchises with Boston Celtics owner Irv Levin.
Levin wanted a team in California, where he lived, but knew the NBA would never let him move the Celtics. The Braves on the other hand? They were gone to San Diego in 1978 after just eight seasons in Buffalo.
Named the Clippers for the clipper ships that once sailed into the San Diego harbor, the team never quite caught on at the San Diego Sports Arena. In six seasons in San Diego, the Clippers never made the playoffs. The free-agent signing of Portland Trail Blazers star Bill Walton, a San Diego-area native, was a disaster. In six seasons with the Clips, Walton played in just 169 games and missed two full seasons—1980-81 and 1981-82—with foot problems.
In 1982, the Clippers were sold to Los Angeles real estate developer Donald Sterling, who two years later moved the team north to Los Angeles after averaging just 4,500 per game at the San Diego Sports Arena over the final two seasons there.
But the Clippers continued to struggle … and struggle … and become a national punch line for bad franchise management as longtime general manager Elgin Baylor became an annual fixture at the NBA draft lottery. Coaches came and went. Lottery picks came and went. Still the Clippers were almost always bad.
In 43 seasons, the franchise has made only nine playoff appearances and incredibly went 15 straight seasons without a postseason bid—1976-77 through 1990-91—despite the fact that more than half of the league’s teams qualified for the playoffs each season during the entire span.
The Clippers have gotten respectable of late, however. The team has made back-to-back playoff appearances and in 2012-13 won its first division title and a franchise-record 56 games. However, the team has 11 seasons in which it lost 60 or more games, capped by a horrific 12-70 mark in 1986-87. Even with a 96-52 record over the last two seasons, the franchise’s all-time winning percentage of .375 ranks 29th among current NBA teams—only the Charlotte Bobcats (.346) are worse.
So who are the best players by position in the history of the Los Angeles Clippers franchise?
NOTE: Players must have appeared in 250 regular-season games with the franchise to be considered for this list.
Small Forward: Corey Maggette (2000-08)
Corey Maggette spent eight seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers and is second on the franchise’s all-time list in 3-pointers.
The Clippers picked up Corey Maggette on draft night in 2000, sending a 2006 first-rounder to the Orlando Magic for Maggette, Derek Strong, cash and the rights to 10th overall pick Keyon Dooling. Maggette became a fixture in Los Angeles for the next eight seasons and was part of the Clippers’ run to the second round of the playoffs in 2006.
Maggette was used as both a starter and a sixth man in Los Angeles, averaging 17.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game as a Clipper. He led the league in free throws made in 2003-04.
Maggette is second in franchise history with 367 3-pointers and is also fourth with 8,835 points and 512 games, seventh with 421 steals and 10th with 2,673 rebounds and 1,229 assists.
Maggette also represented the Clippers in the 2001 Slam Dunk Contest, where his performance included the spectacular and the routine:
Maggette opted out of his contract after the 2007-08 season and signed with the Golden State Warriors in July 2008. He has also played for the Milwaukee Bucks and Charlotte Bobcats and spent last season buried at the end of the Detroit Pistons’ bench, playing in only 18 games despite not being injured. He is currently an unsigned free agent.
Apologies to: Lamar Odom, Michael Brooks, Ken Norman, Rodney Rogers.
Elton Brand was twice an All-Star as a Los Angeles Clipper and is the franchise’s all-time leading rebounder. (Flickr.com/Keith Allison)
Power Forward: Elton Brand (2001-08)
The Clippers picked up Elton Brand, a former No. 1 overall pick, on draft night in 2001 in a trade from the Chicago Bulls, sending Brian Skinner and the rights to that night’s No. 2 overall pick, Tyson Chandler, to the Windy City. Brand went on to blossom as a star in Los Angeles.
He was a two-time All-Star for the Clippers and was an All-NBA selection in 2005-06. Brand led the NBA in offensive rebounds and offensive rebounding percentage in 2001-02 in his first season in Los Angeles.
In seven seasons, Brand averaged 20.3 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocked shots per game while shooting 51.4 percent from the floor, but he missed all but eight games of the 2007-08 season after rupturing his left Achilles’ tendon.
Brand is the leading rebounder in franchise history with 4,710 and is also second with 1,039 blocked shots, third with 9,336 points, sixth with 438 steals and 459 games and ninth with 1,242 assists.
Brand is also the franchise’s single-season record-holder with 396 offensive rebounds and a 15.0 offensive rebounding percentage in 2001-02 and his 5.5 defensive win shares in 2005-06 is also a franchise single-season mark.
Here are some of Brand’s highlights as a Clipper:
In July 2008, Brand signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia 76ers and he spent last season with the Dallas Mavericks before signing a one-year free-agent deal with the Atlanta Hawks on July 15.
Apologies to: Bob Kauffman, Danny Manning, Charles Smith, Loy Vaught.
Center: Bob McAdoo (1972-76)
Bob McAdoo, shown on a 1976 Topps card, is the only player in franchise history to earn Most Valuable Player honors.
The Buffalo Braves were hoping to strike it rich when they took North Carolina’s Bob McAdoo with the second overall pick in the 1972 NBA Draft. Man, did they ever.
McAdoo was a three-time All-Star for the Braves, was Rookie of the Year in 1972-73 and in 1974-75 became the only player in franchise history to be named the league’s Most Valuable Player. McAdoo was also a two-time All-NBA selection for Buffalo, including being named to the first team in 1974-75. McAdoo led the league in scoring three straight seasons, 1973-74 through 1975-76, and also led the NBA in total rebounds in 1974-75 and field-goal percentage in 1973-74. In 1974-75 and 1975-76, McAdoo led the league in minutes per game.
In parts of five seasons with the Braves, McAdoo averaged 28.2 points, 12.7 rebounds and 2.4 blocked shots per game and was a 50 percent shooter.
McAdoo is second in franchise history with 9.434 points and is also third with 4,229 rebounds and fourth with 614 blocked shots. He is the franchise leader at 40.1 minutes per game and is second at 28.2 points, 12.7 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game.
McAdoo holds single-season marks with 2,831 points and 3,539 minutes in 1974-75 and with 246 blocked shots in 1973-74. His 34.5 points per game, 12.7 offensive win shares and 17.8 overall win shares in 1974-75 are also franchise bests.
McAdoo had one of his best games in the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Washington Bullets in 1975, when he scored 50 points in Game 4 of the series to lead the Braves to a 108-102 win to tie the series at 2-2. Buffalo went on to lose the series in seven games:
In December 1976, McAdoo was traded with Tom McMillen to the New York Knicks for John Gianelli and cash in a straight salary dump (yes, they even did these 35 years ago). He later played for the Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, New Jersey Nets, Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers before his NBA career ended in 1985-86. However, he went on to play seven more seasons in Italy before retiring as a player in 1993 at age 42. He has been an assistant coach with the Miami Heat since 1995 and was inducted in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000.
Apologies to: Swen Nater, Benoit Benjamin, Chris Kaman, Michael Olowokandi.
Shooting Guard: Randy Smith (1971-79, 1982-83)
Randy Smith, shown on a 1979 Topps card, is the franchise’s leader in points, assists and steals and was MVP of the 1978 All-Star Game–not bad for a seventh-round draft pick.
Randy Smith was a seventh-round flyer out of Buffalo State in the 1971 NBA Draft and the Braves struck gold with the small-college standout.
Smith became a two-time All-Star with the Braves and was named All-NBA in 1975-76. He was also the MVP of the 1978 All-Star Game played at The Omni in Atlanta. He also missed only six games in his time with the Braves and Clippers and set an NBA record by playing in 906 consecutive games from 1972-83, a streak later broken by A.C. Green in 1997.
In parts of nine seasons with both the Braves and Clippers, Smith averaged 17.8 points, 4.9 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game.
Smith is the franchise’s all-time leader with 12,735 points, 3,498 assists, 1,072 steals and 715 games. He is also third in franchise history with 1.9 steals per game.
Smith gave this interview in 1976:
Smith moved with the team from Buffalo to San Diego in 1978 and in September 1979 was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers for a 1980 first-round pick. After playing with the Cavaliers and New York Knicks, Smith returned to the Clippers in October 1982 as a free agent. However, the Clippers waived Smith in March 1983—ending his consecutive-games streak—and he played the final few games of the season with the Atlanta Hawks before retiring. He coached in the Continental Basketball Association after retirement and died in June 2009 at the age of 60.
Apologies to: Ron Harper, Eric Piatkowski, Quentin Richardson, Freeman Williams.
Point Guard: Norm Nixon (1983-89)
Norm Nixon, shown on a 1989 Fleer card, represented the Los Angeles Clippers in the 1985 NBA All-Star Game.
Norm Nixon moved down the Southern California coast in October 1983 when he was traded with Eddie Jordan and second-round picks in 1986 and 1987 from the Los Angeles Lakers to the San Diego Clippers in exchange for Swen Nater and Byron Scott. A year later, however, he was back in L.A. after the Clippers moved to the Los Angeles Sports Arena in 1984.
Nixon was an All-Star in 1985 for the Clippers and led the NBA in total assists in 1983-84.
In four healthy seasons with the Clippers, Nixon averaged 14.6 points and nine assists per game. However, he suffered a severe knee injury in June 1986 playing in a softball game in New York and missed the entire 1986-87 season. In the preseason in November 1987, he ruptured his right Achilles’ tendon and missed the entire 1987-88 season as well. Prior to the injuries, Nixon’s averages were 16.4 points and 9.6 rebounds—he was never able to regain his old form.
Nixon is third in franchise history with 2,540 assists and his 9.0 assists per game average is second-best for the team.
His 914 assists and 11.1 assists per game in 1983-84 remain franchise single-season records.
Nixon played briefly in Italy after retiring from the NBA in March 1989 and has been a sports agent and television and radio commentator for NBA games since his playing days ended. He also co-founded the Debbie Allen Dance Academy in suburban Los Angeles with his wife, actress/dancer Debbie Allen.
Apologies to: Ernie DiGregorio, Gary Grant, Pooh Richardson, Terry Dehere.