LA Clippers: Lob City teams helped revive the franchise

The LA Clippers are championship contenders and it was years in the making. The Lob City era was a time of revival for the team.

The LA Clippers have changed the mindstate that many originally had about this franchise. The Lob City era was the start of the revival of the organization.

The Clippers made the move to get Chris Paul in 2011 after a trade to the Los Angeles Lakers was not approved by David Stern. Before Paul was traded to the team, they drafted Blake Griffin in 2009.

Griffin, who was drafted first overall, was going to be their focal piece. He was the first overall draft pick in 2009, so expectations were high for him. The Clippers got lucky the year before in the second round when they drafted DeAndre Jordan. He turned out to be better than where he was drafted.

Before Chris Paul came to the Clippers in 2011 the team only made it to the playoffs two times in 15 years. After 2011 the Clippers have won 50 plus games five times. They have made the playoffs seven out of eight years.

The years of winning with Blake Griffin, Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan were called the Lob City era.

Blake Griffin averaged 21.6 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. He had many highlight dunks. At one point in his time with the Clippers, there was a real fear amongst NBA players that they were going to get dunked on.

Griffin was being compared to Shawn Kemp who was a highflyer in the 90s. He made five consecutive All-Sta4 appearances from 2011-15.

Chris Paul was their go-to player in the clutch especially earlier in his tenure with the team. When the game was close his competitive nature helped get the Clippers over the hump.

He was the deliverer of the many lobs that were thrown up in that era. In terms of total assists for a career in NBA history, Paul is seventh. CP3 was in the top five in assists per game every year from 2011-2017.

The Clippers traded for him to get a superstar that could lead the team. His legendary ability to pass the ball was put to good use during his tenure with the Clippers. Paul was a winner and that was what the franchise needed since they had not won in years. During his time with the Clippers, he averaged 18.8 points and 9.8 assists per game.

Jordan was the defensive anchor in the middle. Teams could not go in the middle because of him. While he could not shoot free throws (which got him off the court in clutch situations) he was a great defender and he was great around the rim.

During his time with the LA Clippers, he averaged 10.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. He is first in NBA history in terms of field goal percentage and he is in the top 100 in terms of career defensive rating. He is a two-time All-Defensive Team member.

Before the Lob City Clippers, the franchise was dismal. They could not find ways to win games. While this team never made it to the Western Conference Finals, they changed the makeup of the organization forever.

The 2018-19 season helped show the impact that the Lob City era had on the team. They were able to make it to the playoffs without their three star players. Everybody could see that the Clippers are not losers anymore.

Now this team is in a position to win a championship with the pieces that they already had along with the arrival of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. The revival of the Clippers was years in the making but it appears their version of The Process has been realized.