The Los Angeles Clippers are a professional basketball team in the National Basketball Association (the NBA).  The Los Angeles Clippers play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference with four other teams: the Los Angeles Lakers, the Phoenix Suns, the Sacramento Kings and the Golden State Warriors.  Clippers tickets will surely be hard to come by during the 2010-2011 NBA schedule.

Clippers 2009-2010 Outlook

The Los Angeles Clippers  finished the 2009-2010 NBA season with a 29-53 record.  It marked the 4th straight season in which the Clippers missed out on the playoffs - when the Clippers qualified for post-season play 2005-2006, the Clippers won a 1st round playoff series for the 1st time since 1975-1976.  The Clippers have never made it passed the Conference Semifinals.  Baron David and Eric Gordon formed a formidable guard duo during the 2009-2010 season.  Davis averaged 15.3 points per game and 8.0 assists per game, while Gordon averaged 16.9 points per game and 3.0 assists per game.  Center Chris Kaman also had a solid season, scoring 18.5 points per game and grabbing 9.3 rebounds per game.  The Clippers were definitely missing a few pieces, however, and they hope that 2 off-season acquisitions and 2 rookies (one from the 2009 NBA Draft and one from the 2010 NBA Draft) will help them get to the next level during the upcoming season.

The Clippers acquired 2 veterans in Forward Ryan Gomes and Guard Randy Foye.  Gomes has a great inside presence and averaged 10.9 points and 4.6 rebounds per game last season.  Foye chipped in 10.1 points per game in a reserve role in 2009-2010.  The Clippers selected one of the best collegiate power forwards in recent memory when they took Blake Griffin in the 2009 NBA Draft, but he missed the entire season due to injury.  Griffin has the ability to dominate inside as is evidenced by his 22.7 points per game and 14.4 rebounds per game numbers from his senior year at Oklahoma.  The Clippers selected forward Al-Farouq Aminu in the 2010 NBA Draft and they expect him to contribute immediately as a reserve in the upcoming season.  It will be up to 1st-year Head Coach Vinny Del Negro to fit all the new pieces together which will be a difficult task for the young coach.  If Davis and Gordon can figure out a way to complement each other on the court at the same time, and if Griffin performs at the high level that we came to expect at the college level, the Clippers will certainly be an exciting team to watch.  Look out for a winning season from this talented squad and a possible return trip to the post-season, maybe to take on the top-seed L.A.-rival Lakers in the opening round of the playoffs.  Get your Clippers NBA tickets at the Staples Center before it's too late.

History

The Los Angeles Clippers joined the ranks of the NBA in 1970 as the Buffalo Braves.  Two other franchises – the Portland Trailblazers and the Cleveland Cavaliers – also joined the NBA at this time.  The franchise played in Buffalo from 1970 through 1978.  The Buffalo Braves advanced to the NBA playoffs 3 years in a row from 1974 through 1976, but never advanced past the Western Conference semifinals.  Following the 1977-1978 season, the franchise moved from Buffalo to San Diego.  With the move, the franchise also changed the team name to the San Diego Clippers.  During 6 seasons in San Diego, the San Diego Clippers only finished with 1 winning season – the 1978-1979 season when the team finished with a 43-39 record.  The San Diego Clippers never advanced to the NBA playoffs.

Following the 1983-1984 season, the franchise made its final move to Los Angeles.  And although the franchise recorded a losing record each of its 1st seven seasons in Los Angeles, the team developed a loyal fan base that rivaled that of the other Los Angeles team – the Los Angeles Lakers.   

Although the Los Angeles Clippers have not retired any players’ numbers, the Los Angeles Clippers have had several outstanding players play for the team during the franchise’s 38-year history, including: Elton Brand, Sam Cassell, World B. Free, Ron Harper, Corey Maggette, Danny Manning, Bob McAdoo, Andre Miller, Lamar Odom, Glen Rice, Quentin Richardson, Doc Rivers, Bill Walton and Dominique Wilkins.  

Clippers TV/Radio

All Los Angeles Clippers basketball games can be seen on the FSN Prime Ticket in the greater Los Angeles area.  NBC, ESPN and TNT may also televise Los Angeles Clippers games based on the popularity of the game.  Tune into KFWB 980 on your AM dial to catch each Los Angeles Clippers basketball game on the radio.

The Los Angeles Clippers play their home games at the Staples Center.  The Staples Center opened in 1999.  The Staples Center is located in downtown L.A. next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex.  It is named after Staples office-supply company which purchased the naming rights to the center.  In addition to hosting Los Angeles Clippers NBA home games, the Staples Center also hosts all of the home professional basketball games for the Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA, all of the home professional basketball games for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women’s National Basketball Association (the WNBA), all of the home professional hockey games for the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (the NHL), and all of the home professional football games for the Los Angeles Avengers of the Arena Football League (the AFL).  The Staples Center host 250 events each year and is the only arena in the country to host 5 professional sports franchises.  The current Staples Center seating capacity holds 18,997 devoted die-hard Los Angeles Lakers fans.  The Staples Center has also played host to numerous memorable and historic concerts and special events during its 10 year history, including the 2000 Democratic National Convention, the 2002 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, the 2002 NHL All-Star Game, the 2004 NBA All-Star Game, the annual Grammy Awards since 2000 (with the exception of 2003), and numerous blockbuster wrestling events like Unforgiven 2002, Judgment Day 2004, 2005’s Wrestlemania 21 and 2007’s No Way Out.

Stadium: Staples Center
                 1111 S. Figueroa Street       
                 Los Angeles, California 90015

www.nba.com/clippers
www.staplescenter.com

2009-2010 Clippers