Los Angeles Clippers

The Los Angeles Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association as a member of the Pacific Division within the Western Conference. They play their home games at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, a venue with a capacity of roughly 18,000 seats that opened for the 2024–25 season. Before moving into their own arena, the team spent 25 years sharing Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles alongside the Lakers.

Steve Ballmer owns the franchise while Tyronn Lue serves as head coach. The team colors are red, blue, and black. Fans often call the squad "the Clips" or simply "LAC." Their history stretches back to 1970 when they began as the Buffalo Braves. [bearbeiten]

The franchise started as the Buffalo Braves in 1970. Bob McAdoo led the team to three playoff appearances during their eight seasons in New York before ownership disputes forced a move to San Diego in 1978. Renamed the San Diego Clippers, the team struggled on the court and missed the playoffs entirely for six years.

Donald Sterling moved the team to Los Angeles in 1984 after winning a legal battle against the NBA. For decades the franchise earned a reputation for losing, qualifying for the postseason only four times between 1984 and 2011. The arrival of Blake Griffin in 2009 and Chris Paul in 2011 sparked a turnaround known as "Lob City." This era produced back-to-back Pacific Division titles in 2013 and 2014 but ended without advancing past the conference semifinals.

Kawhi Leonard and Paul George joined the roster in 2019 under Doc Rivers. The team reached the Western Conference Finals for the first time in 2021 before losing to the Phoenix Suns. Tyronn Lue took over coaching duties later that year. The organization moved into the Intuit Dome in 2024, ending their long tenure sharing an arena with the Lakers. [bearbeiten]