Clippers' Rollercoaster Journey in the NBA: Hope and Disappointment

The Clippers: A Saga of Hope and Struggle

All of us—NBA fanatics, analysts, casual onlookers—absorb the league with a soft spot that occasionally doubles as an irredeemable flaw. Bear traps of belief. For the past five years, mine was the Los Angeles Clippers, a convulsing roller-coaster ride that numbed my senses, weakened my knees, and distorted what it means to feel hope in a reality that provides fleeting evidence that any exists. Call them cursed, a hapless ne’er-do-well that can’t succeed regardless of how bright the path they’ve chosen appears to be, and you might be right. The Clippers have won a grand total of zero playoff series since they reached the 2021 Western Conference finals, their deepest run in franchise history. And yet, despite their long-standing inability to enjoy the type of fortuitous edge that regularly touches so many of their competitors—i.e., they’ve endured more poorly timed injuries than just about any team I can remember—in their darkest hour I saw light, repeatedly becoming the Ah shit, here we go again meme.

The Rising Challenges

• Injuries holding key players, specifically Kawhi Leonard.
• Loss of significant talent like Paul George and Russell Westbrook.
• Questionable depth in the frontcourt.

Since 2019, I’ve picked the Clippers to win the NBA championship in just about every season (last year I predicted the Celtics would beat them in the Finals). There are several reasons none mattered more than Kawhi Leonard, an inscrutable lodestar who’s been betrayed by his own body over and over again. When healthy—an increasingly demoralizing caveat for the 33-year-old—Leonard can be a tectonic-shifting winner, all-powerful enough to stoke dreams and then rip them away. And for most of his tenure with the Clippers, he’s had plenty of help. Paul George—also when healthy—is the platonic ideal of a copilot, someone who steps on the floor with zero exploitable weaknesses and numerous unteachable strengths. In tandem, Kawhi and PG formed a shaky foundation, but when they shared the court, L.A.’s championship ambition was bona fide.

For many people, all that substance devolved into an illusion several years ago. The Clippers were perennial disappointments harboring a humongous budget and a hollow core. I was not one of those people, mostly because I stubbornly clung to proof that didn’t stop suggesting they were really good! Before yet another knee injury sidelined Leonard in last year’s first-round loss to the eventual Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks, the Clippers won 51 games and finished seventh in net rating.

A Fragile Foundation and New Beginnings

The Clippers just let one of the league’s great two-way talents walk away for nothing, but they should not be left for dead. The headlines from their offseason concern who went out the door: George and Russell Westbrook. However, Nicolas Batum, Derrick Jones Jr., and Kris Dunn are three intriguing and important names coming in. With those skill sets in the fold, the Clippers are essentially trying to pivot back to who they were in 2021 and 2023, with James Harden replacing George as the second option. The question remains—can this new mix of talent reignite their chances for success?

1. Kawhi Leonard's performance is crucial.
2. James Harden's adaptation to his new role is essential.
3. Talented roster featuring dynamic players still has potential.

Despite the numerous obstacles, if all breaks right, their best-case scenario is more fulfilling than what every other team jockeying for a playoff spot can muster. The Clippers fractured in such a dramatic, certain, and public way before everything their talent promised could come to fruition. Can the Clippers catch lightning in a bottle this season? It’s a challenge, but maybe, just maybe, this edition of the Clippers will surprise us all.