LA Clippers History
The LA Clippers began in 1970 as the Buffalo Braves. They were one of three franchises that joined the NBA in the 1970-71 season, the others were the Portland Trail Blazers and Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Los Angeles Clippers play in the NBA (National Basketball Association). They LA Clippers is a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California.
Buffalo Braves 1970-1978
San Diego Clippers 1978-1984
Los Angeles Clippers 1984-present
LA Clippers History as a Buffalo Braves in 1970-1978
The Los Angeles Clippers first came into existence as the Buffalo Braves in 1970. The Braves were one of three expansion franchises to join the NBA that year (the Portland Trail Blazers and the Cleveland Cavaliers were the other two), as the league dueled with the upstart American Basketball Association for prominence. After struggling through their first few campaigns, the Braves soon found playoff success under the coaching of the legendary Dr. Jack Ramsay and high scoring Bob McAdoo. Unfortunately, drastic changes in the organization's ownership during the 1976-77 season threw the team into a tailspin, resulting in back-to-back losing seasons.
LA Clippers History as a San Diego Clippers in 1978-1984
Following a proposal by then-NBA attorney David Stern, the Braves were allowed to leave Buffalo after the 1977-78 season for San Diego. The deal was a complicated one, as Buffalo Braves owner John Y. Brown traded places with Boston Celtics owner Irv Levin. Levin, a California businessman, was unhappy in Boston and relished the opportunity to own a team in his home state.
LA Clippers History from 1984 to present
Levin immediately renamed the club the LA Clippers due to San Diego's bustling harbor and seaside locale.
Under Levin, the LA Clippers posted respectable records, but could not seem to reach the playoffs due to a loaded Western Conference. In the Los Angeles Clippers' first San Diego season, their 43 victories were impressive, but just shy of playoff caliber. That year, six Western Conference playoff teams tallied at least 45 victories.
After missing the playoffs for the third straight year, LA Clippers ownership again changed hands as Beverly Hills attorney and real estate mogul Donald T. Sterling purchased the team in June of 1981. Despite the play of new additions Tom Chambers and Terry Cummings, the LA Clippers continued to struggle in San Diego over the next few seasons. Injuries plagued the team and box office numbers plummeted. Finally, with attendance averaging fewer than 4,500 fans per game for the third consecutive season, Sterling moved the team north to Los Angeles in 1984.
On November 1, 1984, the LA Clippers debuted at the Los Angeles Sports Arena with a 107-105 win over the New York Knicks. The arena became the team's home for the next fifteen seasons, during which the franchise snapped a playoff draught, hired NBA legend Elgin Baylor as Vice President of Basketball Operations, and landed 2 #1 overall draft picks in a 10 year span.
The 1998-99 campaign marked the LA Clippers' final season at the L.A. Sports Arena as the team again changed addresses. In 1999-00, the franchise moved just up the street into the new state-of-the-art STAPLES Center in downtown Los Angeles. The transition to STAPLES Center resulted in record-breaking attendance marks for the LA Clippers and the franchise extended their lease for an additional 10 years before the start of the 2004-05 season.
In the summer of 2003, the LA Clippers inked forwards Elton Brand and Corey Maggette to long-term deals and brought in a former NBA Coach of the Year, Mike Dunleavy, to patrol the sidelines. Their leadership, combined with the play of Draft picks such as Shaun Livingston and Chris Kaman, helped Los Angeles improve steadily in the following seasons. Then in the summer of '05, the organization got another boost thanks to the additions of guards Sam Cassell and Cuttino Mobley.
The result for 2005-06 is an exciting group of players that have one thing and one thing only on their minds: playoff basketball.
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