Bet on NBA Basketball

1970-71
The franchise's first owner was Paul Snyder, who brought in NBA great Dolph Schayes to coach the Braves in their inaugural season. The team fielded the usual motley expansion crew. The starters included 6-8 center Bob "Horse" Kauffman, who had averaged 4.3 points the previous season with the Chicago Bulls; 6-4 forward Don May, who had been good for 2.6 points per game for the 1969-70 New York Knickerbockers; guard Eldo "Dick" Garrett, who brought a scoring average of 11.6 points per game from the Los Angeles Lakers; Emmette Bryant, who had scored 7.8 points per game with the Boston Celtics; and rookie John Hummer, a 6-9 forward out of Princeton.

The first-year Braves achieved typical expansion-team results, finishing the 1970-71 campaign with a 22-60 record and in last place in the Atlantic Division. Despite the poor showing, Buffalo was not the worst team in the league-fellow expansion club Cleveland spared the Braves that embarrassment by losing 15 in a row to start the season and posting a 15-67 record overall.

The Braves did produce a pair of 20-point scorers in Kauffman (20.4 ppg) and May (20.2). For May it was the only season in his seven-year career in which he averaged more than 10 points. Kauffman was rewarded for his efforts with a berth in the 1971 NBA All-Star Game.

1971-72
The second-year version of the Braves added a pair of decent rookies named Smith. Elmore Smith, a 7-1 center, finished sixth in the league in rebounding with 15.2 boards per game, while averaging 17.3 points. Randy Smith, who played forward despite standing only 6-3, added 13.4 points per game. Another newcomer was Walt Hazzard, a seven-year veteran who had come to the Braves from the Atlanta Hawks. In what would prove to be his final full season, Hazzard averaged 15.8 points while leading the team with 5.6 assists per contest. Kauffman paced the club in scoring with 18.9 points per game, and made his second straight All-Star Game appearance.

Despite the additions, the Braves were weak offensively. The club scored the fewest points in the league (102.0 ppg) and recorded the second-fewest assists. Buffalo was especially poor at the foul line, making the fewest trips to the charity stripe and finishing last in the league in free throws made.

It all added up to another losing season for the Braves, who finished the 1971-72 campaign with a 22-60 record. Elmore Smith was a bright spot, however, earning a berth on the NBA All-Rookie Team alongside Sidney Wicks, Austin Carr, Phil Chenier, and Clifford Ray.

1972-73
In 1972-73 Buffalo boasted the NBA's best rookie in Bob McAdoo. However, McAdoo alone couldn't change the team's fortunes. Playing under new coach Jack Ramsay, the team slipped back by a game, winning only 21 for the year. Only Philadelphia, with a record-setting 9-73 mark, kept the Braves from posting the worst record in the league. Seven of Buffalo's wins came against the hapless 76ers.

McAdoo put up convincing numbers for the Braves, averaging 18.0 points and 9.1 rebounds. He was rewarded with the NBA Rookie of the Year Award at season's end. The only Braves player to lead the league in any category was Elmore Smith, who had the dubious distinction of fouling out of a league-high 16 contests. Kauffman (17.5 ppg) again represented Buffalo in the NBA All-Star Game.

1973-74
The 1973-74 Braves were the NBA's most pleasant surprise. The team took a gamble by trading young center Elmore Smith to the Lakers for Jim McMillian, a solid small forward who had averaged better than 18 points in his previous two seasons in Los Angeles. That trade allowed Coach Ramsay to move McAdoo to center. The Braves also added Garfield Heard at the power forward spot and rookie Ernie DiGregorio at the point guard position.

Ramsay's moves paid off. Buffalo chalked up a 42-40 record and earned the first playoff berth in franchise history. McAdoo led the league in scoring, averaging 30.6 points, and he finished third in rebounding with 15.1 boards per contest. DiGregorio topped the circuit with 8.2 assists per game and became the second Braves player in as many years to be named NBA Rookie of the Year.

The Braves were second to no one when it came to putting the ball in the basket. The team led the league in scoring, pouring in 111.6 points per game. But Buffalo also featured the weakest defense in the NBA, surrendering an average of 111.8 points per contest.

Buffalo faced Boston in the first round of the 1974 NBA Playoffs and put up a respectable fight. After four contests the series was knotted at two games apiece. The more experienced Celtics then eked out close wins in Game 5 and Game 6 to take the series.

1974-75
Injuries hobbled the Braves during the 1974-75 season, but the campaign was the start of a two-year run that still is considered the franchise's glory years. Three key players went down with injuries: Heard missed 15 games, McMillian sat out 20, and DiGregorio was absent for 51. But with McAdoo at center, Buffalo was still an offensive force to reckon with. The 6-9 post player combined a guard's shooting touch with a forward's leaping ability, and he outshot and outjumped the rest of the league on his way to a second straight scoring title (34.5 ppg) and the NBA Most Valuable Player Award.

The Braves were quick out of the starting gate, winning four of five games to open the season. The club won 11 straight in November, and December saw a four-game winning streak. In January they managed to string together seven straight victories and went 11-4 overall. A pair of three-game streaks in February and a five-game streak in March helped propel the team to a 49-33 record and a second-place finish in the Atlantic Division.

Buffalo squared off against the Washington Bullets in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. For the second straight year the Braves found themselves tied at two wins apiece after four playoff games. Washington took Game 5, 97-93; then Buffalo came back to force Game 7 by beating the Bullets, 102-96, in Game 6. In the deciding contest Washington took the title with a convincing 115-96 victory.

1975-76
In the 1975-76 season, Buffalo continued to rack up impressive offensive numbers. The team finished the 1975-76 campaign ranked second in the NBA in points, assists, and field-goal percentage. The Braves featured two of the league's top three in field-goal percentage, with Jim McMillian at .536 and John Shumate at .56081, second to Wes Unseld's .56085. Bob McAdoo once again led the league in scoring, averaging 31.1 points-his third straight scoring championship and the third season in a row in which he averaged better than 30 points. McAdoo and Randy Smith (21.8 ppg) represented the team at the 1976 NBA All-Star Game.

The Braves entered the postseason with a 46-36 record, good for a second-place tie with Philadelphia in the Atlantic Division. The two teams went toe-to-toe in a first-round best-of-three series, which Buffalo survived by virtue of a one-point overtime win in Game 3. The Braves went on to meet the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semifinals and lost, four games to two. It would be 15 years before the franchise produced a playoff team again.

1976-77
During the summer of 1976, John Y. Brown, the former owner of the ABA's Kentucky Colonels, bought a 50-percent stake in the Braves from owner Paul Snyder, then subsequently purchased Snyder's remaining stake in the club. Altogether, Brown spent $6.2 million to purchase the team. The transaction included a provision stating that if Brown sold any of the Braves' players, the money would go to Snyder and the purchase price would be reduced.

Brown did exactly that. Partway into the 1976-77 season the new owner sold McAdoo to the New York Knicks for $3 million. He then sold half interest in the franchise to Harry Mangurian for a reported $3 million. From a business standpoint it may have been a shrewd deal-Brown came away owning 50 percent of an NBA franchise for approximately $200,000. But on the court the results were disastrous. Buffalo used up three head coaches during the year and fell to 30-52 for a fourth-place finish in the Atlantic Division. Only a fine rookie year by 6-5 Notre Dame product Adrian Dantley, who averaged 20.3 points, offered a ray of hope.

The poor showing led to a sharp drop in attendance. After drawing more than 400,000 fans per season during the previous three years, the Braves attracted only 318,398 spectators during the 1976-77 campaign. Owner Brown renegotiated his lease on Buffalo Memorial Coliseum to include an escape clause that would allow him to move the club if the Braves couldn't sell at least 4,500 season tickets for the upcoming campaign. When ticket sales fell short of the mark, he began looking for a new city for the franchise.

1977-78
In the face of declining attendance, Braves owner John Y. Brown found a new city for the Braves franchise at the 1977 NBA owners meeting. The Boston Celtics were owned by Irv Levin, a California businessman who was unhappy in Boston. Levin wanted to own a club that played closer to his home state. NBA attorney David Stern (who later became the league's commissioner) proposed a novel solution: the Braves would move to San Diego, and Brown and Levin would swap franchises.

While all this was going on in the front office, in 1977-78 the Buffalo Braves were floundering on the basketball court under new coach Cotton Fitzsimmons. Buffalo traded Adrian Dantley to the Indiana Pacers for Billy Knight and George Johnson to the New Jersey Nets for Nate "Tiny" Archibald, but Archibald missed the season after tearing his Achilles tendon during training camp. The club reached the end of November with a surprising 10-10 record, but it was all downhill from there. The Braves were 3-10 in December, 3-9 in January, and 3-10 in February. Buffalo then hit bottom, losing 13 of 14 to close out the campaign, arriving at a final mark of 27-55. Only the New Jersey Nets won fewer games that year.

In June 1978, NBA owners voted 21-1 to allow the Buffalo Braves to move to San Diego and to let Levin and Brown swap franchises. The deal included a complicated seven-player trade in which the Celtics acquired Archibald, Knight, and Marvin Barnes. Most importantly, Boston retained the draft rights to Larry Bird. San Diego received Freeman Williams, back-up center Kevin Kunnert, and power forwards Kermit Washington and Sidney Wicks.

1978-79
San Diego had not been home to an NBA basketball club since 1971, when the San Diego Rockets had moved to Houston after a four-year stay in southern California. Levin renamed his club the Clippers and appointed Gene Shue as the new head coach for 1978-79. The Clippers got a good performance out of Lloyd B. Free (later known as World B. Free), who had come to San Diego after three years in Philadelphia. Free averaged 28.8 points and finished second in the league in scoring, only 0.8 points per game behind league leader George Gervin of the San Antonio Spurs. Also turning in a solid season for the Clippers was Randy Smith, who finished his fourth consecutive season with a scoring average of better than 20 points per game (20.5).

Levin's franchise performed well in its first year in San Diego, finishing with a 43-39 record. Unfortunately, the record wasn't good enough to earn the team a playoff berth in the Western Conference, which boasted six teams with at least 45 victories each.

1979-80
San Diego took a huge risk in the 1979 summer by signing free agent Bill Walton from Portland. The 6-11 redhead with the fragile feet had missed the entire previous season because of injury. The acquisition backfired, and the Clippers were forced to give Kermit Washington, Kevin Kunnert, and a first-round draft choice as compensation. Walton reinjured his foot and played only 14 games for San Diego.

The result was a losing season for the Clippers. After six weeks the club stood at 11-15. Coach Shue somehow coaxed a six-week stretch of winning basketball out of his undermanned squad, as San Diego posted a 16-6 record from December 6 to January 16. But the team won only eight more games the rest of the way, ending with a 35-47 mark and a fifth-place finish in the Pacific Division.

The squad did get a couple of star performances during the 1979-80 season. Lloyd B. Free continued to pour in the points, averaging 30.2 points and finishing second in the league in scoring, again behind George Gervin. Swen Nater (who had served as Walton's backup in college) led the NBA in rebounding with 15.0 boards per game. Second-year guard Freeman Williams also turned in a good season, chipping in 18.6 points per contest.

1980-81
Paul Silas replaced Shue as head coach before the 1980-81 campaign, and the Clippers traded Lloyd B. Free to the Golden State Warriors for six-year veteran Phil Smith and a first-round draft choice. But the year was over for San Diego before it began-during training camp Walton's feet gave out once again, and he missed the entire season.

The Clippers were no worse than the year before, finishing at 36-46. SWen Nater pulled down 12.4 boards per game to rank second in the league. Freeman Williams led the team with 19.3 points per game and Phil Smith added 16.8 points per contest. But once again the team occupied fifth place in the Pacific Division, the fifth year in a row that the franchise had failed to qualify for the postseason.

1981-82
On June 16, 1981, the team changed hands once again when Beverly Hills attorney and real estate mogul Donald T. Sterling bought the club from Ira Levin. Despite the change, the 1981-82 season was an especially difficult one. Center Bill Walton missed another year, Freeman Williams and Phil Smith were traded away, and Swen Nater missed 61 games because of a knee injury. The Clippers opened the campaign with a 125-110 win over the Rockets, then lost 10 of their next 11 games. December brought a nine-game losing streak. The team's best month was January, when it managed a 6-9 record. Halfway through the season, San Diego's record was only 13-29.

The Clippers unraveled from that point on. After splitting the first two games in February, the club lost eight straight before finally winning a game in San Antonio. A seven-game losing streak followed, then the Clippers beat San Antonio again to break the slump. (Incidentally, the Spurs won the Midwest Division that year with a 48-34 record.)

After the March 9 victory against San Antonio, San Diego dropped an embarrassing 19 straight before pulling out a win against the Portland Trail Blazers on the final day of the season. The franchise ended up in last place in the Pacific Division with a 17-65 record. Only Cleveland's 15-67 showing was worse.

San Diego fans took some comfort in the performance of rookie forward Tom Chambers, who averaged a team-leading 17.2 points. The Clippers struggled at the box office, however, averaging only 4,344 fans per game, and owner Sterling began lobbying to move the club to Los Angeles.

1982-83
When the 1982-83 season opened the Clippers had reason for optimism. Bill Walton, whose injured feet had limited him to only 14 games during the previous four years, was back. Tom Chambers was coming off a fine rookie campaign. And the team had added veteran guard Lionel Hollins and had picked up promising rookie Terry Cummings in the 1982 NBA Draft.

Only Chambers and Cummings performed up to expectations, however. Cummings earned NBA Rookie of the Year honors by averaging 23.7 points and 10.6 rebounds, while Chambers added 17.6 points per contest. On the downside, injuries limited Walton to 33 games and Hollins to 56.

The Clippers lost seven straight to start the season, then dropped 13 of 14 games from November 26 to December 23. On New Year's Day the club's record stood at a woeful 6-26. Head Coach Paul Silas coaxed a 14-13 performance out of his club during January and February, but San Diego then opened March by losing eight out of nine. The club won four games and lost two during the final 11 days of the month, then dropped the next nine games to finish the year at 25-57. Although this represented an eight-game improvement over the previous season, it didn't help at the box office-the team drew an average of only 3,875 fans per game.

1983-84
Paul Silas's reign as head coach came to an end after the 1982-83 season, when he was replaced by Jim Lynam. Silas left the Clippers with a three-year record of 78-168 and a .317 winning percentage. The franchise made some major changes on the court as well. With Bill Walton a big question mark in the middle, the Clippers sent Chambers to the Seattle SuperSonics in exchange for 7-2 center James Donaldson. The team also picked up Norm Nixon in a deal that sent Swen Nater and rookie draftee Byron Scott to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Walton managed to play 55 games of the 1983-84 season, averaging 12.1 points and 8.7 rebounds. Terry Cummings turned in another exemplary performance, scoring 22.9 points and corralling 9.6 rebounds per contest. Nixon handed out 11.1 assists per game to tie for second in the NBA. The Clippers also featured second-year shooting guard Ricky Pierce, who would go on to win the NBA Sixth Man Award with the Milwaukee Bucks and then play for the Seattle SuperSonics teams in the early 1990s. Pierce averaged fewer than 20 minutes per game but still managed to average 9.9 points.

San Diego lost the season opener to Portland, then beat the Denver Nuggets, 141-128, to post a 1-1 record for October. It was the only .500 month the team would see for the remainder of the season. The Clippers' best showing was in March, when they went 7-9. The club did manage to win three games in a row three times during the season, but that was more than offset by a trio of six-game losing streaks, a pair of four-game losing streaks, and three three-game losing streaks. The overall tally was 30-52 for a last-place finish in the Pacific Division.

1984-85
In 1984, owner Donald Sterling moved the Clippers to Los Angeles. But a new home was not the only change for the team. The Clippers sent Cummings, Pierce, and Craig Hodges to the Milwaukee Bucks for Marques Johnson, Junior Bridgeman, Harvey Catchings, and cash. Also new to the team was first-round draft choice Michael Cage.

The blockbuster trade with Milwaukee seemed to have bolstered the Clippers as they entered the 1984-85 season. Johnson had averaged better than 20 points in five of the previous six seasons, and Bridgeman was a solid bench player who could provide points and rebounds. Unfortunately, the change of scenery didn't produce a change in productivity-the Clippers went 31-51 in their first season in Los Angeles.

The team opened the season with two games on the road, then debuted at the Los Angeles Sports Arena on November 1, 1984, with a 107-105 win over the New York Knicks. The Clippers were 6-12 at the end of November, but in December the squad put together six straight victories on their way to posting a winning month at 8-7. Los Angeles reached the high-water mark of their season on December 19 when a win over the SuperSonics gave the Clippers a 14-14 record. After that the team embarked on a seven-game losing streak.

By March 3 the Clippers had logged a 22-39 record, and Coach Lynam was looking for a new job. Los Angeles elevated one of Lynam's assistants, Don Chaney, to the head coaching spot. A 113-112 victory over Indiana ended an 11-game losing streak that spanned the end of the Lynam era and the beginning of Chaney's reign. The Clippers lost their first five games under Chaney, although the team actually played well for him during the final month of the season. The club went 9-7 in the season's final 16 games, finishing with a 31-51 record for the year.

Derek Smith, acquired as a free agent before the 1983-84 season, exploded in 1984-85, leading the club with 22.1 points per game. Norm Nixon (17.2 ppg), Marques Johnson (16.4 ppg), and Junior Bridgeman (13.9 ppg) also made strong contributions. Bill Walton remained healthy for 67 games and played an average of 24.6 minutes per contest. He put up decent numbers, with 10.1 points and 9.0 rebounds per game.

The Clippers finally gave up on Bill Walton after choosing 7-foot center Benoit Benjamin with the third overall pick in the 1985 NBA Draft. One month before the start of training camp Los Angeles dealt Walton to the Boston Celtics for Cedric Maxwell, a 1986 first-round draft choice, and cash. As luck would have it, Walton stayed healthy for 80 games in 1985-86, winning the NBA Sixth Man Award and helping the Celtics to the NBA Championship.

1985-86
The 1985-86 Clippers proved to be a streaky team. Los Angeles won its first five games, then lost eight straight. During the losing streak the Clippers were dealt a crushing blow when Derek Smith injured a knee and was lost for the season. The club's leading scorer the previous year, Smith had averaged 23.5 points through the season's first 11 games before becoming injured. Los Angeles had fallen to 13-28 by mid-January but then took 4 straight and 8 of the next 12 to climb back to near-respectability at 21-32.

The Clippers finished with a 32-50 record and missed the playoffs despite sending Marques Johnson to the 1986 NBA All-Star Game. On April 15, only two days after the end of the regular season, owner Donald Sterling hired Hall of Famer and former Lakers star Elgin Baylor to run the team's basketball operations.

1986-87
Despite the arrival of Elgin Baylor to Clippers front office, the 1986-87 season proved to be a difficult one. The Clippers didn't have a first-round draft pick in the 1986 NBA Draft, and they managed to wring only one game and six minutes of playing time out of the two players they did draft. Injuries robbed the Clippers of the services of Norm Nixon, who missed the entire season, and Marques Johnson, who sat out all but 10 games. Los Angeles also traded Derek Smith and Junior Bridgeman prior to the season, sending both to the Sacramento Kings in a deal that brought Larry Drew and Mike Woodson to the Clippers. The end result was an painful 12-70 record.

The Clippers started the season respectably enough, posting a 3-3 record through the first six games, but the bottom fell out after that. Following a 115-112 win over the Nuggets on November 11, Los Angeles lost a dozen consecutive games. Seattle obliged the Clippers by falling to them on December 10, but 16 more losses ensued. Denver fell to the Clippers for a second time on January 14, which led to yet another losing streak, this time lasting five games. In the wake of a 20-point defeat at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks on January 26, the Clippers were 5-36 and seemed poised to break Philadelphia's all-time futility record of only nine wins in a season. However, Los Angeles managed to win 5 of its next 13 games, reaching the end of February with 10 victories. But the rest of the season was still tenuous, as the team only managed to tally two more victories for the season.

1987-88
At the end of the 1986-87 season, the Clippers replaced Coach Chaney, bringing back Gene Shue. But Shue didn't fare much better during the 1987-88 campaign. Los Angeles won eight games during the first two months of the season, then eked out only nine more wins in the final four months to finish at 17-65.

There was a bit of suspense on the final day of the campaign. Clippers forward Michael Cage and Chicago Bulls forward Charles Oakley had battled all season for the league's rebounding crown. Cage needed a big day on the boards against Seattle on April 24, and he pulled down 30 rebounds in that contest to edge Oakley by the slimmest of margins-13.03 rebounds per game to 13.00. However, the Clippers dealt Cage to the SuperSonics after the season for draft rights to Gary Grant and a 1989 first-round draft choice.

1988-89
The franchise got lucky during the offseason. On May 21, 1988, the Clippers won the NBA Draft Lottery for the first time, and five weeks later the team used the No. 1 pick in the draft to select Danny Manning, a multitalented 6-10 forward from the University of Kansas. But Manning went down with a knee injury only 26 games into the 1988-89 season and was lost for the rest of the schedule. In Manning's absence the Clippers received strong contributions from rookie forward Charles Smith (16.3 ppg) and second-year forward Ken Norman (18.1 ppg).

However, the Clippers continued to struggle. After 38 games Shue was replaced as head coach by Don Casey, who had coached nine seasons at Temple University and had then spent two years as an NBA assistant. With Casey at the helm the team went 11-33 to finish at 21-61 overall.

1989-90
In the 1989 NBA Draft Lottery the Clippers lucked out once again, this time winning the second overall pick. Los Angeles selected Duke's Danny Ferry, but Ferry refused to sign with the struggling club and opted instead to play professionally in Italy. General Manager Elgin Baylor effectively stopped the bleeding when, two weeks into the 1989-90 season, he traded Ferry's rights along with Reggie Williams to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Ron Harper, a pair of first-round draft choices, and a second-round pick. (Ferry would return to the United States and join the Cavs for the 1990-91 season.)

The 1989-90 Clippers seemed to be a talented team on the rise. The club now featured such promising young players as Manning, Smith, Harper, and Norman. The team had also stockpiled several No. 1 picks in the coming years. But bad luck continued to plague the franchise. Los Angeles had won six of seven games in mid-January to climb to 16-19 when Harper tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and was lost for the season-the same type of injury that had knocked Manning out the year before. In 28 games with the Clippers he averaged 23.0 points. The injury took the wind out of the Clippers' sails, and the team won only 14 more games the rest of the way, finishing at 30-52.

Manning returned from injury to play 71 games and average 16.3 points and 5.9 rebounds, leading the team in field-goal percentage at .533. Smith had a splendid all-around season, contributing 21.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.53 blocks per contest. Norman (16.1 ppg) also made strong offensive contributions, while Benoit Benjamin led the team in rebounding (9.3 rpg) and blocked shots (2.63 per game).

1990-91
After the 1989-90 season the Clippers replaced Coach Don Casey with Mike Schuler and continued to add young blood. With two first-round picks in the 1990 NBA Draft, Los Angeles selected Bo Kimble and Loy Vaught. Then, midway through the 1990-91 campaign, Los Angeles traded Benjamin to Seattle for Olden Polynice.

The 1990-91 Clippers won more games at home than they lost, a feat the franchise hadn't pulled off in five years. However, the team managed to tread water until December 14, when it slipped below .500 after a humiliating 40-point loss to the Chicago Bulls. When the dust finally settled the Clippers owned a 31-51 record and sixth place in the Pacific Division.

Charles Smith had another fine campaign, leading the team in scoring (20.0 ppg), rebounding (8.2 rpg), and blocked shots (145). Harper missed the season's first 41 games while recovering from his injured knee, but he returned to average 19.6 points in 39 contests. Norman continued his strong play at both forward spots, contributing 17.4 points per game, while Manning added 15.9 points per contest on .519 shooting from the field.

1991-92
The trades and draft picks of the Elgin Baylor era began to bear fruit during the 1991-92 campaign. With Manning and Harper leading the charge, the team jumped out to a 5-2 start. On November 30 the Clippers beat the Charlotte Hornets, 130-112. That win was the first of eight straight, the longest winning streak for the franchise since 1979.

After putting together a 14-10 record the team sputtered, and Head Coach Mike Schuler was replaced by Larry Brown, who left his post with the San Antonio Spurs. Los Angeles was 22-25 when Brown took over, and he whipped the team into contention by piloting it to a 23-12 record during the final three months of the season. That gave the Clippers a 45-37 mark. After 12 straight losing seasons the team had finished with a winning record.

The Clippers also earned a playoff berth. The last time the franchise had seen postseason action had been in 1976, when the team was still the Buffalo Braves. Los Angeles faced the Jazz in the first round of the playoffs and lost the first two games in Utah. The Clippers then evened the series by winning both games at home, although Game 4 was played in Anaheim because of the rioting in Los Angeles following the Rodney King verdict. Back in Utah for Game 5, the Jazz ended the Clippers' short playoff run with a 98-89 victory.

During the regular season Manning had developed into one of the league's best all-around forwards. Playing all 82 games for the first time in his career, he led the Clippers in scoring (19.3 ppg) and field-goal percentage (.542) while adding 6.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.65 steals, and 1.49 blocks per game. Harper also played his first full season and poured in 18.2 points per contest. Veteran point guard Doc Rivers, acquired from the Atlanta Hawks prior to the season, provided stability in the backcourt, sharing playmaking duties with Gary Grant and contributing 10.9 points and 3.9 assists per game.

1992-93
The Clippers were involved in another big trade shortly before the 1992-93 campaign began. As part of a three-team deal, Los Angeles surrendered Rivers, Bo Kimble, and Charles Smith to the New York Knicks, and a first-round draft choice to the Orlando Magic. In return the franchise acquired point guard Mark Jackson from the Knicks and center Stanley Roberts from the Magic, while the Knicks sent the Magic a first-round draft choice. Later that fall the Clippers sent William Bedford and the draft rights to Don MacLean to the Washington Bullets for John Williams. The trades gave the Clippers an All-Star point guard as well as plenty of bulk in the middle-Williams and Roberts each weighed a reported 295 pounds, although most observers suspected that both players tipped the scales at well over 300.

The Clippers lost three straight to start the 1992-93 season but finished November with a 7-6 record. A winning December followed, marking the first time since 1974 that the franchise had started a season with two consecutive winning months. When Los Angeles defeated Golden State by a single point on January 29, the club was assured of starting the month of February with a winning record, the first time that had happened since the franchise had left Buffalo.

The team split a dozen games in February, then struggled through March with a 6-10 mark. Head Coach Larry Brown rallied the troops in April, and a 7-5 record gave the Clippers a 41-41 mark for the year. Manning led the team in scoring with 22.8 points per game, and he made the first All-Star Game appearance by a Clippers player since Marques Johnson in 1986. Jackson fueled the Clippers' offense to the tune of 8.8 assists per game.

For a second straight year the Clippers made it into the playoffs. Los Angeles faced the Houston Rockets, and the series went the limit before the Rockets ousted the Clippers with an 84-80 win in Game 5.

1993-94
Larry Brown moved on to coach the Indiana Pacers for the 1993-94 season, but the Clippers began the season very competitive under new head coach Bob Weiss. The Clippers were 9-10 by mid-December, but unfortunately stumbled to 16-29 by the All-Star break and finished the season at 27-55.

One personnel change kept things interesting in the Clippers' camp during the second half. At the February 24 trading deadline, Danny Manning, the team's leading scorer, was traded to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Dominique Wilkins, who for years had been one of the NBA's top scorers and most exciting players.

Wilkins sparked the club to five straight wins after the trade, and the team entered March like a lion. However, they finished the month like a lamb, winning only 3 of their final 17 games. Wilkins finished the season with 26.0 points per game, fourth in the league. Ron Harper added 20.1 points per contest, and Mark Jackson ranked eighth in the league in assists (8.6 apg). After the season Clippers management fired Weiss and replaced him with Bill Fitch.

1994-95
The loss of Dominique Wilkins and Ron Harper to free agency robbed the Los Angeles Clippers of their two best scorers in 1994-95, while injuries kept the team's two top big men, Stanley Roberts and Elmore Spencer, out of action for practically all season. (Spencer played only 19 games.) These events left the club extremely thin on talent, and the results were disastrous. The Clippers ended the 1994-95 campaign with a 17-65 record, tying the 1987-88 and 1981-82 Clippers for the second-worst record in franchise history. Only the 12-70 team of 1986-87 was worse.

Los Angeles opened the season by losing 16 games in a row, 1 short of the NBA record for consecutive losses to start a season. The Clippers ranked 24th in the league in field-goal percentage at .444 while allowing opponents to post a league-high .496 mark. The team lost 43 games by 10 or more points and led the league in personal fouls with 2,152. But under Head Coach Bill Fitch, who returned to the sidelines after two seasons away, the Clippers played hard every night and often challenged superior teams into the fourth quarter.
Forward Loy Vaught was the team's steadiest performer, averaging 17.5 points and 9.7 rebounds. Point guard Pooh Richardson, obtained from the Indiana Pacers in exchange for Mark Jackson, averaged 7.9 assists and joined Charles Outlaw (1.86 blocks per game) as the only Clippers to place on an NBA top 10 list. Rookie Lamond Murray was the team's second-leading scorer at 14.1 points per game, and fellow freshman Eric Piatkowski showed potential by finishing second on the team in three-pointers made with 74.

Los Angeles owned the second overall pick in the 1995 NBA Draft and selected underclassman Antonio McDyess out of Alabama. Later on draft day, the Clippers traded McDyess and guard Randy Woods to the Denver Nuggets for Rodney Rogers and the draft rights to Brent Barry.

1995-96
The Clippers were one of the most improved teams in the NBA in 1995-96. Brian Williams (acquired before the season for Elmore Spencer) and longtime Clipper Loy Vaught quickly established the fact that the Clippers would not be pushed around, leading the team to a 6-3 start.

Although they tailed off and ultimately finished at 29-53, they did post a 12-win improvement over 1994-95. Williams was a major reason why. He put up career numbers in scoring (15.8 ppg), rebounding (7.6 rpg) and assists (1.9 apg) and was a candidate for the NBA's Most Improved Player award.

Vaught continued to put up steady numbers in Los Angeles, leading the team in points (16.1 ppg) and rebounds (10.1 rpg).

Perhaps the most recognizable player on the Clippers by season's end was Brent Barry, son of Hall of Famer Rick Barry. Barry averaged 10.1 points per game in his rookie season, and was named to the All-Rookie Second Team. During All-Star Weekend, he took off from the free throw line and completed a "Jordan-esque," gravity-defying dunk to win the Slam-Dunk Championship.

Coach Bill Fitch, who had to endure substantial injuries to Stanley Roberts, Pooh Richardson, Malik Sealy and Rodney Rogers, did reach a career milestone, garnering his 865th win on Nov. 12 to move into fourth on the NBA's all-time win list.

1996-97
Preseason picks by nearly everyone to finish at or near the bottom of the Western Conference standings, Head Coach Bill Fitch and the Clippers spent the 1996-97 season proving the experts wrong, posting 36 wins and earning their first trip to the playoffs since the 1992-93 season.

The Clippers overcame the free agent departure of Brian Williams and injuries to three big men to reach the postseason party, compensating for their lack of size with true grit and team basketball. On their way to the playoffs, the Clippers handed the Utah Jazz one of their 18 losses, posted wins over the Rockets and Sonics and notched two victories over their crosstown rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers.

Utah exacted its revenge with a first-round sweep of the Clippers in the playoffs, but that failed to diminish the positives. Loy Vaught, one of the game's most underrated players, tied for eighth in the league in rebounds (10.0 rpg) and was the team's high-scorer (14.9 ppg).

Vaught was surrounded by an unselfish nucleus that included guards Malik Sealy, Darrick Martin, Terry Dehere and Pooh Richardson, forwards Brent Barry, Rodney Rogers, Charles Outlaw and Lamond Murray and center Lorenzen Wright. Each averaged better than 14 minutes per game for Fitch, who produced one of his best coaching efforts after undergoing emergency triple-bypass surgery two months before training camp.

1997-98
The Clippers were deemed overachievers in 1997-98, so a 17-65 season in 1997-98 was a hard pill to swallow for veteran coach Bill Fitch. The tone for the 1997-98 season was set early, when Loy Vaught's degenerative disc condition in his lower back limited him to only 10 early-season games. Stepping it up in the absence of Vaught and free-agent losses Malik Sealy and Bo Outlaw was forward Lamond Murray, who enjoyed his finest pro season, averaging 15.5 ppg and 6.1 rpg. Murray, in his fourth pro season, led the team in scoring and was also solid defensively, leading Los Angeles with 1.45 steals per game.

Murray was one of six players to average double-figures under Fitch, who employed a multitude of different starting lineups this season and had 11 players that averaged 10 or more minutes per game, including Maurice Taylor (11.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg), a promising rookie from Michigan. The team's leading rebounder was second-year pro Lorenzen Wright, who averaged 8.8 rpg.

Wins were tough to come by, despite a team that never quit. The Clippers came up with their most impressive win on Feb. 3, a 111-102 victory over the Utah Jazz, the eventual conference champion. Coach Fitch reached a milestone on February 25, when the Clippers recorded a 117-108 win over Philadelphia. The win was #939 for the 63-year-old coach, moving him past Red Auerbach into second place in career NBA wins. His milestone win featured a solid 19-point, 12-rebound effort from Isaac Austin, who had been acquired only days earlier from the Miami Heat in exchange for Brent Barry. Austin, a hard-working center, averaged 13.5 ppg and 7.1 rpg on the season and ended the year as the Clippers' staring center.

Fitch's most memorable win this season may have been his 941st, on March 13. The Clippers out-dueled the Toronto Raptors, 152-120, in perhaps the craziest NBA contest played all season. The Clippers shot 69.3 percent from the field, and their 152 points were the most in any NBA game since Dallas scored 156 in a double-overtime victory over Houston on April 11, 1995.

The highlight of the Clippers' season occurred weeks after the season was over. Los Angeles drew the top overall selection in the 1998 NBA Draft Lottery and tabbed center Michael Olowokandi. The Clippers began the off-season hoping to lure free agents and keep the talented players they have, including Austin. They also began their search for a coach to replace Fitch, relieved of his duties after four seasons on the Clippers' bench.

1998-99
A rocky start to the lockout-shortened season was too much for the Los Angeles Clippers to overcome, despite the play of second-year forward Maurice Taylor. Taylor averaged 16.8 points in 32.7 minutes per game and shot 46.1 percent from the field, leading the team in all three categories.

Los Angeles also added three notable newcomers: coach Chris Ford, who brought experience from his head-coaching stints with Boston and Milwaukee; center Michael Olowokandi, the top overall pick in the draft; and rookie swingman Tyrone Nesby. three categories.

Olowokandi averaged 8.9 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.22 blocks in 28.4 minutes per game and was named to the All-Rookie Second Team. Nesby, who went undrafted out of UNLV, earned a spot on the Clippers' roster and contributed 10.1 points and 1.54 steals per game. three categories.

A 107-105 loss to Seattle on May 5 marked the Clippers' final regular-season game at the L.A. Sports Arena, their home since 1984. In 1999-2000 the team would move into the Staples Center, a brand-new arena the Clippers would share with the Los Angeles Lakers.