10 greatest Clippers in franchise history, ranked

The Los Angeles Clippers franchise, throughout its history, hasn’t achieved the most success, thanks in large part to the severe mismanagement it went through for years. But that does not mean that the franchise hasn’t had plenty of talented individuals don a Clippers uniform and lead the team to varying degrees of success — especially over the past decade or so.

However, given the Clippers’ franchise ineptitude for most of its years in existence, the franchise that once called Buffalo and San Diego its home doesn’t exactly have the deepest pool of players to choose from when ranking the 10 greatest players in its history.

This list will primarily take into consideration their statistical contributions and just how well those translated to winning basketball.

Honorable Mentions: Bob Kauffman, Ron Harper, World B. Free, Corey Maggette, Jamal Crawford

10. Chris Kaman

Not too many Clippers all-time lists would include Chris Kaman in the top 10, which isn’t the most preposterous thing in the world. Kaman’s statistical profile doesn’t exactly jump off the page. During his eight-year tenure with the team, he averaged 11.8 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 493 games — solid numbers, but not exactly greatest in franchise history-esque statistics.

However, Kaman played an instrumental role in dragging the Clippers out of the dregs of the NBA. He became the team’s defensive anchor as the team posted a top-10 defensive rating during the 2005-06 season — the Clippers’ first winning season after 12 straight seasons of below .500 finishes.

If not for some injury troubles, Chris Kaman may have had a much better Clippers career than the one he had — which was already pretty good in the first place.

9. Paul George

These days, it seems like the Clippers fanbase is split over its perception of Paul George. On one hand, fans feel like trading away Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (and many, many picks) for George was a fatal mistake, while others believe that George leading the franchise to heights it has never seen in the past was worth it.

Whatever the case may be, there’s no question that George was one of the greatest to ever suit up for the Clippers. The mere fact that it was George who led the way for the team during the franchise’s first (and still only) trip to the Western Conference Finals speaks volumes — especially when it came in the aftermath of Kawhi Leonard’s season-ending injury in 2021.

Since then, however, Paul George battled through injuries, dampening his stock considerably. His final season in L.A. was his healthiest, but it still resulted in a first-round playoff exit. George then left the Clippers to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers, ending his

8. Danny Manning

The Clippers, after many years of putridity, finally lucked into the first overall pick during the 1988 NBA Draft. They used that pick to select Danny Manning, one of the best collegiate players of all-time, in hopes of turning their franchise around.

And Manning, even though he didn’t go on to have a Hall of Fame-worthy career, certainly tried to do his part in turning the Clippers’ fortunes. He was the Clippers’ best player during their last winning season in the 1990s, emerging as a versatile scoring forward who was also a pest on the defensive end. Manning made the All-Star team as a Clipper in two consecutive seasons, owing to his solid work as a top-25 player during his peak.

But as is the case with stars of the Clippers franchise, Danny Manning may not have reached his ceiling as an NBA star after he tore his ACL as a rookie.

7. Randy Smith

I’ll give you three guesses as to who the all-time leading scorer of the Clippers franchise is. If you guessed Randy Smith, then you win the prize of being the ultimate Clippers nerd! (Not that that’s a bad thing, of course.)

It seems almost unfair to leave out any franchise’s leading scorer out of its top-10 greatest players list, so Smith makes the cut by virtue of being a solid player for the team for eight seasons. Not only did he tally some solid numbers (17.8 points, 4.9 assists and 4.2 rebounds in 715 games) as well as two All-Star nods as a Clipper, he also remained healthy, playing 82 games for the franchise in seven consecutive seasons before departing for the Cleveland Cavaliers via trade.

6. Elton Brand

Elton Brand was the face of the franchise back when many thought the Clippers were finally figuring out a way out of their historical ineptitude.

At his peak, Brand was one of the best low-post scoring presences in the league, a nightly 20-10 threat who was also a menacing defensive presence in the paint. (During the Clippers’ 47-win 2005-06 season, Brand averaged 2.5 blocks, forming a formidable duo with Chris Kaman on the interior.)

Brand averaged 20.3 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.7 dimes in 459 games as a Clipper, making the All-Star team twice. It’s a shame, however, that the Clippers didn’t sustain their success with Brand in town, thanks in large part to the ruptured Achilles tendon he suffered that cut the peak of his career short en route to his exit via free agency to the Philadelphia 76ers.

5. DeAndre Jordan