The 'No-Name' Team Era (1980s)
From Buffalo to San Diego to Los Angeles: The Clippers' journey.
The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The team plays its home games at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, beginning with the 2024–25 NBA season. Previously, the Clippers played their home games at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles from 1999 to 2024, which they had shared with the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers, the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). They are frequently referred to by their fans as 'the Clips' or 'LAC'.
Quick Facts
- Notable figure
- No single figure defined the era; the team was a revolving door of players and coaches
Lore & Background
The franchise was founded as the Buffalo Braves in 1970 as an expansion team. Led by Hall of Famer Bob McAdoo, the Braves reached the NBA playoffs three times during their eight seasons in Buffalo. Conflicts with the Canisius Golden Griffins over Buffalo Memorial Auditorium and the sale of the franchise led to their relocation from Buffalo to San Diego, California, in 1978 and subsequent rebranding as the San Diego Clippers, in reference to the sailing ships seen in San Diego Bay. The team saw little success on the court and missed the playoffs during all six of their years in San Diego. In 1984, owner Donald Sterling relocated the franchise to Los Angeles with NBA Board of Governors approval, though a legal dispute later arose over the relocation fee and conditions. Over the course of their first 27 seasons in Los Angeles, the Clippers qualified for the postseason only four times and won a single playoff round. As a result, they have been frequently described as a perennial loser in American professional sports, drawing unfavorable comparisons to the historically successful Lakers. The Clippers' reputation improved during the 2010s, which saw them transform into consistent postseason contenders. Aided by the Lob City lineup of Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, and Chris Paul, the team qualified for the playoffs in six consecutive seasons from 2012 to 2017 and won two consecutive division titles in 2013 and 2014, both firsts for the franchise. Despite this success, the Clippers struggled in the postseason and were frequently eliminated in the Conference Semifinals; the team reached the conference finals for the first time in 2021. To date, they have never reached the NBA Finals, though they are not the oldest franchise in North American professional sports to have never played in a championship game.
Reader's Guide
The franchise began in Western New York as the Buffalo Braves, one of three NBA expansion franchises that began play in the 1970–71 season. They played their home games at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. After two bad seasons, the Braves' fortunes started to change under coach Jack Ramsay and star center Bob McAdoo. McAdoo led the NBA in scoring for three consecutive seasons and was named the league's MVP in the 1974–75 season. The Braves qualified for the playoffs three times in a row. Despite the team's modest success in Buffalo, Braves owner Paul Snyder and the league found it impossible to schedule home games at the auditorium because of the Canisius Golden Griffins men's basketball team, which had a pre-existing lease on the arena and priority on game dates over the Braves. After a failed attempt to sell the team to an owner who intended to move it to South Florida, Snyder sold the team to Kentucky Colonels owner John Y. Brown, Jr., who decimated the team's roster, traded away all of its stars, and drove attendance down. Eventually, Brown met with Celtics owner Irv Levin in 1978 so they could trade franchise ownerships. Southern California resident Levin then decided to move the Braves to San Diego. In 1978, San Diego welcomed the Braves franchise to the city. San Diego team officials did not think 'Braves' was a proper representative nickname for the club in San Diego, and a local naming contest ultimately decided on 'Clippers', in reference to the city being known for the great sailing ships that passed through San Diego Bay. The first head coach of the Clippers was chosen to be Gene Shue. The 1978–79 season started poorly, but by the All-Star game the Clippers had improved. Playing at the San Diego Sports Arena, the Clippers posted a record of 43–39 in their first season in California, leaving them two wins shy of the final playoff spot. The 1979–80 season saw the Clippers begin to struggle, despite adding center Bill Walton. San Diego finished 35–47. Paul Silas replaced Shue as head coach the following season, and the Clippers finished 36–46, again missing the postseason. The 1981–82 season brought ultimately unwelcome changes as Levin sold the team to Los Angeles–area real estate developer and attorney Donald Sterling for $12.5 million. The Clippers experienced poor play, and the team limped to a 17–65 record.
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