Best Draft Pick In LA Clippers History

Up until the 2011-12 season, the Clippers had been a franchise defined more by dysfunction than by success, regardless of where they resided (Buffalo, San Diego, or Los Angeles). Whether it was on the court or during the annual summer draft, the Clippers found new ways to struggle. One might think that their losing seasons would result in quality draft selections. While that has not always been the case, there have been a few times in which the Clippers actually got it right. 

Bob McAdoo deserves an honorable mention, selected second overall by the Buffalo Braves in 1972. In four+ seasons in Buffalo, McAdoo won the Rookie of the Year, three consecutive scoring titles, and the 1975 MVP award. A Hall of Famer, McAdoo was one of the most dominant offensive big men the game has ever seen.

Danny Manning, selected first overall in 1988, fresh off leading Kansas to the NCAA Championship, was immediately thought to be the savior of the franchise. However, those dreams were derailed by a torn ACL in his rookie season. Knee injuries would follow him throughout six seasons in LA, robbing the franchise of what should have been an elite career. 

Following a high school career in which he won four state championships, Blake Griffin found himself staying home to play for the University of Oklahoma. A 6'9" power forward built like a freight train with the athleticism of someone half his size, Griffin had the makings of a superstar. Playing just two seasons with the Sooners, Griffin dealt with a pair of knee injuries in his freshman season before leading the team to the Elite Eight in his sophomore year. As the consensus National Player of the Year, Griffin declared for the 2009 NBA Draft. 

Selected first overall by the Clippers, LA had high hopes that Griffin could help change the direction of a team that had finished the season 19-63. Before he played a single regular-season game, Griffin fractured his left kneecap in the preseason and missed the entire 2009-10 season. For a franchise that had already lived through Manning's history, it felt like a cruel case of déjà vu.

Griffin came back the following season in spectacular fashion. Averaging 22.5 points and 12.1 rebounds, he became the first player to win Rookie of the Year unanimously since David Robinson in 1990. He won the Slam Dunk Contest by leaping over a car, and almost overnight became the most exciting player in the league. Slowly, the Clippers were starting to put pieces of the puzzle together, increasing their win total season by season. When the Clippers acquired Chris Paul in 2011, the "Lob City" era was born, and for the first time in franchise history, the Clippers weren't just relevant, they were must-see television, appearing in prime-time games and nightly SportsCenter highlights. 

Over eight seasons in LA, Griffin averaged 21.6 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 4.2 assists, made five All-Star teams, and earned four All-NBA honors. Despite how popular and talented the Clippers had become during his tenure with the team, Griffin was never able to take the team to the promised land, going only as far as three trips to the Western Conference Semifinals. Despite being a focal point for the team and in the prime of his career, Griffin was traded to Detroit in 2018 in a six-player deal that caught most of the basketball world off guard.

McAdoo may have been a star in Buffalo, but his time with the Clippers was too short, as was Manning’s due to injury. Griffin, on the other hand, gave the franchise what it desperately needed: an identity. While he was unable to take the team to the NBA mountaintop, he was one of the main reasons for the basketball world to take notice of Los Angeles’s other team.