Streetlights over Spotlights: How the Clippers rebranded their culture
By Joey Linn
The culture shift:
The teardown of Lob City came with no shortage of assets in return. The Chris Paul trade in particular was the one that created much of what currently exists.
It was a perfect scenario for both sides, as Chris Paul could only get the 5-year max by re-signing with the Clippers, so a sign and trade with Houston would allow him to get to his destination with five guaranteed years while netting the Clippers some assets in return.
At the time of the trade, the feeling around the league was that the Clippers got a stopgap point guard in Patrick Beverley, an aging bench piece in Lou Williams, and a throw-in with Montrezl Harrell.
Patrick Beverley got injured early in his time with the Clippers, limiting him to just 11 games in his first season with the club. However, ask anyone on the team, and they will assure you that his presence was far from absent. From the sidelines and in the locker room, Bev was able to ensure that the speculated lack of camaraderie that plagued Lob City, would remain a thing of the past.
This all became nationally evident on January 15th, 2018, when Chris Paul made his return to Staples Center to face off with this new-look Clippers team. That date was Chris Paul’s return to LA for the first time since being traded.
Houston was a serious title contender, and the Clippers were struggling to remain in playoff contention with injuries to Bev, Gallo, and Austin Rivers. It was a back and forth game the entire way, and the tension between the two teams was prevalent throughout. The real fighting began when Blake ran up the sidelines during the 4th quarter and bumped into Mike D’Antoni.
Was it intentional? Knowing Blake, that seems likely, but D’Antoni was hot either way. Blake went on to score an and-one on Chris Paul, and CP lost his composure. He and his coach both went through the roof and began jawing at Blake. The last three minutes of the game would be more of the same.
A few possessions later, Blake was driving to the hoop when Trevor Ariza grabbed the back of his tights and ripped them apart. Blake, seemingly frustrated, stepped up and knocked down his free-throws. With about a minute left in the game, emotions boiled over and both Blake and Ariza were ejected. Blake left and pumped up up the crowd before tossing his jersey into the stands.
The fighting didn’t stop with the final buzzer, because Chris Paul led an angry group of players into the Clippers locker room. It ultimately led to the police being called, and infamously became one of the wildest nights in NBA Twitter history.
Pat Bev sent out a tweet after the game that said, “It’s a different culture in LA. No more soft [expletive] here!!!!” It was both a jab at CP3 and a statement that would signify an official change in the Clippers’ culture.
Blake would be traded 13 days later, so it can be easy to believe that the culture shift came entirely after he left. This is untrue, because he was right in the middle of the game that officially signified the end of the “soft era” in LA.