Earlier this week, Paul George’s disappointing tenure with the Los Angeles Clippers came to a close as he left the team to join the Philadelphia 76ers. When the forward teamed up with Kawhi Leonard in 2019, the consensus was that the duo would lead the franchise to a title. Analyst Chris Broussard was among those backing them to end the Clippers’ championship drought. However, following George’s exit, he tried to wash his hands off the claim. But fellow analyst Nick Wright brought receipts to mock his co-star.
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During a segment of First Things First, co-host Kevin Wildes asked Broussard, “How will you remember your Clippers?” The analyst got defensive and dismissed the notion that LA was his team and denied backing them to win the title. However, Wright immediately reminded him that he picked the Clippers to make the Western Conference Finals before the 2023-24 season commenced. He said,
“You literally picked them this year to make the Conference Finals… Every year you take them.”
After getting busted, Broussard began justifying the Clippers’ failure. He pointed to Leonard and George’s injury issues as the reason why the franchise did not win a title in the duo’s five seasons together. He even downplayed Luka Doncic’s stellar effort in leading the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA Finals, saying,
“Failure because of injuries, they only had one year, they failed but that’s one year. if I were to take essentially every player in the history of the game and say how do you look at one year. Lot of guys, Luka failed this year, doesn’t mean he’ll keep failing.”
Broussard’s comment struck Wright’s nerve. He reminded his co-host that the Clippers had never made the NBA Finals before Leonard and George joined forces, and that remains the case after their five seasons together.
He added that what Broussard described as Doncic’s failure would be ‘the apex of the Clippers’ history.’ The veteran analyst countered that his co-host’s point was right but lacked context. He argued that Leonard’s injury issues during the last three playoffs meant the Clippers never had a fair shot of competing for the title.
How will @Chris_Broussard remember his Clippers? 🕯️ pic.twitter.com/TAKlmgN1MH
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) July 1, 2024
Both analysts make fair points. The franchise had a competitive roster in each of Leonard and George’s five seasons together in LA. They have no one to blame but themselves for their meltdown against the Denver Nuggets in the second round of the 2020 playoffs. However, following that humiliating series loss, they couldn’t shake off the injury bug come playoff time.
In hindsight, Leonard and George’s debut season as a duo was the only campaign where the Clippers had a legitimate shot of winning the title. The roster blamed the Bubble’s isolating atmosphere for failing to win it in 2020. However, if they knew back then how things would transpire in the coming years, they’d have a different mindset while in the Bubble.
