One of the biggest disappointments in the 2025 NBA playoffs was the early exit of the Los Angeles Clippers. The team looked dangerous with James Harden, a healthy Kawhi Leonard, and a new billion-dollar arena that amplified the team’s energy.
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The Clippers’ run was cut short by the Denver Nuggets in a tough opening series that went to seven games. WNBA star Chiney Ogwumike felt the Clippers’ early playoff exit like a gut punch.
But as a new season approaches, Ogwumike’s optimism is jumping back up to a 10, even though she is a tad worried about the age of the roster. The player-turned analyst spoke about the squad, including their new additions, Bradley Beal and future Hall of Famer, Chris Paul.
“I always get so excited about the Clippers, so excited to start a season, and I always get my heart broken, but I think we are gonna jump back in,” joked Ogwumike.
The two-time WNBA All-Star mentioned that she did hope that the Los Angeles Lakers showed up for LA next season, too. But Ogwumike is focusing fully on what the Clippers have done this offseason.
“I am really intrigued by what the Clippers have done. If you get a 17-point-per-game scorer [Beal] on 40% from three, you’re going to be like, ‘Oh my gosh,'” she stated.
Beal was fading away with the Phoenix Suns and wasn’t making a splash, even though he was on a team with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. But even with Beal’s talents, CP3, Harden, Lopez, and Kawhi, Ogwumike is concerned about one thing: Age.
“Now, the only cause for pause I have with the Clippers and Bradley Beal is [that] this is one of the oldest, I assume, rosters in the NBA. CP, 40. Brook Lopez, 37,” said Ogwumike.
Age isn’t nothing but a number when it comes to Chris Paul and LeBron James and this recent generation of greats who have taken care of their bodies,” she added, before expressing how last season’s NBA Finals matchup between the Indiana Pacers and the OKC Thunder, two VERY young teams, proved her point.
“The only concern I have, we saw in the NBA Finals, it was young legs, fresh legs, running and gunning. You have to be able to compete. And the reason why I am giving them a little bit of a benefit is that they ran into a buzzsaw that was [the] Denver Nuggets,” said Ogwumike.
Ogwumike is right on the money here. The Clippers were drastically fatigued by Game 7, which is a big reason Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets bested them. Even if they did survive, would they have lasted a second round against the eventual champs?
It’s a what-if we’ll never know. What Clippers fans should be excited about is that their team, despite being a little on the older side, is looking stronger than they were a season ago. Ogwumike agreed: “They are better now than they were before.”
It’s a shame that the Clippers weren’t in the East. The lack of competition there, following the colossal misfortunes of the Pacers and Celtics, has left the Conference wide open. Sure, the Knicks are good, but imagine this Clippers team on that side?
Regardless, the summer is drawing to its end, which means the 2025-2026 NBA season is fast approaching. And the Clippers fans would be hoping the changes would give them that impetus through the season and into the playoffs.
