2023–24 Los Angeles Clippers season
NBA professional basketball team season / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2023–24 Los Angeles Clippers season was the 54th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA), their 46th season in Southern California and their 40th season in Los Angeles. This was also the Clippers' final season at the Crypto.com Arena, as the team will move to the new Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California starting in the 2024–25 season.[1]
2023–24 Los Angeles Clippers season | |||
---|---|---|---|
Division champions | |||
Head coach | Tyronn Lue | ||
General manager | Trent Redden | ||
Owner(s) | Steve Ballmer | ||
Arena | Crypto.com Arena | ||
Results | |||
Record | 51–31 (.622) | ||
Place | Division: 1st (Pacific) Conference: 4th (Western) | ||
Playoff finish | First Round (lost to Mavericks 2–4) | ||
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |||
Local media | |||
Television | Bally Sports West Bally Sports SoCal KTLA | ||
Radio | KLAC | ||
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Into the start of the 2023–24 season, the Clippers acquired 10-time NBA All-Star and 2018 League MVP James Harden in a blockbuster trade on November 1, 2023.[2] The acquisition reunited him with former Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets teammate Russell Westbrook in addition to Harden being added along to perennial All-Stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George to form a new superteam in the West.[3] The trade also set a new aggregate All-Star milestone spanning 32 All-Star appearances totaled between that of George, Harden, Leonard and Westbrook. In the ensuing aftermath of the transaction, the Clippers were heavily criticized for refusing to deal Terance Mann as part of the agreement in a do-or-die season where they were at risk of losing all their All-Stars to free agency prior to the move to the new arena next season.[4][5][6] What was initially expected to commence of as a highly promising start into the 2023-24 season in October that saw Clippers attain a 3–1 record, the team suffered a regrettable succession of six consecutive losses. As the series of unfortunate streak of defeats between November 1st to November 14th unfolded following a favorable beginning to the season in October, the Clippers finally managed to break their misfortunate string of ill-fated losses by securing a triumphant win over the Houston Rockets on November 17, 2023.
From December onwards, the Clippers became one of the more dominant teams in the league, starting with a 9-game winning streak that featured multiple uncompetitive blowouts. They eventually rose to become one of the top teams in the Western Conference. The Clippers would clinch their 2nd consecutive playoff berth and also clinched the division title for the first time since 2014. They would reach 50 wins for the first time since 2016 as well. However, for the second year in a row, the Clippers' season ended in the first round, losing to the Dallas Mavericks in six games.