1988–89 Los Angeles Clippers season

Off-season

The Clippers won the NBA draft lottery,^[2][3] and selected power forward Danny Manning from the University of Kansas with the first overall pick in the 1988 NBA draft; the team also selected shooting guard Hersey Hawkins out of Bradley University with the sixth overall pick. However, the Clippers soon traded Hawkins to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for rookie power forward, and first-round draft pick Charles D. Smith from the University of Pittsburgh; the team also acquired rookie point guard, and first-round draft pick Gary Grant out of the University of Michigan from the Seattle SuperSonics on draft day.^[4][5][6]

For the season, the Clippers slightly updated their road uniforms, changing the color of their jersey number from blue to white; these uniforms only lasted for just one season.^[7]

Regular season

With the addition of Manning, Smith and Grant, the Clippers played around .500 in winning percentage with a 6–6 start to the regular season, but soon struggled losing 11 of their next 13 games. In January, Manning suffered a right knee injury after only just 26 games, and was out for the remainder of the season,^[8][9][10] as the team suffered a dreadful 19-game losing streak between December and February, which included a winless month in January. Head coach Gene Shue was fired after a 10–28 start to the season, and was replaced with assistant coach Don Casey.^[11][12][13] The Clippers held an 11–37 record at the All-Star break,^[14] and posted a 13-game losing streak between February and March, losing 32 of 33 games between December 30, 1988, and March 7, 1989. The Clippers finished in last place in the Pacific Division with a 21–61 record,^[15] and missed the NBA playoffs for the 13th consecutive year.^[1]

Second-year forward Ken Norman showed improvement, averaging 18.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game, while Manning averaged 16.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game, and Benoit Benjamin provided the team with 16.4 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game. In addition, Smith provided with 16.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, while Quintin Dailey contributed 16.1 points and 1.3 steals per game, and Grant contributed 11.9 points, 7.1 assists and 2.0 steals per game. Meanwhile, second-year forward Reggie Williams averaged 10.2 points and 1.3 steals per game, Norm Nixon averaged 6.8 points and 6.4 assists per game in 53 games, rookie point guard, and second-round draft pick Tom Garrick contributed 6.4 points and 3.4 assists per game, and second-year forward Joe Wolf provided with 5.8 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.^[16] Norman also finished tied in fourth place in Most Improved Player voting.^[17][18]

The Clippers finished 24th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 286,614 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena during the regular season, which was the second-lowest in the league.^[16][19]

Aftermath

Following the season, Dailey signed as a free agent with the Seattle SuperSonics, and Nixon retired.

Roster notes

• This is forward Eric White's second tour of duty with the franchise after playing briefly for the Utah Jazz. He previously played for the team in March and April in 1988.^[20]

Season standings

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Game log

Trades

Free agents

Player Transactions Citation:^[21]