1994–95 Los Angeles Clippers season
NBA professional basketball team season
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The 1994–95 Los Angeles Clippers season was the 25th season for the Los Angeles Clippers in the National Basketball Association, their eleventh season in Los Angeles, California, and their first season in which they played occasional home games in Anaheim, California.[1]
| 1994–95 Los Angeles Clippers season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Bill Fitch |
| Owners | Donald Sterling |
| Arena | Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Arrowhead Pond |
| Results | |
| Record | 17–65 (.207) |
| Place | Division: 7th (Pacific) Conference: 13th (Western) |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
| Local media | |
| Television | KCOP-TV (Ralph Lawler, Bill Walton) |
| Radio | KMPC (Rory Markas) |
Season summary
Off-season
The Clippers received the seventh overall pick in the 1994 NBA draft, and selected small forward Lamond Murray from the University of California.[2][3][4] During the off-season, the team acquired Pooh Richardson, Malik Sealy, and rookie shooting guard, and first-round draft pick Eric Piatkowski out of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln from the Indiana Pacers,[5][6][7] signed free agent Tony Massenburg,[8] and hired Bill Fitch as their new head coach.[9][10]
Regular season
Early into the regular season, the Clippers traveled overseas to Yokohama, Japan to play two games against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Yokohama Arena.[11] In the first game on November 4, 1994, the Clippers were the home team and lost to the Trail Blazers by a score of 121–100, in front of 14,229 fans in attendance; second-year guard Terry Dehere led the team with 19 points and 6 assists, while Loy Vaught finished with 16 points, and Massenburg posted a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds.[12][13][14] In the second game on November 5, the Clippers were the road team and lost to the Trail Blazers by a score of 112–95, in front of 14,239 fans in attendance; Massenburg finished with a double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds, while Dehere also added 16 points.[15][16][17]
Under Fitch and with the addition of Murray, Richardson, Sealy and Massenburg, the Clippers struggled posting a dreadful 16-game losing streak to start the regular season, as Stanley Roberts missed the entire season due to a ruptured Achilles tendon.[18][19] The team posted two six-game losing streaks between January and February, and held an 8–40 record at the All-Star break.[20] The Clippers posted an eight-game losing streak in March, and another six-game losing streak in April, losing 15 of their final 18 games of the season, and finishing in last place in the Pacific Division with a league-worst 17–65 record.[21]
Vaught showed improvement averaging 17.5 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game, while Murray averaged 14.1 points and 4.4 rebounds per game, but was not named to an NBA All-Rookie Team at season's end, and Richardson provided the team with 10.9 points, 7.9 assists and 1.6 steals per game. In addition, Sealy contributed 13.0 points per game, while Dehere provided with 10.4 points per game, Massenburg averaged 9.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, Piatkowski contributed 7.0 points per game, and second-year forward Bo Outlaw provided with 5.2 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game.[22]
During the NBA All-Star weekend at the America West Arena in Phoenix, Arizona, Murray was selected for the NBA Rookie Game, as a member of the White team.[23][24] The Clippers finished last in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 438,244 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena during the regular season, which was 27th in the league.[22][25]
Notable highlights
One notable highlight of the regular season occurred on December 9, 1994, in which the Clippers defeated their crosstown rival, the Los Angeles Lakers on the road, 109–84 at the Great Western Forum. The Clippers held a 63–35 lead over the Lakers at halftime, as Richardson finished the game with 20 points, 10 assists and 5 steals, while Sealy led the team with 25 points, and Vaught posted a double-double of 19 points and 15 rebounds. It was the Clippers' second win of the season, which led to a 2–16 record.[26][27][28]
Aftermath
Following the season, Gary Grant was released to free agency, and signed as a free agent with the New York Knicks during the next season,[29][30] while Massenburg was left unprotected in the 1995 NBA expansion draft, where he was selected by the Toronto Raptors expansion team,[31][32][33] and Elmore Spencer was traded to the Denver Nuggets.
Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Lamond Murray | SF |  United States |
California |
| 1 | 25 | Greg Minor | SG/SF | United States |
Louisville |
Roster
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Head coach
Assistant(s)
Legend
|
Roster notes
- Center Stanley Roberts was on the injured reserve list due to an Achilles tendon rupture, and missed the entire regular season.
Regular season
Season standings
| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Phoenix Suns | 59 | 23 | .720 | — | 32–9 | 27–14 | 23–7 |
| x-Seattle SuperSonics | 57 | 25 | .695 | 2 | 32–9 | 25–16 | 16–14 |
| x-Los Angeles Lakers | 48 | 34 | .585 | 11 | 29–12 | 19–22 | 15–15 |
| x-Portland Trail Blazers | 44 | 38 | .537 | 15 | 26–15 | 18–23 | 17–13 |
| Sacramento Kings | 39 | 43 | .476 | 20 | 27–14 | 12–29 | 17–13 |
| Golden State Warriors | 26 | 56 | .317 | 33 | 15–26 | 11–30 | 11–19 |
| Los Angeles Clippers | 17 | 65 | .207 | 42 | 13–28 | 4–37 | 6–24 |
| # | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
| 1 | z-San Antonio Spurs | 62 | 20 | .756 | – |
| 2 | y-Phoenix Suns | 59 | 23 | .720 | 3 |
| 3 | x-Utah Jazz | 60 | 22 | .732 | 2 |
| 4 | x-Seattle SuperSonics | 57 | 25 | .695 | 5 |
| 5 | x-Los Angeles Lakers | 48 | 34 | .585 | 14 |
| 6 | x-Houston Rockets | 47 | 35 | .573 | 15 |
| 7 | x-Portland Trail Blazers | 44 | 38 | .537 | 18 |
| 8 | x-Denver Nuggets | 41 | 41 | .500 | 21 |
| 9 | Sacramento Kings | 39 | 43 | .476 | 23 |
| 10 | Dallas Mavericks | 36 | 46 | .439 | 26 |
| 11 | Golden State Warriors | 26 | 56 | .317 | 36 |
| 12 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 21 | 61 | .256 | 41 |
| 13 | Los Angeles Clippers | 17 | 65 | .207 | 45 |
- z – clinched division title
- y – clinched division title
- x – clinched playoff spot
Game log
Regular season
| 1994–95 game log Total: 17–65 (Home: 13–28; Road: 4–37) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
November: 0–13 (home: 0–6; road: 0–7)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
December: 4–12 (home: 2–7; road: 2–5)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
January: 3–12 (home: 2–4; road: 1–8)
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February: 4–9 (home: 4–2; road: 0–7)
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March: 3–12 (home: 3–6; road: 0–6)
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| 1994–95 schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Player statistics
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loy Vaught | 80 | 79 | 37.1 | 51.4 | 21.2 | 71.0 | 9.7 | 1.7 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 17.5 |
| Lamond Murray | 81 | 61 | 31.6 | 40.2 | 29.8 | 75.4 | 4.4 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 14.1 |
| Malik Sealy | 60 | 41 | 26.7 | 43.5 | 30.1 | 78.0 | 3.6 | 1.8 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 13.0 |
| Pooh Richardson | 80 | 77 | 35.8 | 39.4 | 35.7 | 64.8 | 3.3 | 7.9 | 1.6 | 0.2 | 10.9 |
| Terry Dehere | 80 | 28 | 22.2 | 40.7 | 29.4 | 78.4 | 1.9 | 2.8 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 10.4 |
| Tony Massenburg | 80 | 50 | 26.6 | 46.9 | 0.0 | 75.3 | 5.7 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 9.3 |
| Eric Piatkowski | 81 | 11 | 14.9 | 44.1 | 37.4 | 78.3 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 7.0 |
| Elmore Spencer | 19 | 8 | 19.4 | 44.1 | 0.0 | 56.0 | 3.4 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 6.9 |
| Gary Grant | 33 | 2 | 14.2 | 47.0 | 25.0 | 81.8 | 1.1 | 2.8 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 6.2 |
| Michael Smith | 29 | 0 | 11.0 | 47.0 | 12.5 | 86.7 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 5.3 |
| Bo Outlaw | 81 | 31 | 20.4 | 52.3 | 0.0 | 44.1 | 3.9 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 5.2 |
| Matt Fish | 26 | 8 | 14.2 | 47.6 | 0.0 | 67.6 | 3.2 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 4.7 |
| Eric Riley | 40 | 4 | 10.9 | 44.8 | 0.0 | 73.4 | 2.8 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 4.4 |
| Harold Ellis | 69 | 7 | 9.5 | 48.1 | 7.7 | 59.0 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 3.7 |
| Bob Martin | 1 | 0 | 14.0 | 20.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 |
| Randy Woods | 62 | 3 | 8.0 | 31.6 | 29.7 | 73.7 | 0.7 | 2.2 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 2.0 |
Player statistics citation:[22]
Transactions
The Clippers were involved in the following transactions during the 1994–95 season.
Trades
| June 30, 1994 | To Los Angeles Clippers
|
To Indiana Pacers
|
Free agents
Additions
|
Subtractions
|
Player Transactions Citation:[34]
See also
Other Anaheim–based teams in 1994–95
- California Angels (Anaheim Stadium)
- Los Angeles Rams (Anaheim Stadium)
- Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim)
*Note: The Clippers played occasional games in Anaheim