Matt Barnes playing for the "Lob City" Los Angeles Clippers. Photo by Harry How via Getty Images
The Los Angeles Clippers have always played second fiddle to their soon-to-be crosstown neighbor, the Los Angeles Lakers. But in the mid-2010s, the Clippers had a chance to finally win what they had long been seeking, and still seek to this day: a championship.
Arguably the most famous era in team history was the ‘Lob City’ era, which consisted of Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, and Chris Paul. That team gained the aforementioned nickname due to those players’ playing style, and it changed the way fans viewed the largely unsuccessful team.
The Clippers had only ever made the playoffs four times in their first 27 seasons in Los Angeles, but the ‘Lob City’ Clippers made the playoffs six straight years from 2012 to 2017. They also won two straight division titles in 2013 and 2014, the first time that ever occurred in franchise history.
Failure of an Era
Unfortunately, however, that era failed to pan out. The Clippers never made it past the second round in any of those appearances. To this date, they have never appeared in an NBA Finals, let alone won a championship. They are the oldest team in any of the four major North American sports leagues (NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL) to never even reach a Finals.
Matt Barnes was also a key member of the ‘Lob City’ Clippers. He recently vocalized his theory as to why that team never won a championship. On an Instagram post which asked the question, “Why didn’t Lob City win a championship?” Barnes replied to a comment claiming that the Utah Jazz were the reason they never won a title.
Barnes rejected that idea, claiming that the reason the Clippers did not win a title during that stretch was because coach Doc Rivers aided in his son receiving a big contract from the Clippers. He stated that Rivers “lost the team after that” and ‘Lob City’ was never the same.
Austin Rivers the Issue?
Doc Rivers was the coach of the Clippers from 2013 to 2020, leading the team to plenty of winning seasons. But he never got them past the hump, a running theme with Rivers. In 2015, the Clippers traded for his son Austin Rivers, leading to him becoming the first player in NBA history to play for his father.
In 2016, Austin Rivers signed a three year, $35.4 million contract with the Clippers, which carried an average salary of $11.8 million per year. During his three seasons with the Clippers, he only averaged 11.9 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game. He only shot 43.4 percent from the field and 36.6 percent from the three point range.
The contract ultimately ended up becoming considered a failure. Rivers was traded to the Washington Wizards in 2018, a year before the contract ended. Whether or not that was the reason the ‘Lob City’ Clippers never won a title remains to be seen. But according to Barnes, that was the sentiment that he and the players on that team felt.
