The Year That Changed My Fandom For Good

Following the devastating playoff loss to the Utah Jazz in 2017, the Clippers decided to blow the whole team up and enter a rebuilding period for the franchise. This would end the era known as "Lob City" in which is the first basketball team I've ever grown accustomed too. In the draft that same year, the Clippers went on to draft Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, whom was and still is one of my favorite players in the league. Shai went on to have a decent rookie season, averaging 10 PPG, 4 RPG and 4 APG. He also earned the honor of All-Rookie second team in his rookie year. Following the magnificent playoff run of the 2018-2019 season, where we were underdogs and showed great strength as a team to one of the best basketball teams to ever touch the court, we made franchise altering moves in the summer of 2019. The Clippers made one of the biggest trades in franchise history, sending Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danillo Gallanari and seven first round picks to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Paul George. Additionally, they signed Kawhi Leonard, a 2x Finals MVP,  to a contract as well. There are many events in life that occur that you remember exactly where you were when it happened, and this is one of those scenarios. This was one of the first times in franchise history that not one but two of the best players in the world wanted to willingly play for the LA Clippers rather than anywhere else and that was something that made me take a lot of pride in this team. Below is a video of the LA Clippers owner, Steve Ballmer, introducing both stars to the team, and he posed a very accurate depiction of what Clippers fans were also feeling.