The 2024-25 Los Angeles Clippers’ Season Preview
September 8th, 2024
by Alan Lu
The Los Angeles Clippers won 51 games in the regular season, and after a slow start, they were really able to get going with Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and James Harden being the driving forces to get them the fourth seed in the playoffs, and heading into the playoffs, they seemed like an emerging powerhouse team. However, they stumbled against the Dallas Mavericks in the first round, and after Kawhi Leonard ended up getting hurt once again and only playing two games in the playoffs, they ended up being eliminated in the first round of the 2024 playoffs.
In the offseason, Paul George left them to sign with Philadelphia, and the Clippers were left scrambling to find replacements in his stead. They did manage to sign defensive stopper Derrick Jones Jr. away from Dallas, and they do have some talented players on their team. But with Kawhi Leonard being injury-prone and never able to last a full playoff run anymore, and with George no longer around, it seems that the Clippers’ best days are behind them, and that just making it to the playoffs would be a feat for this 2025 team.
After last year’s first-round playoff disappointment against Dallas, and Paul George leaving their squad for Philadelphia, with Kawhi perpetually struggling to stay healthy and James Harden’s persistent playoff woes, it’s no wonder if some are wondering if the Clippers are headed for the dreaded decline stage and if it’s time to panic in Clipper-town. (Photo: Getty Images, via CBS Sports)
Star Players:
F Kawhi Leonard and G-F James Harden
Kawhi Leonard has struggled to stay healthy over the years, ever since the infamous Zaza Pachulia incident where Leonard’s foot got stepped on in Game 1 of the 2017 Western Conference Finals. Leonard did win a title with the 2019 Toronto Raptors since then, but he’s played in just 298 regular season games in the past seven seasons. In 2024, he managed to play in 68 regular season games, but he only played two playoff games after he ended up getting injured again. So health has been a critical issue for him. But when healthy, Leonard has proven to be a very versatile, all-around superstar that can contribute well on both ends of the floor, although the days of him being an elite, top 5 player in the NBA seem to be over.
James Harden has been a force in the regular season, as he’s a very efficient scorer that has a knack for drawing many free throws, and his efficient scoring and playmaking abilities makes him a star in the regular season. He’s struggled to play as well in the playoffs, as they don’t call as many fouls in his favor in postseason and he’s struggled to be a consistent defender on the floor, but his strong performances in the regular season should allow the Clippers to stay very competitive in the West.
Additions:
F Derrick Jones Jr., F Nicolas Batum, C Mo Bamba, G-F Kevin Porter Jr., and G-F Cam Christie
The Clippers were able to add some solid role players to their team. Derrick Jones Jr. took his game up a level by being a defensive stopper for the Dallas Mavericks last season, and Nicolas Batum is a smart, versatile role player whose solid all-around skills and unselfish team play makes him a valuable role player. They also added some talented players in Mo Bamba, whose stretch capabilities and rim protection could enable him to thrive in a backup center role, Kevin Porter Jr. can score and make plays on offense if he can stay away from off-court incidents, and Cam Christie is a young, athletic swingman that could thrive in a 3 and D role in this league.
Subtractions:
F Paul George, G Russell Westbrook, C Mason Plumlee, C Daniel Theis, and G-F Brandon Boston Jr.
Amongst all of the losses from last year’s roster, losing Paul George will hit the Clippers the hardest. Last season, at times the Clippers looked like sleeper title contenders, especially when all three amongst Leonard, George, and Harden were clicking. The Clippers will lose a valuable forward that packed a strong scoring punch, as well as a player that could provide some playmaking and defense.
They also lost several key role players in Westbrook, Plumlee, and Theis, but losing George could knock down the Clippers from being a possible upper-tier playoff team to having to scratch and claw their way to make the 2025 playoffs, with the possibility that maybe they might not make it there at all.
Rookies:
G-F Cam Christie, F Trentyn Flowers, and G Rayj Dennis
Cam Christie is a talented second round rookie that could provide some shooting and defense on this team, but it’s unlikely that he’ll see much playing time on a fairly loaded roster this year. Trentyn Flowers is a tall, athletic forward that also projects into a 3 and D role, and it was kind of surprising that he went undrafted, and Rayj Dennis is an agile, skilled combo guard that will compete for a roster spot in this league.
Expected Rotation:
Derrick Jones Jr. is a tremendously athletic swingman that will provide energy and strong defense to the Clippers for the 2024-25 NBA season. (Photo: Elías Valverde II/The Dallas Morning News)
The Clippers have a solid group of starters, and Leonard and Harden have proven to be a formidable tandem when healthy. However, they also have an injury-prone group of starters, so they will need to do what they can to get them healthy in time for the playoffs.
Projected Starting Lineup:
Key Bench Players:
Nicolas Batum is back with the Clippers! Norman Powell and 2024 Olympic Silver Medalist, Nicolas Batum lead a fairly solid group of bench players into the 2024-25 NBA season. (Photo: Rick Bowmer/Associated Press, via The Los Angeles Times)
F-C Nicolas Batum
C Mo Bamba
The Rest of the Roster:
G-F Cam Christie
G-F Jordan Miller (Two-Way)
F Trentyn Flowers (Two-Way)
Others in Camp:
F-C Kai Jones (Exhibit 10)
G Rayj Dennis (Exhibit 10)
Team Options at the End of the 2025 Season:
Here I will project the likelihood of the Los Angeles Clippers to pick up and accept or decline the team options for various players at the end of the 2025 season.
Kobe Brown – 50/50, Leaning Towards It Will Be Accepted (50% Certainty)
Head Coach:
The Clippers’ head coach, Tyronn Lue (on the right) will look to lead his team for the new season.
(Photo: Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)
Tyronn Lue
2023-24 (LAC): 51-31, 2-4 in the playoffs
Coaching Career: 312-217, 54-37 in the NBA Playoffs
Tyronn Lue is the head coach of the Clippers, and he is best known for helping the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers win the championship. He’s helped the Clippers get to a slew of playoff runs, but has yet to get the Clippers to the NBA Finals. He’ll need his best players to stay healthy, but his ability to coach players up has made him one of the better coaches in this league.
NBA Head Coach Rank: 14
Outlook:
With the Clippers consistently being early outs in the playoffs, when they lost in the second round to Jokic’s Nuggets in 2020, in the first round in 2023 to Durant’s Suns, or 2024 to Doncic’s Mavericks, with Paul George no longer there, it’s more likely that the Clippers’ window and potential path for a title has already closed on them. (Photo: Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images, via Bleacher Report)
The Los Angeles Clippers have been viewed as potential title contenders ever since they landed Leonard and George in the offseason years ago, but they’ve consistently underperformed in the playoffs, with the exception being the 2021 season, where Terance Mann once dropped 39 points in a playoff game against Rudy Gobert’s Utah Jazz team then. The Clippers have had trouble staying healthy in the years after they lost to the Denver Nuggets in the second round series of the 2020 NBA Playoffs, and the Clippers have been up and down since. They arguably looked to be in top form last season when they landed Harden via trade, but were surprisingly defeated by Dallas in the first round, and with George now gone, questions arise if the Clippers’ best days are now behind them.
The Clippers will need their top players to stay healthy, and while they have enough depth to make it to the playoffs with or without them, they’ll need Leonard and Harden to help them make a deep playoff run. But making matters complicated is that they lost in the first round to Dallas in 2024 after Kawhi Leonard got injured and only played two games in that series, and Paul George left the Clippers for Philadelphia. The Western Conference has only gotten much better in the meantime, and the Clippers will have their work cut out for them if they plan on making it to the playoffs in 2025.
Projected 2024-25 Finish:
Expected Win-Loss Record: 41-41
Projected Regular Season Finish: 10th in the Western Conference
Expected Playoff Finish: Projected to lose in the play-in tournament and miss the playoffs
Preseason NBA Power Ranking: 18
I went to Basketball-Reference and SalarySwish to look up some information for this write-up. It will be an exciting basketball season this year, and I’m looking forward to seeing the in-season tournament to see how that will unfold. Anyways, that is my write-up on my preview of the 2024-25 Los Angeles Clippers. Thanks for reading.