Editing Los Angeles Clippers (section)

===1978–1984: San Diego Clippers===
{{redirect|San Diego Clippers|the NBA G League team|San Diego Clippers (NBA G League)}}
In 1978, [[San Diego]] welcomed the Braves franchise to the city. The city's previous NBA franchise, the [[San Diego Rockets]], had relocated to [[Houston]] seven years earlier in 1971. In between, the city hosted an ABA franchise, the [[San Diego Conquistadors]], though that team folded partway through its fourth season after they had been renamed the Sails.<ref name=":0" /> San Diego team officials did not think "Braves" was a proper representative nickname for the club in San Diego, and a local naming contest ultimately decided on "Clippers", in reference to the city being known for the great [[Clipper|sailing ships]] that passed through [[San Diego Bay]].<ref name="BehindTheNameClippers" /> The first head coach of the Clippers was chosen to be [[Gene Shue]], a respected tactician.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Minas|first=Mick|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4YP7MAAACAAJ|title=The Curse: The Colorful & Chaotic History of the LA Clippers|date=2016|publisher=CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform|isbn=978-1-5391-4875-3|pages=18|language=en|access-date=July 6, 2021|archive-date=May 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230528023750/https://books.google.com/books?id=4YP7MAAACAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> He preferred a fast playing style with many scoring opportunities.<ref name=":1" /> Only three players from the Braves started in the team: [[Randy Smith (basketball)|Randy Smith]], [[Swen Nater]], and [[Scott Lloyd]].<ref name=":2" /> Other starting players included [[Kermit Washington]], and [[Sidney Wicks]].<ref name=":1" /> [[World B. Free]] was also brought in from, the [[Philadelphia 76ers]] in exchange for a future first round pick.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last=Minas|first=Mick|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4YP7MAAACAAJ|title=The Curse: The Colorful & Chaotic History of the LA Clippers|date=2016|publisher=CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform|isbn=978-1-5391-4875-3|pages=20|language=en|access-date=July 6, 2021|archive-date=May 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230528023750/https://books.google.com/books?id=4YP7MAAACAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[1978–79 San Diego Clippers season|1978–79 season]] started poorly, with the Clippers' first win coming in their fourth game, against the [[Chicago Bulls]].<ref name=":2" /> The team lost 12 of its 18 first games and dropped to the bottom of the [[Pacific Division (NBA)|Pacific Division]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|last=Minas|first=Mick|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4YP7MAAACAAJ|title=The Curse: The Colorful & Chaotic History of the LA Clippers|date=2016|publisher=CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform|isbn=978-1-5391-4875-3|pages=21|language=en|access-date=July 6, 2021|archive-date=May 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230528023750/https://books.google.com/books?id=4YP7MAAACAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> Player [[Kevin Kunnert]] argued they had the "killer instinct of a field mouse".<ref name=":3" /> The worst loss came against the [[San Antonio Spurs]], with a loss of 163 to 125.<ref name=":3" /> Nevertheless, within weeks, Free had become the leading scorer, as well as becoming a public icon.<ref name=":3" /> He finished second overall in NBA scoring average, with 28.9 per game ([[George Gervin]] of the [[San Antonio Spurs]] had a 29.6 average). Shue, meanwhile, tried to create a team spirit by creating a common social life.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Minas|first=Mick|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4YP7MAAACAAJ|title=The Curse: The Colorful & Chaotic History of the LA Clippers|date=2016|publisher=CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform|isbn=978-1-5391-4875-3|pages=22|language=en|access-date=July 6, 2021|archive-date=May 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230528023750/https://books.google.com/books?id=4YP7MAAACAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> By the All-Star game the Clippers had improved, winning half of their 54 games, good enough for sixth in the Western Conference.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|last=Minas|first=Mick|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4YP7MAAACAAJ|title=The Curse: The Colorful & Chaotic History of the LA Clippers|date=2016|publisher=CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform|isbn=978-1-5391-4875-3|pages=26|language=en|access-date=July 6, 2021|archive-date=May 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230528023750/https://books.google.com/books?id=4YP7MAAACAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> Aiming for one of the six play-off spots for the Conference, they managed to win eight games in a row, and then another five games consecutively.<ref name=":4" /> Playing at the [[San Diego Sports Arena]], the Clippers posted a record of 43–39 in their first season in California, leaving them two wins shy of the final playoff spot. It was also the first season in [[Southern California]] for long-time announcer [[Ralph Lawler]], who began his association with the franchise.

The [[1979–80 San Diego Clippers season|1979–80 season]] saw the Clippers begin to struggle, despite adding center [[Bill Walton]], a San Diego native who was two years removed from winning an [[NBA Championship]] and the [[NBA Most Valuable Player Award]] with the [[Portland Trail Blazers]]. Walton missed 68 games in his first season in San Diego due to foot injuries (which he also suffered in his final years in Portland). San Diego finished 35–47, as Walton and other key players missed significant time due to injuries. Free again finished second in league scoring, with 30.2 points per game. [[Paul Silas]] replaced Shue as head coach the following season, and the Clippers finished 36–46, again missing the postseason. Walton missed the entire season due to foot injuries, while Free was traded to the [[Golden State Warriors]] in exchange for guard [[Phil Smith (basketball)|Phil Smith]].

The [[1981–82 San Diego Clippers season|1981–82 season]] brought ultimately unwelcome changes to the franchise as Levin sold the team to [[Los Angeles]]–area real estate developer and attorney [[Donald Sterling]] for $12.5 million. The Clippers experienced poor play, as foot injuries again caused Walton to miss the entire season, and the team limped to a 17–65 record. Rumors of a move to Sterling's hometown of Los Angeles and franchise mismanagement plagued the team immediately from the onset of Sterling's acquisition. On one occasion, Sterling was fined $10,000 by the NBA, the largest sum ever levied by the NBA against an owner at the time, for publicly guaranteeing the Clippers would lose enough games to contend for a high enough draft pick to select [[Ralph Sampson]]. On another, he was fined for flying his players to away games in coach seats on commercial airliners, a violation of the league's [[Collective Bargaining Agreement|collective bargaining agreement]]. Hotels refused to house the Clippers because of alleged non-payment for previous accommodations on multiple occasions. A bus company in [[Newark, New Jersey|Newark]] once stranded the team at the airport after Sterling failed to pay for previous trips, which nearly caused the team to miss a scheduled regular-season game that day against the [[New Jersey Nets]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=December 30, 2019|title=Thirty-five years later, Clippers' strange run and stunning exit lingers|url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/sports-columnists/story/2019-12-30/donald-sterling-san-diego-clippers-los-angeles-left-nba-david-stern-bill-walton-anniversary|access-date=December 22, 2020|website=San Diego Union-Tribune|language=en-US|archive-date=February 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210206155408/https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/sports-columnists/story/2019-12-30/donald-sterling-san-diego-clippers-los-angeles-left-nba-david-stern-bill-walton-anniversary|url-status=live}}</ref>

Sterling attempted to relocate the franchise to Los Angeles in June 1982 but the NBA denied his request. Sterling then filed an unsuccessful [[AntiTrust|antitrust]] lawsuit against the league, which subsequently filed a countersuit against the club and the [[Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena]], which Sterling had a tentative agreement with to become the franchise's new home.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Upi|date=July 7, 1982|title=Clipper Legal Case Stays in San Diego (Published 1982)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/07/07/sports/clipper-legal-case-stays-in-san-diego.html|access-date=December 22, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=July 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210703010135/https://www.nytimes.com/1982/07/07/sports/clipper-legal-case-stays-in-san-diego.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The attempted move, combined with the franchise mismanagement issues, prompted an investigation of the Clippers by an NBA committee of other owners. In September of that year, the committee recommended that Sterling's ownership be terminated, having found that he was late in paying creditors and players.<ref name="goldaper">{{cite news|last=Goldaper|first=Sam|date=November 13, 1983|title=Clippers Are Showing Signs of Revival|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/11/13/sports/clippers-are-showing-signs-of-revival.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715022241/http://www.nytimes.com/1983/11/13/sports/clippers-are-showing-signs-of-revival.html|archive-date=July 15, 2014}}</ref> Days before a league scheduled vote in October to remove Sterling, he agreed to sell the team, and the league sought buyers who would keep the franchise in San Diego. At the suggestion of [[David Stern]], then the league's vice president, Sterling was able to make a deal to maintain his position as owner, by instead handing over operations duties of the franchise to [[Alan Rothenberg]], who became the team's president. A few months later in February 1983, Stern called the Clippers a "first-class" franchise, and the ouster of Sterling was no longer pursued.<ref name="dohnrmann_05302014">{{cite news|last=Dohrmann|first=George|date=May 30, 2014|title=Recently banned Donald Sterling has long history of clashing with NBA|work=SI.com|url=http://si.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?expire=&title=Clippers+owner+Donald+Sterling+has+history+of+clashing+with+NBA+-+NBA+-+George+Dohrmann+-+SI.com&urlID=529418042&action=cpt&partnerID=2356&fb=Y&url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nba/news/20140530/donald-sterling-history/#all}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> Later in 1983, [[Larry Fleisher]], then the general counsel of the [[National Basketball Players Association]], stated <nowiki>''in all my years of involvement with the NBA, no team ever provided as much difficulties for the players than the Clippers under Sterling." "He almost caused three strikes last season.''</nowiki><ref name="goldaper" /> The team's final two seasons in San Diego were not much better on the court despite Walton finally returning to action, finishing 25–57 in [[1982–83 San Diego Clippers season|1982–83]] and 30–52 in [[1983–84 San Diego Clippers season|1983–84]].

In 1984, Sterling, after again being denied permission from the NBA to do so, moved the Clippers to Los Angeles. The NBA subsequently fined Sterling $25 million for violating league rules and filed a lawsuit demanding the franchise be returned to San Diego. The league threatened to dissolve the franchise if ownership did not comply and return the team to San Diego.<ref>{{Cite web|date=September 30, 1987|title=Clippers and NBA Reach Agreement; Suit Dropped|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-09-30-sp-7160-story.html|access-date=August 10, 2019|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|archive-date=August 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808030305/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-09-30-sp-7160-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-03-16-sp-26668-story.html|title=Clippers Are Facing $8 Million in Losses Since Move to L.A.|date=March 16, 1986|website=Los Angeles Times|access-date=September 25, 2019|archive-date=September 25, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190925042604/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-03-16-sp-26668-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Sterling then filed another antitrust lawsuit against the league (for $100 million). This time, thanks to the recent court decision that allowed [[Al Davis]] to move the [[History of the Oakland Raiders|Oakland Raiders]] of the [[National Football League]] (NFL) to Los Angeles, it appeared Sterling would win his case.

In September 1987, the league agreed to drop their lawsuit against the Clippers over the team's relocation to Los Angeles in exchange for Sterling dropping his case against the league, allowing him to keep the team in Los Angeles and decreasing his fine to $6 million.<ref name="lidz" />

Forty years after the NBA Clippers left San Diego, the Ontario Clippers of the [[NBA G League]] would relocate from [[Ontario, California]], starting with the 2024–25 season, adopting the [[San Diego Clippers (NBA G League)|San Diego Clippers]] name as well as a modernized version of the "three sails" logo.<ref name=GLeagueSanDiego>{{cite press release|title=LA Clippers G League team to relocate and rebrand as San Diego Clippers|url=https://www.nba.com/news/la-clippers-rebrand-relocate-g-league-team|publisher=NBA Media Ventures, LLC|website=NBA.com|date=March 11, 2024|access-date=March 12, 2024}}</ref>