The professional basketball team of the NBA (National Basketball Association), Los Angeles Clippers, is based in the city of Los Angeles, California. Not always known as the Los Angeles Clippers, the team is very much established as such now. The following fun facts are sure to give any basketball fan, or Los Angeles Clippers fan, a wealth of information. Los Angeles Clippers and Basketball History Facts can be used: when you’re bored in the car and want to play a game, for a home trivia game, or if you’re just interested in self-learning!
Fun facts: Did you know?
o Before the LA Clippers were the LA Clippers, did the team have two other names and locations? The team was called the Buffalo Braves from 1970 to 1978 and was located in Buffalo, New York. The team moved to San Diego and were the San Diego Clippers from 1978 to 1984. In 1984 alone, the team moved to Los Angeles and became the famous Los Angeles Clippers!
o Paul Snyder was the original founder of the Los Angeles Clippers?
or For $20 million the San Diego Clippers became the Los Angeles Clippers? The owner of the San Diego Clippers sold the team to Donald T. Sterling, a lawyer and high-profile real estate developer.
o The Los Angeles Clippers weren’t the only professional NBA team based in the city of Los Angeles? The other team is the LA Lakers.
o One of the LA Lakers’ greatest players, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, was hired as an assistant coach for the LA Clippers in 1998. He was hired to help one of the Clippers’ star players, Michael Olowokandi, instructing him in the sport. Mr. Abdul-Jabbar’s tenure with the Clippers only lasted one season.
o Did the LA Clippers officially announce in 2005 that they were going to build their own world-class practice facility? This facility would mark the first official NBA practice facility in the Los Angeles area!
or Was basketball first invented in 1891 in Springfield, MA? Dr. James Naismith is credited with inventing it while working at the YMCA.
o Do the LA Clippers have three people affiliated with the team in the Basketball Hall of Fame? They are: Bob McAdoo, Bill Walton and trainer Dr. Jack Ramsay.
o Basketball hoops weren’t made of net in the beginning? They were created from fruit baskets.
o Is the LA team, the Los Angeles Clippers, officially located in the Western Conference of the NBA?
o Does the Los Angeles Clippers team have retired numbers?
o Was basketball first created with a soccer ball? The sport was developed for some gym students who were bored between the business of football season (fall) and baseball season (spring).
o The two Los Angeles teams, the Los Angeles Clippers and the Los Angeles Lakers, continue to compete against each other because they live in the same city.
These fun facts are great conversation starters; a great way to entertain your family in the car or your friends in the school cafeteria; and a great way to develop your own personal knowledge of one of America’s favorite sports!