The Los Angeles Clippers have one of the deepest teams in the NBA, led by Kawhi Leonard. They're also arguably the most experienced team in the league, with their top 11 players all having played at least eight years in the NBA.
When one of those veterans in Bogdan Bogdanovic left the game due to back soreness, third year guard/forward Jordan Miller stepped onto the floor and was the only player in the first-half rotation who played fewer than eight seasons in the NBA.
Miller says his goal when he took the court was to provide energy around the ‘uncs' of the team.
“We've got a lot of uncs around here, so what can we (young guys) bring?” Miller said. “How can we get on the floor and just bring energy. They might get tired every now and then, but our job is to not get tired. It sounds crazy but that's the reality of the situation. We're just trying to come out there, bring energy, and whenever the vibes are low, try to pick them back up and just try to be that young group that has that spark.”
If you don't know, “unc” is a slang term for uncle. So another version of “old head.”
Outside of the 11 veterans expected to be in the rotation in some capacity this season, the other nine players have two or fewer years of NBA experience, with Patrick Baldwin Jr. boasting three years of experience.
That collective age of this Clippers team has already ignited jokes on social media, but when told about Jordan Miller's comments and asked about the veteran-heavy team, there were no jokes from Kawhi Leonard.
“I've been an unc for a long time, since I was 16 years old,” Leonard told ClutchPoints. “It's nothing new. I started on a team with a lot of veterans. It's nothing new to me. When I first came in, I was with a lot of greats. Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Stephen Jackson, TJ Ford, Richard Jefferson, so it's been like that for me.”
Kawhi Leonard when I asked him about a Jordan Miller calling him and some of his Clippers teammates “Uncs:”
“I've been an unc for a long time, since I was 16 years old. It's nothing new. I started on a team with a lot of veterans. It's nothing new to me. When I first came in, I… pic.twitter.com/nH8FugIKKz
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) October 11, 2025
With an average age of 33.2 years old, the LA Clippers are expected to be the oldest team by average in NBA history, surpassing the 2000-01 Utah Jazz (32.6 average years of age).
“[Playing with veterans] is all I've really known,” Jordan Miller added. “My rookie year, we had PG, Russ. Each year, it seems like we've had more and more vets. But it's good to pick their brains. I know I'm not in the position of playing that I want to be, but I'm still taking steps forward just due to the information that they share.”
The Clippers are going to encounter injuries this year, but they're well equipped the handle absences from their main guys because of their depth.
