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The Los Angeles Clippers surpassed expectations in the 2024-25 season, as they still made the playoffs despite the departure of Paul George. With a competitive squad, it's safe to say that Los Angeles will be hoping to keep pulling off surprises next year. But in order to maintain their level of competitiveness, a few upgrades will be key. On the bright side, the Clippers own two draft picks at the upcoming 2025 NBA Draft, highlighted by the last pick of the first round.
It's not going to be easy to find a talent late in the draft. However, anything is possible as long as the Clippers try to stay away from their dark past. For several years, the Clippers have been cellar dwellers. And despite the opportunities to secure blue-chip talent through the draft, the franchise has a stacked record of draft misses. Here is a look at the Los Angeles Clippers' 10 worst NBA Draft day mistakes in history.
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10. Shaun Livingston – 2004
Shaun Livingston may have salvaged his NBA career by winning three NBA titles as a reserve for the Golden State Warriors. However, Livingston's career actually started on a bad note. The fourth overall pick suffered a gruesome leg injury that nearly ended his career during this third year in the league. Since then, it was impossible for him to live up to lottery pick expectations.
9. Al-Farouq Aminu – 2010
While Al-Farouq Aminu's hustle and motor couldn't be denied, no one would think that the Nigerian prospect out of Wake Forest was going to blossom into a star. In fact, he was a role player and a solid 3-and-D talent at best. As a result, at a time when the Clippers needed a star, it's quite a head scratcher that they selected Aminu over All-Stars Gordon Hayward and Paul George.
8. C.J. Wilcox – 2014
A late first-round draft pick is still a first round pick. However, it looks like the Clippers front office saw not much value with their 28th pick at the 2014 NBA Draft by selecting C.J. Wilcox. Wilcox only mustered 2.5 points per game in a Clippers uniform for two seasons. The consequence of wasting the pick was letting three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic get picked up in the second round, making Los Angeles one of the teams that missed out on the eventual Serbian star.
7. Yaroslav Korolev – 2005
The Clippers owned a lottery pick in the 2005 NBA Draft, which could've been used to inject some hope into the franchise. But instead, the franchise wasted the 12th overall pick on Russian center Yaroslav Korolev. The 6-foot-9 forward had the physical tools and showcased potential back in Europe.
However, he was also just a teenager. As a result, a rebuilding squad simply asked for too much from the 18-year old. Throw in the learning curve Korolev had to do while making the jump into the NBA, and the adjustment was simply too big to make for him.
6. Chris Wilcox – 2002
At the 2002 NBA Draft, Los Angeles also made a huge blunder, when they selected a raw prospect in Chris Wilcox. Wilcox was certainly a project heading into the NBA, but he did show flashes during his stint with Maryland. Unfortunately, the Clippers simply didn't how to unlock his potential.
He averaged just 6.5 points per game in a Clips uniform. While he did do well with the Seattle Supersonics, Los Angeles certainly regretted picking the Maryland big man over more polished big men like Amar'e Stoudemire and Carlos Boozer.
5. Melvin Ely – 2002
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Wilcox wasn't the lone mistake made at the 2002 NBA Draft. Given that the Clippers also owned the 12th overall pick, the team selected Melvin Ely out of Fresno State. Ely was another big man prospect that had the tools to shine in the NBA after a fruitful college showing.
However, it was a headscratcher pick for Los Angeles, given that they had just drafted Wilcox. To make matters worse, the team already had Elton Brand. Ely's selection gave the Clippers too many power forwards to work with, ultimately clogging their front court, which stifled their developments.
4. Darius Miles – 2000
The 2000 NBA Draft Class wasn't exactly loaded with talent. However, it's not an excuse to waste away a top-three pick that can help the franchise. But instead, Los Angeles opted to go with Darius Miles. Miles ended up averaging just 9.4 points per game in two seasons. He never lived up to lottery-pick expectations throughout his career before conceding to bankruptcy. Other better players that could've helped the Clippers include Hedo Turkoglu, Jamaal Magloire, and Michael Redd.
3. Lorenzen Wright – 1996
Despite being impressed with the workout of a young Kobe Bryant, the Clippers made it clear that they didn't want the keys of the franchise to go to a teenager. As a result, with the seventh overall pick of the 1996 NBA Draft, Los Angeles selected Lorenzen Wright. The 6-foot-11 big man out of Memphis averaged 7.7 points and 7.4 rebounds per game for the Clippers. On the other hand, Bryant led the Los Angeles Lakers to five NBA championships.
2. Jerome Robinson – 2018
The 2018 NBA Draft saw the Clippers make the right move to swap Miles Bridges for eventual 2025 NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. However, they made a mistake in making Jerome Robinson the 13th overall pick of the 2018 NBA Draft. Despite a decent showing with Boston College, Robinson failed to acclimate at the NBA level. He averaged just 3.1 points per game on 37% shooting from the field overall. It only took four seasons before Robinson was out of the league.
1. Michael Olowokandi – 1998
Throughout NBA history, the Clippers have won the lottery three times. The worst choice of the three came in 1998, when they drafted University of the Pacific center Michael Olowokandi. Olowokandi turned out to be one of the worst top overall picks in NBA history. He put up 9.9 points on 43% shooting overall in five seasons with the Clippers. The 7-foot big man couldn't live up to the hype. To make matters worse, he was also unwilling to listen to the advice of none other than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
