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Great NBA Draft day decisions have been few and far between for the Los Angeles Clippers organization, even dating back to their days as the Buffalo Braves in the '70s and San Diego Clippers in the early '80s. The team has been a contender during the Kawhi Leonard era, as they were when Chris Paul and Blake Griffin led the team, but their history as a whole has been underwhelming.
In fact, the Clippers were the NBA's bottom dwellers for much of their existence. That has largely been due to bad draft moves, so check out the gallery to see the Clippers' worst NBA Draft day mistakes ever.
10. Benoit Benjamin, 1985
Benoit Benjamin was a 7-foot center who was drafted third overall out of Creighton in 1985. He had loads of potential, but he never lived up to it, largely because of a lack of effort, motor, and attitude.
Dick Vitale famously said, “He has a double zero on his back, but he should add another zero. I give him a zero for his offensive attitude, a zero for his defensive attitude, and a zero for his mental attitude… he's an absolute, fast-out disgrace to everyone that's ever worn a basketball uniform.”
Those were tough words from Vitale, but Benjamin simply didn't put in the work to become the player he could have become. Even so, Benjamin was enough of a physical freak that he was able to put up okay numbers in Los Angeles.
His best season of 5½ with the team was a 16.4-points-per-game season in 1988-89. Patrick Ewing went two picks before Benjamin, but the Creighton product was selected ahead of Chris Mullin, Detlef Schrempf, Charles Oakley, and Karl Malone.
9. Randy Woods, 1992
Randy Woods wasn't a lottery pick, but he still did next to nothing after the Clippers drafted him in the first round in 1992. The 16th overall pick from La Salle only scored 356 points in total during four seasons split between the Clippers and Denver Nuggets. Woods was an excellent scorer in college, but his 5-foot-10 frame wasn't sufficient for the professional level.
8. Ernie DiGregorio, 1973
Ernie DiGregorio looked like a star after the Braves drafted him with the third pick in 1973. His selection directly preceded a standout performance against the Soviet Union in an international exhibition series.
He'd then become the Rookie of the Year after a 15.2-point, 8.2-assist-per-game season, the latter of which was a league-leading output, as was DiGregorio's 90.2% free-throw rate. DiGregorio even had a 25-assist game, which still stands as a rookie record.
Unfortunately, DiGregorio suffered a knee injury after his first season. His production dropped to 7.8 points per game as a sophomore, and he never rediscovered the magic from his rookie season.
DiGregorio had loads of potential, but he qualifies as a Clippers draft mistake because his career as a whole was underwhelming, even if it was caused by a knee injury that nobody could have seen coming.
7. Darius Miles, 2000
Darius Miles was a memorable player in the early 2000s. He fit the culture and aesthetics of the era of basketball at that time, and he was known for impressive athletic abilities. The double alley-oop from a backwards Lamar Odom to Miles will be remembered as a highlight from early 2000s Clippers basketball.
Those two players, along with Elton Brand, Corey Maggette, and fellow 2000 NBA Draft class selection Quentin Richardson, formed the core of a fun and entertaining team but one that didn't win a lot of games.
That was largely because Miles just didn't live up to the billing of a third overall pick. He played just two seasons in Los Angeles before the Clippers traded him to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Miles' Clippers stint was too short as was his tenure in the NBA as a whole. Miles had microfracture surgery that caused him to miss all of the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons, and although he returned for one more season, Miles was out of the league entirely after playing just seven seasons.
On top of the injury that was career-ending and prematurely put a stop to his playing days, Miles also dealt with a suspension and a famous contract dispute.
6. Brice Johnson, 2016
Despite being a first-round pick, Brice Johnson's time with the Clippers amounted to just 20 total points. Johnson was billed as a point forward with a versatile skill set, but it didn't translate to the NBA game. The Clippers traded him in year two, and he was out of the league after his second season.
5. Bo Kimble, 1990
Bo Kimble and Hank Gathers played prep basketball together, and USC recruited them as a star duo. After their freshman season, they both transferred to Loyola Marymount, where they'd lead the way on one of the most entertaining teams in college basketball history.
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Loyola Marymount ran a fast-paced and high-scoring offense that was best known for high-flying dunks. Unfortunately, Gathers died on the court during his senior season, becoming one of the best basketball players ever to not make the NBA in the process.
Kimble was fortunate enough to make it to the next level as the Clippers took him eighth overall in 1990. Kimble's NBA career didn't pan out the way that anybody wanted, though. He averaged just 5.5 points per game in three NBA seasons, just two of which came with the Clippers.
4. Jerome Robinson, 2018
In 2018, Michael Porter Jr. slid down draft boards because of medical concerns. It was the Clippers doctor who wrote the report saying he'd never play in the NBA because of back problems. The Clippers proved that they were worried about the health of the Missouri product who had first overall potential when they passed on Porter with both the 12th and 13th picks.
The Clippers used the 12th pick in a trade to add 11th overall selection Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. That was the right move, considering Gilgeous-Alexander is now an MVP, but the Clippers made the mistake of trading him just one year later. The 13th overall pick was the real draft day mistake, though.
Los Angeles went with Jerome Robinson over Porter. Robinson turned into a massive draft bust who lasted just two seasons in Los Angeles. He was glued to the bench while with the Clippers and is already out of the league. Porter, meanwhile, became a key player on a Denver Nuggets team that won the championship. He is one of the best 3-point shooters in the NBA.
3. Yaroslav Korolev, 2005
Yaroslav Korolev impressed enough in Russian leagues to warrant the Clippers drafting him 12th overall in 2005. However, his skill set didn't translate to the NBA game.
Korolev struggled with the physicality that came with the top basketball league, which led to him shooting incredibly inefficiently. Korolev shot just 28.3% from the field and 25% from deep over his two-year career. He scored 39 points in total.
2. Danny Ferry, 1989
Although he left Duke just too early to be a part of their back-to-back national title teams, Danny Ferry led the Blue Devils to three Final Four appearances. The 1989 Naismith Player of the Year was one of the best Duke players ever and an obvious choice for pick No. 2 in 1989 for the Clippers.
However, Ferry refused to play for the team that made him a premier draft pick, so he played overseas in Italy for a season until the Clippers were able to find a trade partner.
The Clippers got a decent return from the Cleveland Cavaliers, which included Ron Harper and two first-round draft picks, but drafting a player second overall just for them to never play a single second for the franchise is a bad look.
1. Michael Olowokandi, 1998
Michael Olowokandi is one of the biggest draft busts in NBA history. The Clippers took him first overall in 1998 knowing he was a high-risk, high-reward selection. Olowokandi certainly amounted to the former half of that equation.
The 7-foot-1 Nigerian played college basketball at Pacific, and he had almost no formal basketball experience before that. He was raw by the time the Clippers drafted him, but he had the physical gifts that gave him immense potential.
The potential never turned into production. Olowokandi averaged single digits in scoring each of his first three years, and his career-best scoring mark was just 12.3 points per game. The Kandi Man also dealt with injury problems as well, and he was out of Los Angeles after five seasons. He is widely regarded as one of the worst first-overall NBA Draft picks ever.
