The San Diego Clippers are back as members of the NBA’s G-League. NBC 7’s Derek Togerson gets us ready for the return of pro basketball to America’s Finest City.
The last time the San Diego Clippers played a basketball game was in 1984. Bill Walton was on the floor for that team. Now, the San Diego basketball legend is literally on the Clippers floor.
On Friday night the newest edition of the Clippers, this one of the NBA's developmental G-League, played their first game at the brand new Frontwave Arena in Oceanside. Before beating the Rip City Remix 122-107 in front of a sellout crowd, the Clips officially christened their playing surface "Bill Walton Court," a fitting honor to the late Hall of Famer.
After a slow start that saw them trailing 62-51 at halftime, the Clippers boatraced the Remix by relying on what might end up being the deepest roster in the G-League. San Diego had seven different players score in double figures, something we should probably get used to seeing in their inaugural America's Finest City season.
"Yes. This team's going to pass the basketball. That's one thing we're going to get them to do and they really bought into the idea of moving the ball and taking good shots," says head coach Paul Hewitt.
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19-year-old forward Trentyn Flowers and guard Elijah Harkness, a UNLV product, shared the team lead with 20 points. In the G-League, all the players are trying to earn a promotion to the NBA. Sometimes that can lead to a bit of "hero ball" where everyone is trying to pad their own stats. It's the ultimate small sample size but guys on this team say they want everyone to be successful together.
"You guys can expect to see that a whole lot from us this year," says Flowers. "Everybody has goals. We all want to eat. But at the same time, you know, we don't want to compromise things for each other. So, our goal is just to come in and share the ball. Coach has been religiously telling us to do that."
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I suppose the aphorism "a rising tide lifts all boats" is somewhat fitting for a team named after a sailing vessel. The Clippers try to make it two straight over Rip City on Sunday afternoon with a 6:00 p.m. tipoff at Frontwave Arena. For tickets, click here.
