“We Were Kicking the Lakers’ Butt”: Matt Barnes and Co. Fell Victims to One Weakness Resulting in Their Downfall [2013]

The LA Clippers, during its ‘Lob City’ phase, defined what it means to rise after falling over and over. Before the 2011-12 season, none of the teams took the Clippers seriously in the league. In fact, Sports Illustrated in 2000 coined the team as the ‘losingest’ team in sports history. It changed after 2011, as the team had its best six years, earning the name ‘Lob City’ with Blake Griffin and Chris Paul alley-ooping their way through teams. 

So much so that some ex-Clippers’ stars who played in that phase consider it to be their favorite team to have played on. Jamal Crawford had stated this back in 2022, and the latest one to admit is Matt Barnes.

Matt Barnes discusses the downfall of the Los Angeles Clippers

The 2017 NBA champion was on an episode of ‘Sloane Knows’. He revealed why the Clippers were the best team he played on and what led to its downfall. He mentioned how he took immense pride in playing for that ‘Lob City’ team. They won the first Pacific division championship ever for the Clippers in 2013. “At that time, we were kicking the Lakers’ butt, like, beat the Lakers by the most points in the series in the rivalry’s history,” Matt Barnes stated.

He believes they had a chance of winning the championship with that team, but too many egos in the team prevented that. “Our stars didn’t get along. And I feel like it was a really a wasted opportunity,” Matt Barnes said.

The ex-Clippers had stated this back in 2018 as well on the ‘Lunchtime with Roggin and Rodney’ show. As per his statement back then, the players were cool with each other off-court but could not get together on the court. “We just couldn’t get on the same page. It was crazy,” he said. It should be noted that there are additional individuals within the franchise having similar opinions to varying degrees.

What other ex-LA Clippers stars have to say about the downfall of Lob City

One of the key players of the Lob City, Blake Griffin, believes it was not just the internal issues that toppled the team from its position. “I am in the camp where [I think] it wasn’t quite as bad as people tried to make it out to be,” said Griffin on the ‘Old Man and the Three’ podcast. “Maybe towards the end, maybe like when some other things happened. But that’s not the reason we didn’t win a championship,” he added.

Read More: Matt Barnes Chooses Chris Paul Over Stephen Curry for All-Time Starting Five’s PG Only Due to One Reason

However, JJ Reddick seems to have sided with Matt Barnes’ opinion on the issue. He believed the pettiness within the team could not let them reach greater heights. It came from Reddick on his podcast ‘Old Man and the Three’. “I’ve said this a million times… Later on in my Clippers’ run, there was a sense of pettiness, and we weren’t necessarily happy for each other’s success,” he said.

Do you think the LA Clippers will ever again reach a similar level of greatness? What changes do you think could help the Clippers at present? Let us know your views in the comments.

Read More: Matt Barnes Controversy: NBA Legend Sidelined By $166.22 Company Following Bizarre High School Incident