Image: Fido\/Wikimedia Commons<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nIn the 10 seasons between 2011 and 2021, the LA Clippers made the NBA playoffs nine times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is a pretty outstanding record, and by far the best in history for a franchise once called the worst in all professional sports by ESPN The Magazine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Under new ownership particularly, the Clippers have aimed high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The duo of Chris Paul and Blake Griffin that led the team throughout the 2010s were two of the most talented players in the league, but in true Clipper fashion, they couldn\u2019t quite get along.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A rift developed between the two all-stars, and this lack of cohesion eventually told on the court, with the team never making it further than the first round of the playoffs. According to coach Doc Rivers, the team lacked a leader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fast forward to 2020, Paul and Griffin have both been moved on and replaced with superstars Paul George and Kawhi Leonard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The team finished second in the Western Conference after a stellar season, and the Clippers were rightfully considered strong contenders for the NBA title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The team was on course to meet their rivals, the LA Lakers, in the Western Conference Finals, and everything about the franchise looked determined to get one over on their neighbors and reach the NBA Finals for the first time in history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NBA legend Reggie Miller even said: \u201cTheir whole marketing scheme was to deface the Los Angeles Lakers and their history. That\u2019s all they wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the Denver Nuggets didn\u2019t get the memo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They ultimately won the semi-final series, 4-3, with the Clippers throwing away a 3-1 series lead to crash out in devastating fashion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Their chances of beating the Lakers and winning a championship slipped away in front of their eyes. But there\u2019s always next year, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes, but the Clipper curse remained\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 2020-21 regular season wasn\u2019t quite as good as the year before. But the team still comfortably made the playoffs and gave the fans hope it could finally be their year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This hope dramatically increased after the Clippers dispatched the Mavericks and Jazz in the first two rounds of the playoffs to reach the first Conference Final in franchise history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In game two of the Conference finals series against the Phoenix Suns, the Clippers were already one down and were up against it in the fourth quarter as the Suns stretched out to a 100-95 lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Clippers bounced back in gritty fashion and held a one-point lead with the ball out of bounds and 0.9 seconds left on the game clock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They were just one good defensive play away from tying the series 1-1 and playing the next two at home. What could go wrong?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well, for the Clippers, everything went wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Suns\u2019 Jae Crowder had the ball for the out-of-bounds play on the baseline and threw a pass up toward the basket as the milliseconds began to tick away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Deandre Ayton was on the same page as his teammate and unbelievably soared above the Clippers\u2019 defenders to slam dunk what would be the winning basket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Clippers couldn\u2019t even get a shot off in reply and went 2-0 down in the series. They never truly recovered and ended up losing the series 4-2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. The Team Was Founded In Buffalo<\/h3>\n\n\n\n Clippers fans aren\u2019t the only ones who think their team is cursed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Across the country in Buffalo, Bills fans have long felt their team would never win the Super Bowl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Between 1991 and 1994, the Bills reached the big game four times in a row but never came away with a victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Super Bowl XXV<\/a> in 1991 was undoubtedly the most heartbreaking loss of the four, with the Bills\u2019 kicker Scott Norwood narrowly missing a field goal attempt at the end of the game that would have secured victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Bills are known as one of the most cursed franchises in the NFL, and the Clippers have a history with Buffalo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As previously explained, the franchise was founded in the second biggest city in New York, and maybe the two are eternally linked and doomed to fail?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Clippers fans must wish they were founded in New England\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Is There Hope For The Future?<\/h2>\n\n\n\nImage: Zimbio<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nUnfortunately, this article doesn\u2019t make great reading if you are a Clippers fan but don\u2019t shoot the messenger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whether it\u2019s feuding superstars, the worst owner in history, or just downright bad luck, things just don\u2019t go the Clippers\u2019 way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But that doesn\u2019t mean all hope is lost. Several sports teams with their own \u201ccurses\u201d have broken them, even in recent years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Philadelphia Eagles were allegedly cursed in 1960 when they prevented Vince Lombard from winning the NFL Championship, handing him the only playoff loss of his career. The Eagles\u2019 curse was as real as the Clippers until Super Bowl LII – when the Birds finally won.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over in England, soccer team Birmingham City allegedly had a 100-year hex placed on them by Romani people who were displaced when the club moved to St Andrew\u2019s stadium in 1906.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just four years after the curse was lifted, the team defeated Arsenal in the final of the League Cup to win just the second major trophy in their 140-year history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, there is still hope for the LA Clippers. The curse may be real, but other sports teams from around the world have shown they can be broken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But don\u2019t get too excited, Clippers fans\u2026 it\u2019s the hope that kills you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lead image: David Jones\/Flickr<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you asked 100 people to name an LA sports team, not many of them would say the LA Clippers. …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":73,"featured_media":34506,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
The Clippers Curse \u2013 What Is It And Are They Doomed Forever?<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n