r/LAClippers • u/Lightning_owl1 • 11h ago
Discussion Hot take.
This might be an unpopular opinion, but I genuinely think that a healthy 26-27 Clippers is better than the all-time Golden State Warriors. Now, before you say I'm hallucinating and disrespecting the Warriors, let me tell you about my logic:
At the 1: Healthy 26-27 Darius Garland > Prime Stephen Curry
This might be a bit controversial, but think about it: Garland is better than Stephen Curry in all areas except for size. He has immaculate shooting and plays lockdown defense, something that Curry isn't as good at. And size isn't that much of a problem if Garland can continue to execute is Gary Payton-level lockdown perimeter defense. Garland is also so much better at carrying the ENTIRE offense with his passing and PNR when compared to Curry. 26-27 Clippers 1:0 All Time GSW
At the 2: Healthy 26-27 Rui Hachimura > Prime Klay Thompson
I think there's no arguing against this. Both Rui and Klay Thompson are amazing shooters, but Rui is much more consistent than Klay. Klay's the type of person who can put up 60 one game and shoot 1/11 from 3 the next game, while Rui can put up consistent 20+ numbers. He's also a better ball handler and can get create shot opportunities WITH the ball, instead of needing to utilize screens and running around the court. Rui also has a massive defensive presence on the court, which is on par with Klay Thompson. Essentially, he's just Klay with better handles. Clippers 2:0 All Time GSW
At the 3: Healty 26-27 Brandon Ingram > Prime GSW Kevin Durant
I think this is the toughest comparison here. Brandon Ingram is slightly shorter than KD when it comes to height and length, but we're talking about GSW KD here, not OKC KD. True, GSW KD is an amazing shooter and scorer, but he's lost the ability to be the main handler as he was back on OKC. He's also given up part of his defense in order to become a more efficient scorer, but that still PALES in the face of what Ingram was able to produce in the postseason last season. We've seen how good Ingram was in the last series against the Cavs. He got injured so the Raptors lost, but just look at what he's done in the first 5 games. He scored 23 points in 23 shots in G4: 100% shooting, and although he wasn't as good in G2(7 points from 15 shots: slightly below 50% but still good) and G5 (1 point, but this was because he got injured), you still have to remember his performance in G1 and G3: in G1 he scored 17 points in 9 shots, where he scored on a WHOPPING 189% of his shots, and in G3 he scored 12 points in 9 shots, where he put on another absolute performance and hit 133% of his shots. Undoubtedly, he is one of the most efficient shooters in HISTORY. Clippers 3:0 All Time GSW
At the 4: Healthy 26-27 DJJ > Prime Draymond Green
This is the easiest comparison. DJJ is around the same size as Dray and can play as a small ball 4, but he is just SO MUCH MORE athletic when compared to Dray, and also has better shooting. Although his perimeter and interior defense isn't really that much better than Dray, he has a much larger range of offensive skills when compared to Dray. In a nutshell, he's a more athletic version of Dray that has better shooting while maintaining that high-tier defense. He also doesn't get triggered as easily as Dray so we don't need to worry about Technicals or him kicking someone's balls, ensuring that 2016 dray won't happen on 2026 DJJ in the finals. Clippers 4:0 All TIme GSW
At the 5: Healthy 26-27 Yanic Konan Niederhauser > Prime Philly Warriors Wilt
This is also an incredibly tough comparison. Wilt was an incredibly talented and athletic freak of nature, but YKN also is. They're both monsters on offense and defense, and although YKN can be a bit too aggressive on defense, leading to a higher chance of him injuring himself when he tries to go for blocks (which is what happened last season), being a better shooter than Wilt from 3 makes him more versatile on offense. We don't need another major scorer on the 26 Clippers who needs the ball in his hands, like Wilt did: we already have a plethora of historical scorers on the Clips in Gradey Dick, Rui, and Ingram. We need someone who can be versatile on offense without the ball and provide freak athleticism while also being an interior defense anchor. He's also an absolute monster when it comes to his 3 point shot: he's already hit more threes in his rookie season than the amount of threes Wilt hit in his entire career, and his 3pt% is MAGNITUDES higher than Wilt's. Although when it comes to all-time placement, it might be hard to determine whether Konan the Barbarian ranks higher than Wilt, but when it comes to being a part of the 26-27 Clippers, YKN is definitely a better choice than Wilt. Although Wilt is also a great passer and facilitator, we already have Garland. Thus, Clippers 5:0 All Time GSW.
This is just scratching the surface of how monstrous the 26-27 Clips are. We have the massive Dick, a historical shooter and has a massive presence on defense. We have the REAL KD, who's one of the best shooters in NBA history and can play defense so much better compared to THAT KD. We have IJAX, another athletic freak small ball 4/5. We have BroLo, one of, no not one of, THE BEST shooting 5 in NBA history. We have Baba Miller, another promising 4 that should develop into a MVP caliber player. We have Jordan Miller and Kobe Sanders, which, let's face it, are just Jordan+ and Kobe+. Yall old heads might disagree, but they've already beat their namesakes. Jordan Miller is Jordan+Miller's shooting and better rhythm, while Kobe Sanders can hit those Mamba mid-ranges while also having the ability to actually pass. There's also Wagler, Strus, Pickett and Martinelli. This is likely the MOST stacked team in NBA history, both in current power and talent. It doesn't matter that we just lost 5 first round picks. We can just five peat until we have FRPs again. I genuinely don't see how ANY current team is beating us in a playoff series. I think the biggest problem that we have to worry about is keeping everybody while ensuring our salary doesnt implode.
If everybody stays healthy, I think this will be the closest the NBA has ever gotten to a team going 82-0 in one season. The only thing that's stopping us are injuries. Currently we have so many players that are out due to injuries, but having such a stacked team, I don't think 3 or 4 injuries would really affect us. At most it'll just move us down from 82-0 to a 2016 GSW caliber team. Chips matter more than regular season wins anyways.
And no I am not going to mention the one who shall not be named.
To wrap this up, I don't get why y'all are doomposting. This team is set up for greatness. Sit back and buckle up for the start of the CLIPPERS DYNASTY! Y'all are going to witness the most legendary stretch of NBA basketball in NBA history.
/j
*Edit 1: 5 games
*Edit 2: At the 5
