The Los Angeles Clippers are a professional basketball team in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The club's home games are played at Staples Center, an arena shared with the Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA, the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL).

In the team's first season in San Diego, it posted a record of 43–39 under new head coach Gene Shue, leaving them two games shy of the final playoff spot. It would be the Clippers' last winning season for 13 years. It was also in that first season in Southern California that long-time announcer Ralph Lawler began his association with the club. Randy Shannon had another solid season, averaging 20.5 points per game, finishing second behind World B. Free, who was acquired in the offseason from the Philadelphia 76ers. Free finished second overall in NBA scoring average, with 28.8 per game, while George Gervin of the San Antonio Spurs had a 29.6 average.

Christopher Emmanuel Paul Sr. (born May 6, 1985) is an American professional basketball point guard for the Los Angeles Clippers. Paul was born and raised in North Carolina. Despite only playing two varsity basketball seasons in high school, he was a McDonald's All-American and accepted a scholarship with nearby Wake Forest University. After his sophomore year with the Demon Deacons, he declared for the draft. Since being selected 4th overall in the 2005 NBA Draft by the New Orleans Hornets, Paul has been a NBA Rookie of the Year (2006), a five-time All-Star, and a multiple All-NBA and All-Defensive team honoree. He led the Hornets to the second round of the 2008 NBA Playoffs. He has also won an Olympic Gold Medal with the United States national basketball team.

Off the court, Paul has also achieved success in the sport of bowling and is a sponsored spokesperson for the United States Bowling Congress (USBC). He has participated in numerous celebrity and youth bowling events as the head of the CP3 Foundation to benefit programs in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, and charities in Winston-Salem.

Kyrie Irving (born March 23, 1992) is an Australian-American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played as a point guard for Duke University as a freshman before being selected as the 1st overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft by Cleveland. He won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award in 2012. Irving was born in Melbourne and grew up in New Jersey.

Irving was born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia where his father, Drederick Irving, played professional basketball for the Bulleen Boomers. Irving subsequently lived in Australia before relocating to the United States at the age of 2. He has dual citizenship in the United States and Australia. Irving's mother, Elizabeth, died from an illness when he was four, so Drederick raised him with the help of Irving's aunts. Growing up in New Jersey, Irving was a fan of the New Jersey Nets. His father took him and his sister to Continental Airlines Arena during the 2003 NBA Finals.

Irving played for Montclair Kimberley Academy his freshman and sophomore years, where he averaged 26.5 points, 10.3 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 3.6 steals and became only the school's 2nd 1,000 point scorer, before transferring to St. Patrick. While at St. Patrick High School, Irving played with Michael Gilchrist, who was widely regarded as one of the best players in the class of 2011. On January 20, 2010, it was announced that Irving was selected to the 2010 Junior National Select Team. The team played at the 2010 Nike Hoop Summit at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon, on April 10. He was also selected to play in the 2010 McDonald's All-American Game and the 2010 Jordan Brand Classic, where he was named as co-mvp with Harrison Barnes. In June 2010 Irving was a part of the gold medal winning team at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship. Irving was the #2 player in the class of 2010 by Scout.com, #3 player in the ESPNU 100, and rated as the #4 player by Rivals.com.

Serge Jonas Ibaka Ngobila (born September 18, 1989), commonly referred to as Serge Ibaka, is a Congolese-Spanish professional basketball player, playing the power forward position for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the NBA. Ibaka was drafted by the Thunder's former incarnation, the Seattle SuperSonics with the 24th overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. He is referred to as Air Congo by his teammates. Serge is the third youngest among eighteen siblings. Although born in the Republic of the Congo, Ibaka represents Spain in international competition.

Ibaka was born in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo. Both his mother and his father were basketball players. His father played at the Republic of Congo and with the Congolese national team, and his mother played for the Democratic Republic of Congo. He started playing basketball at a very young age with his first club, Avenir du Rail, using the sport as an escape amongst his mother's untimely death and his father's imprisonment during the Second Congo War.

Matt Kelly Barnes (born March 9, 1980) is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association.

Barnes attended Del Campo High School in Fair Oaks, California, where he was a letterman in football and basketball. He earned All-American, All-State, All-CIF, All-City, and All-League honors in each sport.

After a college career at UCLA, Barnes was a second-round draft choice of the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2002 NBA Draft. He was then traded that summer along with Nick Anderson to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Wesley Person, but was cut that October. He has since played for the Los Angeles Clippers, the Sacramento Kings, the New York Knicks, the Philadelphia 76ers, the Golden State Warriors, the Phoenix Suns, and the Orlando Magic.

He was traded by the Kings halfway through the 2004–05 season along with Chris Webber to the 76ers, in exchange for Kenny Thomas, Corliss Williamson and Brian Skinner, though he never suited up for a game with them due to knee tendinitis. He was waived and then signed a free agent contract with the New York Knicks in the 2005 NBA offseason. He was waived by the Knicks during the 2005–06 season after playing six games. He was then claimed by the 76ers to serve a second stint in Philadelphia, where he finished out the season.