If you had asked Los Angeles Clippers fans how they felt about the 2025 season shortly after Christmas, you would have gotten a much different answer than if you asked them after Sunday’s 115-110 season-ending win over the Golden State Warriors.
Just a few months ago, the Clippers looked to be one of the worst teams in the NBA.
With a 9-21 record the day after Christmas, L.A. reeled off six straight wins int the New Year with another six-game win streak just a few days later to pull to within just a few games of .500.
Head coach Tyronn Lue is being praised for the epic turnaround he led in the second half of the season, which culminated in the Clippers sneaking into the postseason as they await the Warriors on Wednesday in the NBA Play-In Tournament.
The NBA even took note of the team’s accomplishment, pointing to the historic nature of what the Clippers accomplished.
“HISTORIC TURNAROUND FOR THE CLIPPERS!” the NBA X account posted. “When the Clippers were 6-21 on December 20, Ty Lue, ahead of a game against the Lakers, told the media, ‘Our main focus is to try to be 35-20 the rest of the way.’
“The rest of the way, Los Angeles went 36-19, becoming the first team in NBA history to finish above .500 (42-40) after being 15 games below .500 at any point in a season 🤯.”
The Clipper’s late-season rally kept their streak of 15 consecutive seasons with a .500 or better record alive. It also kept Lue’s streak of never missing the postseason as Clippers head coach alive as well.
Los Angeles fell to the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs last year.
The Clippers haven’t made it out of the first round of the playoffs since the 2020-21 season when they ran through the Dallas Mavericks and Utah Jazz to reach the Western Conference Finals, where they lost n six games to the Phoenix Suns.