1991–92 Los Angeles Clippers season

1991–92 Los Angeles Clippers season
Head coach	Mike Schuler Mack Calvin (interim) Larry Brown
Owner(s)	Donald Sterling
Arena	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena
Results
Record	45–37 (.549)
Place	Division: 5th (Pacific) Conference: 7th (Western)
Playoff finish	West First Round (eliminated 2-3)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	Prime Ticket, SportsChannel Los Angeles, KCOP
Radio	KIIS

The 1991-92 Los Angeles Clippers season was their 22nd season in the NBA, their 8th in Los Angeles. The Clippers got off to a strong start with Danny Manning and Ron Harper were healthy and leading a young Clippers team to a 14-10 start. However, they would struggle over the next few weeks sliding back below .500 with a 22-25 record as head coach Mike Schuler was fired and replaced by Larry Brown, who resigned as coach of the San Anonio Spurs a few weeks earlier. Under Brown, the Clippers won 23 of their final 35 games to finish fifth in the Pacific Division with a 45-37 record. Making their first playoff appearance since the 1975-76 season when they were known as the Buffalo Braves, and ending a fifteen year playoff drought. In the first round of the playoffs, they lost five games to the Utah Jazz.

Draft Picks

Main article: 1991 NBA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	22	LeRon Ellis	C/PF	United States	Syracuse
2	37	Elliot Perry	PG	United States	Memphis
2	38	Joe Wylie	PF	United States	Miami (FL)

Roster

Los Angeles Clippers roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From C 53 Edwards, James 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 252 lb (114 kg) Washington C 22 Ellis, LeRon 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Syracuse PG 23 Grant, Gary 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Michigan SG 4 Harper, Ron 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Miami (OH) SG 30 Kimble, Bo 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Loyola Marymount PF 5 Manning, Danny 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Kansas SF 3 Norman, Ken 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Illinois C 0 Polynice, Olden 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Virginia PG 32 Rivers, David 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Notre Dame PG 25 Rivers, Doc 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Marquette SF 54 Smith, Charles D. 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Pittsburgh PF 35 Vaught, Loy 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Michigan PG 21 Young, Danny 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Wake Forest	Head coach Mike Schuler Mack Calvin Larry Brown Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Roster Notes

• Forward Tony Brown becomes the 5th former Laker to play with the crosstown rival Clippers. He would later serve as an assistant coach for the team under coaches Mike Dunleavy, Sr. and Kim Hughes from 2008 to 2010
• This is guard David River's second tour of duty with the franchise. He previously played for the team in 1989-1990.

Regular season

Season standings

Pacific Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Portland Trail Blazers	57	25	.695	—	33-8	24-17	21-9
x-Golden State Warriors	55	27	.671	2	31-10	24-17	19-11
x-Phoenix Suns	53	29	.646	4	36-5	17-24	17-13
x-Seattle SuperSonics	47	35	.573	10	28-13	19-22	16-14
x-Los Angeles Clippers	45	37	.549	12	29-12	16-25	13-17
x-Los Angeles Lakers	43	39	.524	14	24-17	19-22	13-17
Sacramento Kings	29	53	.354	28	21-20	8-33	6-24

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

#	Western Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Portland Trail Blazers	57	25	.695	–
2	y-Utah Jazz	55	27	.671	2
3	x-Golden State Warriors	55	27	.671	2
4	x-Phoenix Suns	53	29	.646	4
5	x-San Antonio Spurs	47	35	.573	10
6	x-Seattle SuperSonics	47	35	.573	10
7	x-Los Angeles Clippers	45	37	.549	12
8	x-Los Angeles Lakers	43	39	.524	14
9	Houston Rockets	42	40	.512	15
10	Sacramento Kings	29	53	.354	28
11	Denver Nuggets	24	58	.293	33
12	Dallas Mavericks	22	60	.268	35
13	Minnesota Timberwolves	15	67	.183	42

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Playoffs

West First Round

(2) Utah Jazz vs. (7) Los Angeles Clippers: Jazz win series 3-2

• Game 1 @ Delta Center, Salt Lake City (April 24): Utah 115, LA Clippers 97
• Game 2 @ Delta Center, Salt Lake City (April 26): Utah 103, LA Clippers 92
• Game 3 @ Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles (April 28): LA Clippers 98, Utah 88
• Game 4 @ Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim (May 3): LA Clippers 115, Utah 107
• Game 5 @ Delta Center, Salt Lake City (May 4): Utah 98, LA Clippers 89

Last Playoff Meeting: Not available (first playoff series)

Player statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Tony Brown
Lanard Copeland
James Edwards
LeRon Ellis
Gary Grant
Ron Harper
Bo Kimble
Danny Manning
Tharon Mayes
Ken Norman
Elliot Perry
Olden Polynice
David Rivers
Doc Rivers
Charles Smith
Loy Vaught
Danny Young

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
James Edwards
LeRon Ellis
Gary Grant
Ron Harper
Bo Kimble
Danny Manning
Ken Norman
Olden Polynice
Doc Rivers
Charles Smith
Loy Vaught
Danny Young

Transactions

The Clippers were involved in the following transactions during the 1991–92 season.

Trades

June 26, 1991	To Los Angeles Clippers Doc Rivers	To Atlanta Hawks 1991 first-round draft pick & 1993 and 1994 second-round draft picks
June 26, 1991	To Los Angeles Clippers 1996 or 1997 second-round draft pick	To Denver Nuggets Winston Garland
September 22, 1991	To Los Angeles Clippers James Edwards	To Detroit Pistons Jeff Martin & 1995 second-round draft pick

Free agents

Additions

Player	Signed	Former team

Subtractions

Player	Left	New team