60 free Los Angeles Clippers trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Los Angeles Clippers trivia quiz covers the whole strange saga: Bob McAdoo's Buffalo Braves losing their arena dates to a college team, the San Diego years with World B. Free and Bill Walton, Donald Sterling's unauthorised move to Los Angeles, the 12–70 'Clipper Triangle' season, Larry Brown, Elton Brand and Sam Cassell, Blake Griffin, Chris Paul and Lob City, the Sterling tape and Steve Ballmer's $2 billion purchase, Kawhi and Paul George, and the move to the Intuit Dome. Expect easy questions on the arena, the nickname and the biggest names, plenty of history for regular fans, and hard ones about the Celtics ownership swap, the Anaheim deal Sterling turned down and the riot-relocated 1992 playoff game. Logos and City uniforms get their turn too. Every answer was checked against primary and encyclopaedic sources before it went in, so when you miss one you can trust the explanation. Play it solo or run it as a round at your next watch party. For the wider league, our NBA trivia page is the natural next stop.
30 of 60 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01What is the name of the Clippers' Inglewood arena, opened for the 2024–25 season?
Intuit Dome
Intuit paid $500 million for 23 years of naming rights on the privately funded building next to SoFi Stadium.
Q 02Which Hall of Fame centre led the NBA in scoring three straight seasons and won MVP for Buffalo in 1975?
Bob McAdoo
The Braves reached the playoffs three times with him under coach Jack Ramsay.
Q 03Which college team's arena lease priority made it hard for the Braves to schedule home games in Buffalo?
Canisius Golden Griffins
The Griffins saw the Braves as a threat and deliberately took the better dates.
Q 04In 1978 Braves owner John Y. Brown swapped franchises with which team's owner, Irv Levin?
Boston Celtics
Levin, a Southern California resident, cited a shorter commute as a key reason.
Q 05The 'Clippers' name, chosen by contest in 1978, refers to what?
Sailing ships in San Diego Bay
The original logo showed three white sails inside a baby-blue circle representing the sunny climate.
Q 06Which 1978–79 San Diego Clippers guard finished second in NBA scoring at 28.9 points a game?
World B. Free
Only George Gervin scored more; Free finished second again the next year at 30.2.
Q 07Which San Diego native and former MVP signed with the Clippers in 1979 but was sidelined by foot injuries?
Bill Walton
He missed 68 games in his first season and two full seasons afterward.
Q 08For how many million dollars did Donald Sterling buy the Clippers in 1981?
12.5
Steve Ballmer paid $2 billion for the team 33 years later.
Q 09Sterling was fined a record $10,000 for saying the Clippers would lose enough to draft which player?
Ralph Sampson
He was also fined for flying players in coach seats, in violation of the collective bargaining agreement.
Q 10In which year did Sterling move the Clippers to Los Angeles without league approval?
1984
The NBA fined him $25 million and sued; a 1987 settlement let him stay and cut the fine to $6 million.
Q 11Which early-1980s court ruling suggested Sterling would beat the NBA in an antitrust suit?
The one that let Al Davis take the Raiders to L.A.
The NBA dropped its suit in September 1987 in exchange for Sterling dropping his.
Q 12What was the Clippers' record in 1986–87, then the second-worst in NBA history?
12–70
Sportswriters dubbed the run of injuries to Norm Nixon, Marques Johnson and others the 'Clipper Triangle'.
Q 13Which Hall of Famer served as the Clippers' general manager for 22 years from 1986?
Elgin Baylor
He won Executive of the Year in 2006 and left the team in 2008 under murky circumstances.
Q 21Which power forward did the Clippers acquire from Chicago in 2001 for the rights to Tyson Chandler?
Elton Brand
He became the franchise's all-time rebounding leader with 4,710.
Q 22Which veteran point guard, acquired from Minnesota in 2005, was credited as the key to the Clippers' 2006 playoff run?
Sam Cassell
That team won the franchise's first playoff series since Buffalo and took Phoenix to seven games.
Q 23Which young Clippers guard's 2007 knee injury was so gruesome that local TV declined to air the clip?
Shaun Livingston
He tore every ligament in the knee, but returned to win three titles with Golden State.
Q 14Which coach, hired mid-1991-92, gave the Clippers their first winning season in 13 years?
Larry Brown
He went 23–12 after replacing Schuler; the team also finished ahead of the Lakers for the first time in Los Angeles.
Q 15Where was Game 4 of the Clippers' 1992 first-round series played because of the Los Angeles riots?
Anaheim Convention Center
The Clippers won that game but lost the series to Utah in five.
Q 16Which star did the Clippers acquire from Atlanta in February 1994 in a trade for Danny Manning?
Dominique Wilkins
He averaged 29.1 points in 25 games and left in free agency that summer.
Q 17At which Orange County arena did the Clippers play some games from 1994 to 1999?
Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim
They drew nearly 16,000 a game there against about 9,200 at the Sports Arena, but Sterling turned down a $95 million deal.
Q 18Which centre did the Clippers take first overall in 1998, now considered one of the biggest draft busts?
Michael Olowokandi
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was hired to tutor him for one season and left citing his lack of improvement.
Q 19With whom did the Clippers share Staples Center from 1999 to 2024, along with the NHL's Kings?
Los Angeles Lakers
Under the lease the Kings and Lakers had scheduling priority, forcing occasional same-day doubleheaders.
Q 20Which two childhood friends from Illinois did the Clippers draft in 2000?
Darius Miles and Quentin Richardson
Miles went third overall and Richardson 18th; their head-tap celebration became a trademark.
Q 24Whom did the Clippers select first overall in the 2009 draft?
Blake Griffin
He broke his kneecap in the final preseason game and missed the entire season, then won Rookie of the Year in 2011.
Q 25The 2011 first-round pick the Clippers sent to Cleveland with Baron Davis became which No. 1 pick?
Kyrie Irving
Los Angeles received Mo Williams and Jamario Moon in the deal.
Q 26From which team did the Clippers acquire Chris Paul in December 2011 after a Lakers trade was vetoed?
New Orleans Hornets
The NBA owned the Hornets at the time, and David Stern nixed the Lakers deal.
Q 27Who coined the 'Lob City' nickname with an exclamation on the day the Chris Paul trade was announced?
Blake Griffin
Told the news by Jordan at media day, he declared, 'Yeah! It's going to be lob city!'
Q 28From how many points down did the Clippers rally to win Game 1 of their 2012 series against Memphis?
27
They won 99–98 and later took Game 7 on the road, 82–72.
Q 29How many straight games did the Clippers win in December 2012 to set a franchise record and post a 16–0 month?
17
The streak ended against Denver on January 2, 2013.
Q 30In which year did the Clippers win their first division title in franchise history?
2013
They clinched it by sweeping the season series from the Lakers and finished 56–26.