So the Los Angeles Clippers are named after the maritime culture of a city they left over 40 years ago. If that feels very Clippers to you, you are getting the hang of this franchise.
The full name history
- 1970 to 1978: Buffalo Braves. Born as an expansion team. The Braves name fit the era's fashion but stayed behind when the team left New York.
- 1978 to 1984: San Diego Clippers. New owner Irv Levin moved the team west and wanted a name that felt like San Diego. Clipper ships, celebrated in the bay's sailing tradition, won out. The uniforms went nautical, sky blue and orange with an actual sailboat in the logo.
- 1984 to now: Los Angeles Clippers. Donald Sterling moved the team up the coast and did not bother renaming it. Los Angeles is a port city too, so the name never exactly stopped making sense. It just stopped being about where the team plays.
The name finally came full circle
For decades the nautical theme was basically ignored. Then the 2024 rebrand for the Intuit Dome era leaned all the way back in: a mark inspired by a ship's wheel and compass, deep navy and Pacific blue, and an arena by the coast in Inglewood. Forty-six years after someone looked at San Diego Bay and wrote "Clippers" on a napkin, the boat stuff finally became the whole identity. We have a full breakdown of every era's look in the color history.
Bonus trivia
Clipper ships were built for one thing: speed. The teams that carried the name have historically been built for something closer to heartbreak. But when Lob City was throwing alley-oops on a five second break, or the 2024-25 team was running teams out of the Dome, the name fit perfectly. Fast, beautiful, and always sailing a little too close to the rocks.
- EraThe San Diego Years, where the name was born.
- Q.Why did the Clippers move to LA?
- LookHow the colors changed, era by era.