Clippings: The best Clipper to wear No. 24

World B. Free was one of the first superstars of the Clippers’ California era. The flamboyant shooting guard joined the Clips in 1978 after a few seasons with the 76ers, and arguably hit the peak of his career in San Diego.

He was also the best to wear No. 24 to date in Clippers history.

Two years running, Free was second in the league in scoring, averaging 29.4 points per game across those two seasons. His best season came in 1979-80, when he had a cool 30.2 ppg and was an NBA All-Star selection. The previous season wasn’t bad, either, when Free was an All-NBA Second Team selection. In any era, those scoring numbers would be elite.

He may have been named Lloyd Bernard Free, but the man known as World B. Free (nicknamed World supposedly because of his jumping prowess) was a star for the Clippers, who was a volume shooter and scorer, and a bright spot for a team that didn’t make the playoffs either season he was there. Free went on to play eight more seasons around the league, but his personal highpoint came with the Clips, and that’s why he’s the best Clipper yet to wear No. 24.

News for this Friday:

• Doc on what his Celtics and Clippers had in common: Doc Rivers talked to ESPN this week, and among the topics covered was what his Celtics and Clippers teams had in common at first. He also gave major props to Steve Ballmer for facilitating the Clippers turnaround.

• Kawhi loses the Klaw (copyright): Kawhi Leonard’s attempt to wrestle the copyright of his nickname, the Klaw, and stylized logo from Nike reportedly failed, according to Uproxx. Leonard, now with New Balance, won’t be able to cash in on the old mark.
• Stadium workers being left behind: While this ESPN story notes stadium workers at Clippers games will be paid through the end of the season (I’m not sure what counts as end of the season in this case, however), one of the knock-on effects of sports being shutdown is stadium workers are often left broke and forgotten.
• How long would it take to get in playing shape? This was an interesting dive into pondering how long it would take players to get ready for a restart of competitive basketball from the LA Times.
• Refs could benefit from games without fans: Studies have shown home court advantage often comes through the arena crowd influencing referees, and the Wall Street Journal posits a return to sports without fans could be a boon in more ways than one for game officials.