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Clippers Have Bizarre Fan Mask Distraction Planned for Nuggets Free-Throws

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Josh Wilson

The LA Clippers 'Wall' has been a home for the organization's most passionate fans
The LA Clippers 'Wall' has been a home for the organization's most passionate fans / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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The Los Angeles Clippers will welcome the Denver Nuggets for their first home game of their opening-round playoff series, and fans will be donning something intended to distract Nuggets taking free-throws when they're up against "The Wall," the steep section of seating reserved for the most raucous of Clips fans.

Fans on "The Wall" are getting horse masks at their seats to wear during Clippers free-throws. Here's a look at them:

The reason why has not been officially confirmed, but one can presume it's inspired by Nuggets star Nikola Jokic's love for horses. Famously, after the Nuggets won the NBA Finals in 2023, Jokic could not wait to get home to Sombor, Serbia to tend to his horses, even momentarily considering skipping the team's celebratory parade in Denver to get back for a horse race.

"The Wall" is a one-of-a-kind seating section that debuted when the Intuit Dome opened. It's a steep and visually intimidating part of the arena that does not permit opposing fans. A specific part of the wall close to the court is standing room only.

The series is locked at a game apiece going into Thursday night's contest. Perhaps the horse masks will be the needle-moving factor in the important breakeven game.

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Josh Wilson
JOSH WILSON

Josh Wilson is the news director of the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in 2024, he worked for FanSided in a variety of roles, most recently as senior managing editor of the brand’s flagship site. He has also served as a general manager of Sportscasting, the sports arm of a start-up sports media company, where he oversaw the site’s editorial and business strategy. Wilson has a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from SUNY Cortland and a master’s in accountancy from the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois. He loves a good nonfiction book and enjoys learning and practicing Polish. Wilson lives in Chicago but was raised in upstate New York. He spent most of his life in the Northeast and briefly lived in Poland, where he ate an unhealthy amount of pastries for six months.

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