Clippers Rookie May Be the Only Silver Lining Amid Disastrous 4-10 Start

The Los Angeles Clippers may have found themselves a gem in the second round.

Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Clippers are in the midst of a disastrous season. After back-to-back losses on their East Coast trip, they are 4-10 for the season and are already five games behind the sixth-seed, also known as a guaranteed playoff spot. Besides a vintage James Harden season, not much is going right for the Clippers. Over the last week, however, the emergence of Kobe Sanders has become the biggest silver lining of the season.

Sanders has shot up in the depth chart over the last four games and delivered consistently solid performances. The 23-year-old rookie, who was the 50th-overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, has been a nice story for the struggling Clippers ever since he became a part of the rotation against the Denver Nuggets last Wednesday. Since then, he has played 23 minutes per game in four appearances, and even got the start on Monday against the Sixers after Derrick Jones Jr. was ruled out with a knee injury.

Clippers Have Found a Gem in Kobe Sanders

Playing a season-high 30 minutes on Monday, Sanders had 17 points on 5/11 shooting from the field, including 3/7 from three, and 4/4 from the free-throw line. He even got to close the game, and played a key role down the stretch, including an attack to the basket with 13 seconds left in the game, where he got fouled and made both of his free throws. His efforts were not enough, as the Clippers missed three three-pointers in the last minute, including one from Sanders, and two from Harden, on their way to a 110-108 loss.

The second-round pick may have earned himself the starting spot with his individual performance. He is the injection of youth and dynamism that the Clippers have needed since the start of the season. He is not the elite athlete Derrick Jones Jr. is, but Sanders may have more offensive juice than Jones. He has good positional size at 6'6", can guard multiple positions, and is a versatile offensive player who can dribble, pass, and shoot. That is something the Clippers are severely lacking outside of Harden this season.

The Clippers have consistently targeted older prospects in the draft with their late first-round and second-round picks. They have had mixed success with these selections, including Jordan Miller, Yanic Konan Niederhauser, and Kobe Brown, who are all currently on the roster. Their desire to select NBA-ready prospects can sometimes result in going for young players with lower ceilings. Sanders, on the other hand, seems like a big steal early in his career.

What complicates matters, however, is the fact that Sanders is currently on a two-way contract. The fact that he is ahead of players like Brown, Niederhauser, and Cam Christie in the rotation, despite those players having guaranteed deals, will eventually force the Clippers' hand.

The Clippers have an open roster spot, so they will have to sign Sanders to a guaranteed NBA deal or shuffle things around before the trade deadline to make room for the emerging youngster in a different way. Otherwise, two-way players are limited to playing in 50 regular-season games and can't play in the postseason. It doesn't seem like the Clippers will have to worry about the latter part of that, but it still behooves them to sign Sanders on a long-term bargain deal.