Throughout the past few seasons, the Los Angeles Clippers have rotated through a number of NBA stars in an attempt to reach the top of the league, to middling success. 

They missed the playoffs this season after falling in the Play-In Tournament to the Golden State Warriors and they haven't made it past the opening round of the playoffs in five seasons. 

But, just because the Clippers aren't in the playoffs this season doesn't mean that their blueprint isn't all over the tournament. Several former Clippers are dominating in the playoffs and one of them may have asserted himself as the best player in the league today.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wasn't exactly a star when he played for the Clippers, especially not at the level that he's been playing at in Oklahoma City, but he did get his start in Los Angeles, playing all 82 games of his rookie season before being sent to the Oklahoma City Thunder as part of a trade package for Paul George.

In recent years, Gilgeous-Alexander has reached the peak of the NBA. He's made four straight All-Star games and he's both the defending MVP and defending champion after the Thunder won it all last season, with Gilgeous-Alexander winning Finals MVP as well.

After sweeping the Portland Trail Blazers in the opening series, Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder look to be on the fast track to repeating as champions.

Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 33.8 points, 8.0 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game in the 2026 playoffs and set a new playoff career-high in Game 3, scoring 42 points while shooting 15-18 from the field. 

The man that Gilgeous-Alexander was traded for is having quite the series himself, just not for the Clippers.

George played five seasons in Los Angeles, earning three All-Star nods, but for the last two seasons he's been with the Philadelphia 76ers, who are down 3-2 to the Boston Celtics in the opening round.

Paul is averaging 17.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game in the playoffs and he's been a crucial support piece and veteran presence for Philadelphia, playing behind stars Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid. 

The Clippers shocked the NBA world just before the trade deadline with the sudden news that they were trading James Harden to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Darius Garland. 

For the Clippers, the trade was an investment in their future with the youth of Garland and for the Cavaliers it was a shift to "win-now" mode, hoping that Harden would push them over the edge in the Eastern Conference.

Cleveland leads the Toronto Raptors 3-2 in the opening series and Harden has been a big reason why. He's averaging 22.0 points, second on the team behind Donovan Mitchell, 6.2 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game while also leading the Cavaliers in steals with 2.0 per game.

The Clippers have laid a good foundation for the future with players like Garland, Jordan Miller and Yanic Konan Niederhauser, but Los Angeles still must have mixed feelings about seeing so many of their former players thriving and winning somewhere else.