The Los Angeles Clippers have been ranked 29th in ESPN’s upcoming future power rankings ahead of the 2026-27 NBA season, according to Bobby Marks.
“We’ve got a piece coming out this week on our future power rankings: 29th (for the Clippers),” Marks said on NBA Today. When asked which team was ranked below Los Angeles, Marks answered: “Sacramento.”
The ranking reflects the uncertainty surrounding the Clippers after an offseason defined by the NBA’s salary-cap circumvention investigation, historic sanctions and the eventual departure of Kawhi Leonard.
The Clippers finished 42-40 last season and entered the offseason with Leonard as their clear centerpiece. The 35-year-old averaged 27.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 65 games while shooting 50.5% from the field and 38.7% from three-point range. He earned All-NBA Second Team honors and finished seventh in MVP voting.
Leonard was eventually traded to the Toronto Raptors on September 14 in the long-delayed transaction that had originally been agreed upon June 30. Los Angeles received Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two first-round picks, a first-round pick swap and two second-round picks.
Ingram now becomes the Clippers’ most prominent offensive piece. The 29-year-old joins a roster that also features two-time All-Star Darius Garland, who appeared in only 19 games for Los Angeles last season after arriving during the campaign.
Garland averaged 19.9 points and 6.4 assists in those 19 games, shooting 47.1% from the field and 43.8% from three-point range. His availability and ability to establish a consistent backcourt partnership with Ingram will be important to the Clippers’ outlook.
The roster also includes veterans such as Bradley Beal, Brook Lopez, Max Strus, Derrick Jones Jr. and Kris Dunn, alongside younger players including Jordan Miller, Kobe Sanders, Cam Christie and fifth overall pick Keaton Wagler.
Wagler gives the Clippers another potential long-term building block after they surrendered significant future draft capital as part of the NBA’s sanctions. The franchise forfeited its first-round picks from 2029 through 2033, while its 2027 and 2028 first-round selections are involved in swaps.
The NBA also fined the Clippers $30 million and suspended owner Steve Ballmer for one year. President of basketball operations Lawrence Frank received a six-month suspension through the 2027 trade deadline, while business president Gillian Zucker was suspended for one year.
With Frank unavailable, general manager Trent Redden and senior vice president/assistant general manager Mark Hughes are expected to serve as the Clippers’ primary basketball decision-makers. Redden was authorized to execute the Leonard trade on the organization’s behalf.
Tyronn Lue remains head coach, but the Clippers enter the season with considerably less draft flexibility and a different roster construction than the one that produced a 42-40 record last season.
ESPN’s future ranking therefore places Los Angeles just one spot above Sacramento, which finished 22-60 in 2025-26 and also enters the new season with an inexperienced roster around established players such as Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine, Malik Monk and De’Andre Hunter.
