The 1979-80 NBA season marked the San Diego Clippers’ second year after relocating from Buffalo. The team struggled throughout the season, finishing with a disappointing 35-47 record, placing them fourth in the Pacific Division. Despite a lackluster overall performance, the Clippers showed flashes of potential under head coach Gene Shue.
One of the key players was World B. Free, who led the team with an impressive average of 30.2 points per game, ranking second in the league. His scoring prowess was a highlight in an otherwise challenging season. The Clippers also acquired rookie center Bill Walton, although injuries limited his impact on the floor. The team faced consistency issues, particularly on defense, which contributed to their inability to secure a playoff spot. Overall, the season was a building block as the franchise continued to search for stability and success in their new home city.
- Regular Season Record: 35-47
- Playoff Result: Did not make playoffs
San Diego Clippers Roster and Stats for 1979-80 Season
POINTS
World B. Free
30.2
REBOUNDS
Swen Nater
15.0
ASSISTS
Brian Taylor
4.3
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | GP | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3P% | GP | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3P% |
| World B. Free | 68 | 30.2 | 3.5 | 4.2 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 36.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Freeman Williams | 82 | 18.6 | 2.4 | 2.0 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 32.8 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Bill Walton | 14 | 13.9 | 9.0 | 2.4 | 0.6 | 2.7 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Brian Taylor | 78 | 13.5 | 2.4 | 4.3 | 1.9 | 0.3 | 37.7 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Swen Nater | 81 | 13.4 | 15.0 | 2.9 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Bingo Smith | 70 | 11.7 | 3.5 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 29.3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Joe Bryant | 81 | 9.3 | 6.3 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 14.7 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Sidney Wicks | 71 | 7.1 | 5.8 | 3.0 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Nick Weatherspoon | 57 | 6.9 | 3.6 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Stan Pietkiewicz | 50 | 4.6 | 0.9 | 1.9 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 25.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Bob Carrington | 10 | 3.6 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Jerome Whitehead | 18 | 3.3 | 3.9 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Marvin Barnes | 20 | 3.2 | 4.2 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Steve Malovic | 28 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| John Olive | 1 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
San Diego Clippers 1979-80 Regular Season Game Log
Here is the game log for the 1979-80 season for the San Diego Clippers.
| Date | Opponent | Result | High Scorer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 12, 1979 | @ San Diego Clippers | W 103-102 | |
| Oct 14, 1979 | @ San Diego Clippers | L 98-93 | |
| Oct 16, 1979 | @ Portland Trail Blazers | L 88-81 | |
| Oct 18, 1979 | @ San Diego Clippers | L 111-107 | |
| Oct 19, 1979 | @ Seattle SuperSonics | L 106-98 | |
| Oct 22, 1979 | @ Utah Jazz | L 110-109 | |
| Oct 23, 1979 | @ San Diego Clippers | L 132-127 | |
| Oct 25, 1979 | @ San Diego Clippers | W 118-115 | |
| Oct 27, 1979 | @ San Diego Clippers | L 110-105 | |
| Oct 28, 1979 | @ San Diego Clippers | W 106-101 | |
| Oct 31, 1979 | @ San Diego Clippers | W 130-123 | |
| Nov 02, 1979 | @ San Diego Clippers | W 123-102 | |
| Nov 03, 1979 | @ San Diego Clippers | L 126-109 | |
| Nov 06, 1979 | @ Los Angeles Lakers | L 127-112 | |
| Nov 07, 1979 | @ Phoenix Suns | W 114-102 | |
| Nov 09, 1979 | @ Chicago Bulls | L 107-92 | |
| Nov 10, 1979 | @ Milwaukee Bucks | L 133-104 | |
| Nov 13, 1979 | @ San Diego Clippers | W 137-91 | |
| Nov 16, 1979 | @ San Diego Clippers | L 105-97 | |
| Nov 18, 1979 | @ San Diego Clippers | L 112-96 | |
| Nov 20, 1979 | @ San Diego Clippers | L 117-110 | |
| Nov 21, 1979 | @ Denver Nuggets | L 105-84 | |
| Nov 23, 1979 | @ San Diego Clippers | W 107-91 | |
| Nov 27, 1979 | @ San Diego Clippers | L 128-103 | |
| Nov 28, 1979 | @ Golden State Warriors | W 114-108 | |
| Nov 30, 1979 | @ Philadelphia 76ers | L 104-101 | |
| Dec 01, 1979 | @ Atlanta Hawks | L 106-96 | |
| Dec 04, 1979 | @ Cleveland Cavaliers | L 115-112 | |
| Dec 06, 1979 | @ San Diego Clippers | L 105-103 | |
| Dec 07, 1979 | @ Los Angeles Lakers | W 116-108 | |
| Dec 09, 1979 | @ Portland Trail Blazers | W 98-96 | |
| Dec 12, 1979 | @ San Diego Clippers | W 118-107 | |
| Dec 14, 1979 | @ San Diego Clippers | L 112-108 | |
| Dec 16, 1979 | @ San Diego Clippers | L 133-126 | |
| Dec 18, 1979 | @ Kansas City Kings | L 110-96 | |
| Dec 20, 1979 | @ San Diego Clippers | L 128-118 | |
| Dec 21, 1979 | @ Utah Jazz | W 110-98 | |
| Dec 23, 1979 | @ San Diego Clippers | L 124-118 | |
| Dec 26, 1979 | @ Seattle SuperSonics | L 124-104 | |
| Dec 27, 1979 | @ San Diego Clippers | W 118-97 | |
| Dec 29, 1979 | @ Washington Bullets | W 93-90 | |
| Jan 02, 1980 | @ New Jersey Nets | W 103-97 | |
| Jan 03, 1980 | @ New York Knicks | L 138-101 | |
| Jan 04, 1980 | @ Chicago Bulls | L 121-118 | |
| Jan 06, 1980 | @ San Diego Clippers | L 105-103 | |
| Jan 08, 1980 | @ Kansas City Kings | W 124-116 | |
| Jan 09, 1980 | @ Milwaukee Bucks | W 111-107 | |
| Jan 11, 1980 | @ San Diego Clippers | L 116-112 | |
| Jan 12, 1980 | @ San Diego Clippers | L 119-102 | |
| Jan 16, 1980 | @ San Diego Clippers | L 111-108 | |
| Jan 18, 1980 | @ Golden State Warriors | L 92-91 | |
| Jan 19, 1980 | @ Phoenix Suns | L 137-123 | |
| Jan 22, 1980 | @ San Antonio Spurs | L 129-109 | |
| Jan 23, 1980 | @ Houston Rockets | L 111-110 | |
| Jan 25, 1980 | @ Indiana Pacers | L 139-117 | |
| Jan 27, 1980 | @ Boston Celtics | L 131-108 | |
| Jan 29, 1980 | @ San Diego Clippers | L 133-121 | |
| Feb 06, 1980 | @ Golden State Warriors | L 117-92 | |
| Feb 08, 1980 | @ San Diego Clippers | L 118-104 | |
| Feb 09, 1980 | @ Denver Nuggets | L 123-104 | |
| Feb 13, 1980 | @ San Diego Clippers | W 108-103 | |
| Feb 17, 1980 | @ San Diego Clippers | W 108-107 | |
| Feb 19, 1980 | @ San Diego Clippers | W 123-113 | |
| Feb 21, 1980 | @ San Diego Clippers | L 104-99 | |
| Feb 24, 1980 | @ Chicago Bulls | L 110-102 | |
| Feb 26, 1980 | @ Milwaukee Bucks | L 122-88 | |
| Feb 27, 1980 | @ Detroit Pistons | W 129-113 | |
| Feb 29, 1980 | @ Kansas City Kings | L 98-93 | |
| Mar 02, 1980 | @ San Diego Clippers | W 101-98 | |
| Mar 04, 1980 | @ San Diego Clippers | L 116-105 | |
| Mar 08, 1980 | @ Utah Jazz | W 113-98 | |
| Mar 09, 1980 | @ San Diego Clippers | W 125-107 | |
| Mar 11, 1980 | @ San Diego Clippers | W 123-106 | |
| Mar 13, 1980 | @ San Diego Clippers | L 116-102 | |
| Mar 15, 1980 | @ San Diego Clippers | L 120-109 | |
| Mar 16, 1980 | @ Denver Nuggets | L 127-107 | |
| Mar 18, 1980 | @ San Diego Clippers | W 115-101 | |
| Mar 21, 1980 | @ Seattle SuperSonics | L 107-104 | |
| Mar 23, 1980 | @ Portland Trail Blazers | L 98-91 | |
| Mar 27, 1980 | @ San Diego Clippers | W 96-93 | |
| Mar 28, 1980 | @ Los Angeles Lakers | L 126-88 | |
| Mar 30, 1980 | @ Phoenix Suns | L 122-104 |