Last Updated on September 16, 2026 by Mat Diekhake
League Search Page > NBA > LA Clippers > Roster & Statistics
The 1985–86 LA Clippers were powered by the scoring of Marques Johnson and Norm Nixon, with Nixon also serving as the team’s primary playmaker. Benoit Benjamin anchored the frontcourt through his rebounding, efficient interior scoring, and shot-blocking, while Michael Brooks provided balanced production as a secondary scorer and rebounder. The Clippers featured a capable inside-out attack but lacked the defensive consistency and overall balance needed to sustain success over the season.
Roster
| NO. | PLAYER | POS | HT | WT | BIRTH DATE | COLLEGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 00 | Benoit Benjamin | C | 7-0 | 250 | November 22, 1964 | Creighton |
| 1 | Darnell Valentine | PG | 6-1 | 183 | February 3, 1959 | Kansas |
| 2 | Junior Bridgeman | SF | 6-5 | 210 | September 17, 1953 | Louisville |
| 4 | Lancaster Gordon | SG | 6-3 | 185 | June 24, 1962 | Louisville |
| 8 | Marques Johnson | SG | 6-7 | 218 | February 8, 1956 | UCLA |
| 10 | Norm Nixon | PG | 6-2 | 170 | October 11, 1955 | Duquesne |
| 14 | Franklin Edwards | PG | 6-1 | 170 | February 2, 1959 | Cleveland State University |
| 18 | Derek Smith | SG | 6-6 | 205 | November 1, 1961 | Louisville |
| 19 | Cedric Maxwell | SF | 6-8 | 205 | November 21, 1955 | UNC Charlotte |
| 20 | Ozell Jones | C | 6-11 | 235 | November 20, 1960 | Wichita State, Cal State Fullerton |
| 21 | Jim Thomas | SG | 6-3 | 190 | October 19, 1960 | Indiana |
| 22 | Rory White | SF | 6-8 | 210 | August 16, 1959 | University of South Alabama |
| 31 | Wallace Bryant | C | 7-0 | 245 | July 14, 1959 | San Francisco |
| 38 | Jeff Cross | PF | 6-10 | 240 | September 1, 1961 | University of Maine |
| 40 | James Donaldson | C | 7-2 | 275 | August 16, 1957 | Washington State |
| 40 | Kurt Nimphius | PF | 6-10 | 218 | March 13, 1958 | Arizona State |
| 44 | Michael Cage | PF | 6-9 | 224 | January 28, 1962 | San Diego State |
| 46 | Jay Murphy | SF | 6-9 | 220 | June 26, 1962 | Boston College |
| 52 | Jamaal Wilkes | SF | 6-6 | 190 | May 2, 1953 | UCLA |
Head Coach: Don Chaney
Regular Season Per Game
| Name | Pos | Age | G | GS | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TOV | FGA | FG% | 3PA | 3P% | FTA | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marques Johnson | SG | 29 | 75 | 75 | 34.7 | 20.3 | 5.5 | 3.8 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 2.4 | 16.0 | .510 | 0.2 | .067 | 5.2 | .760 |
| Cedric Maxwell | SF | 30 | 76 | 72 | 32.3 | 14.1 | 8.2 | 2.8 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 2.7 | 8.7 | .475 | 0.0 | .000 | 7.4 | .795 |
| Norm Nixon | PG | 30 | 67 | 62 | 31.9 | 14.6 | 2.7 | 8.6 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 2.8 | 13.7 | .438 | 1.8 | .347 | 2.4 | .809 |
| James Donaldson | C | 28 | 14 | 14 | 31.5 | 10.2 | 9.4 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 2.1 | 2.7 | 6.0 | .512 | 0.0 | — | 5.0 | .814 |
| Derek Smith | SG | 24 | 11 | 9 | 30.8 | 23.5 | 3.7 | 2.8 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 3.0 | 16.5 | .552 | 0.2 | .500 | 7.6 | .690 |
| Kurt Nimphius | PF | 27 | 67 | 62 | 29.0 | 12.0 | 5.9 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 9.3 | .505 | 0.0 | .000 | 3.5 | .760 |
| Benoit Benjamin | C | 21 | 79 | 37 | 26.4 | 11.1 | 7.6 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 2.6 | 1.8 | 8.4 | .490 | 0.0 | .333 | 3.9 | .746 |
| Rory White | SF | 26 | 75 | 30 | 23.5 | 11.7 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 1.3 | 9.1 | .519 | 0.1 | .111 | 3.0 | .739 |
| Franklin Edwards | PG | 26 | 73 | 19 | 20.4 | 9.0 | 1.2 | 3.5 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 1.9 | 7.9 | .454 | 0.1 | .111 | 2.1 | .874 |
| Michael Cage | PF | 24 | 78 | 12 | 20.1 | 6.7 | 5.3 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 1.4 | 5.5 | .479 | 0.0 | .000 | 2.2 | .649 |
| Junior Bridgeman | SF | 32 | 58 | 14 | 20.0 | 8.8 | 2.1 | 1.9 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 1.2 | 7.8 | .441 | 0.3 | .333 | 2.1 | .891 |
| Jamaal Wilkes | SF | 32 | 13 | 1 | 15.0 | 5.8 | 2.2 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 1.2 | 5.0 | .400 | 0.2 | .333 | 2.1 | .815 |
| Darnell Valentine | PG | 26 | 34 | 2 | 14.2 | 5.9 | 1.6 | 3.1 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 1.7 | 5.4 | .379 | 0.3 | .273 | 2.2 | .787 |
| Lancaster Gordon | SG | 23 | 60 | 1 | 11.7 | 5.2 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 1.0 | 5.8 | .377 | 0.5 | .250 | 0.9 | .804 |
| Jim Thomas | SG | 25 | 6 | 0 | 11.5 | 2.2 | 1.3 | 2.0 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 1.5 | 2.5 | .400 | 0.0 | — | 0.3 | .500 |
| Wallace Bryant | C | 26 | 8 | 0 | 8.0 | 1.6 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 2.3 | .222 | 0.0 | — | 1.0 | .625 |
| Jay Murphy | SF | 23 | 14 | 0 | 7.1 | 2.9 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 3.2 | .356 | 0.1 | .000 | 1.0 | .643 |
| Jeff Cross | PF | 24 | 21 | 0 | 6.1 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 1.1 | .250 | 0.0 | — | 1.2 | .560 |
| Ozell Jones | C | 25 | 3 | 0 | 6.0 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 0.7 | .000 | 0.0 | — | 0.0 | — |
| Team Totals | — | — | 82 | 82 | 240.9 | 108.6 | 41.7 | 24.0 | 8.5 | 6.1 | 18.3 | 87.4 | .473 | 2.8 | .279 | 32.7 | .770 |
Regular Season Totals
| player | pos | age | gp | gs | min | pts | reb | ast | stl | blk | tov | fga | fgm | 3pa | 3pm | fta | ftm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marques Johnson | SG | 29 | 75 | 75 | 2605 | 1525 | 416 | 283 | 107 | 50 | 183 | 1201 | 613 | 15 | 1 | 392 | 298 |
| Cedric Maxwell | SF | 30 | 76 | 72 | 2458 | 1075 | 624 | 215 | 61 | 29 | 206 | 661 | 314 | 3 | 0 | 562 | 447 |
| Norm Nixon | PG | 30 | 67 | 62 | 2138 | 979 | 180 | 576 | 84 | 3 | 190 | 921 | 403 | 121 | 42 | 162 | 131 |
| Benoit Benjamin | C | 21 | 79 | 37 | 2088 | 878 | 600 | 79 | 64 | 206 | 145 | 661 | 324 | 3 | 1 | 307 | 229 |
| Kurt Nimphius | PF | 27 | 67 | 62 | 1946 | 805 | 393 | 48 | 30 | 93 | 107 | 622 | 314 | 2 | 0 | 233 | 177 |
| Rory White | SF | 26 | 75 | 30 | 1761 | 875 | 181 | 74 | 74 | 8 | 95 | 684 | 355 | 9 | 1 | 222 | 164 |
| Michael Cage | PF | 24 | 78 | 12 | 1566 | 521 | 417 | 81 | 62 | 34 | 106 | 426 | 204 | 3 | 0 | 174 | 113 |
| Franklin Edwards | PG | 26 | 73 | 19 | 1491 | 657 | 86 | 259 | 89 | 4 | 137 | 577 | 262 | 9 | 1 | 151 | 132 |
| Junior Bridgeman | SF | 32 | 58 | 14 | 1161 | 510 | 123 | 108 | 31 | 8 | 68 | 451 | 199 | 18 | 6 | 119 | 106 |
| Lancaster Gordon | SG | 23 | 60 | 1 | 704 | 312 | 68 | 60 | 33 | 10 | 62 | 345 | 130 | 28 | 7 | 56 | 45 |
| Darnell Valentine | PG | 26 | 34 | 2 | 483 | 200 | 53 | 107 | 23 | 1 | 57 | 182 | 69 | 11 | 3 | 75 | 59 |
| James Donaldson | C | 28 | 14 | 14 | 441 | 143 | 131 | 12 | 5 | 29 | 38 | 84 | 43 | 0 | 0 | 70 | 57 |
| Derek Smith | SG | 24 | 11 | 9 | 339 | 259 | 41 | 31 | 9 | 13 | 33 | 181 | 100 | 2 | 1 | 84 | 58 |
| Jamaal Wilkes | SF | 32 | 13 | 1 | 195 | 75 | 29 | 15 | 7 | 2 | 16 | 65 | 26 | 3 | 1 | 27 | 22 |
| Jeff Cross | PF | 24 | 21 | 0 | 128 | 26 | 30 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 24 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 14 |
| Jay Murphy | SF | 23 | 14 | 0 | 100 | 41 | 15 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 45 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 9 |
| Jim Thomas | SG | 25 | 6 | 0 | 69 | 13 | 8 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 9 | 15 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Wallace Bryant | C | 26 | 8 | 0 | 64 | 13 | 20 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 5 |
| Ozell Jones | C | 25 | 3 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | — | — | 832 | 410 | 19755 | 8907 | 3417 | 1968 | 694 | 501 | 1468 | 7165 | 3388 | 229 | 64 | 2683 | 2067 |
HeatingUp Impact Index: Team Impact Spotlight
| Player Name | Role Tier | MPG | Usage Tier | PPG | RPG | APG | STK | Impact Index* | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marques Johnson | Primary SG Scorer / Leader | 34.7 | High | 20.3 | 5.5 | 3.8 | 2.1 | 15.85 | All-around star; scoring leader; contributes in rebounds and playmaking; AS selection. |
| Cedric Maxwell | PF / Secondary Scorer | 32.3 | Medium-High | 14.1 | 8.2 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 13.15 | Reliable scorer and rebounder; veteran impact; steady defensive activity. |
| Norm Nixon | Floor General PG | 31.9 | High | 14.6 | 2.7 | 8.6 | 1.3 | 13.1 | Primary playmaker; high assist load; moderate scoring; solid defensive contributions. |
| Derek Smith | Scoring SG (Short Sample) | 30.8 | High | 23.5 | 3.7 | 2.8 | 2.0 | 16.0 | Extremely efficient scorer in limited games; strong defensive stats; high impact in rotation. |
| Kurt Nimphius | PF / Defensive Anchor | 29.0 | Medium | 12.0 | 5.9 | 0.7 | 1.8 | 10.2 | Provides interior defense; reliable scoring and rebounding; rotational key. |
| Benoit Benjamin | Rim Protector / Center | 26.4 | Medium | 11.1 | 7.6 | 1.0 | 3.4 | 11.55 | Defensive centerpiece; rebounding strong; scoring efficient; ROY candidate. |
| Rory White | Rotational SF | 23.5 | Medium-Low | 11.7 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 7.1 | Spot minutes contributor; moderate scoring and defense; solid rotation wing. |
| James Donaldson | Backup C / Rim Presence | 31.5 | Low-Medium | 10.2 | 9.4 | 0.9 | 2.5 | 11.5 | Strong defensive center; limited games; high rebounding; provides rim protection. |
| Michael Cage | Backup PF / Rebounder | 20.1 | Low | 6.7 | 5.3 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 6.1 | Efficient backup frontcourt; strong rebounder; moderate scoring and defense. |
| Franklin Edwards | Secondary PG / Role Player | 20.4 | Low-Medium | 9.0 | 1.2 | 3.5 | 1.3 | 7.0 | Spot minutes facilitator; contributes in steals; rotational guard role. |
| Junior Bridgeman | Bench SF / Veteran | 20.0 | Low | 8.8 | 2.1 | 1.9 | 0.6 | 6.7 | Bench scorer; veteran presence; limited defensive impact. |
| Jamaal Wilkes | SF / Spot Veteran | 15.0 | Low | 5.8 | 2.2 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 4.95 | Limited minutes; scoring efficiency low; provides veteran depth. |
| Darnell Valentine | PG / Secondary Facilitator | 14.2 | Low | 5.9 | 1.6 | 3.1 | 0.7 | 5.15 | Limited minutes; assists-oriented role; minor defensive contributions. |
| Lancaster Gordon | Bench SG / Rotation | 11.7 | Low | 5.2 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 4.05 | Limited minutes; rotational scorer; low impact defensively. |
| Jim Thomas | Bench SG / Minimal Minutes | 11.5 | Low | 2.2 | 1.3 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 3.25 | Very limited impact; developmental player; minor contribution in scoring/defense. |
| Wallace Bryant | Deep Bench C | 8.0 | Low | 1.6 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 2.65 | Short minutes; rebounding-focused; low scoring/defense. |
| Jay Murphy | Deep Bench SF | 7.1 | Low | 2.9 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 2.35 | Minimal impact; development minutes; low statistical output. |
| Jeff Cross | Deep Bench PF | 6.1 | Low | 1.2 | 1.4 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 1.4 | Minimal minutes; negligible impact; bench depth. |
| Ozell Jones | Minimal C | 6.0 | Low | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.5 | Practically no impact; extremely limited minutes. |