L.A. Clippers: 5 Defining Moments of the Season

It's been a rare good season for the Los Angeles Clippers.

Usually a league-wide laughingstock, this incarnation of the Clips has become one of the most popular teams in the NBA.

Fans of every team come out in droves to see "Lob City" in action. Chris Paul and Blake Griffin serve up highlights on a nightly basis.

And it's not just that the team is entertaining. They're good too.

In fact, the Clippers are on track to make the playoffs for just the second time in the past 15 years. With a strong finish, they could even capture their first division title in franchise history.

Here are the five defining moments from the Clippers' 2012 campaign.

1. Chris Paul Trade

It wasn't supposed to happen. 

Yes, Chris Paul was all set to come and play in L.A. this season, but it was going to be for the Lakers. Then David Stern stepped in and said no.

As fate would have it, Paul still ended up in the City of Angels, but instead of watching Kobe Bryant shoot fadeaway 20-footers over two defenders, he's throwing up pinpoint lobs for Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan to hammer home.

It was a trade that changed the fortunes of a forlorn franchise, and it made the Clippers relevant in Los Angeles for the first time...ever.

2. Back-to-Back Wins over the Heat and Lakers

On paper, the Clippers looked like a contender, but as the cliche goes, the games aren't played on paper.

After a pair of blowout losses to the Spurs and Bulls early in the season, the chatter began about the same old Clippers. The team needed to make a statement.

In the second week of January, they did just that.

It started with a nationally televised slugfest against the Heat. The Clippers played out of their minds on defense, holding the high-flying Heat to just 89 points in an overtime thriller.

They faced the Lakers in their very next game. It was the first meeting between the new-look Clips and their co-tenants.

The Clippers survived a 40-point performance from Kobe Bryant and a late-game injury to Chris Paul to come away victorious and put the league on notice that they were for real.

3. Chris Paul and Blake Griffin Named All-Star Starters

On February 2, the All-Star starters were announced. Four of the five Western Conference starters played their home games at the Staples Center, and astonishingly, two of them were Clippers.

It was the first time in franchise history that two Clippers started in the All-Star Game. The fans had decided that they wanted to watch more of Chris Paul and Blake Griffin.

For a team that normally has nothing to celebrate, getting two guys selected as All-Star starters was quite an achievement.

4. Chauncey Billups Injury

As big as the acquisition of Chris Paul was, scooping up Chauncey Billups on the cheap after he was amnestied by the Knicks was the move that really made the Clippers a threat in the West.

Alas, one third of the way through the season, Billups suffered a season-ending injury in Orlando.

At the time, the Clippers were on a roll and were in contention for the No. 2  seed in the West. After Billups went down, the team struggled noticeably and tried several new lineups to try to replace his production.

The Clippers even traded for another shooting guard at the trade deadline, but there's just no replacing the veteran leadership and offensive threat provided by Mr. Big Shot.

5. Six-Game Win Streak

The Clippers were reeling after the Chauncey Billups injury.

They were just 11-14 in their first 25 games without the injured guard and were coming off a three-game skid, which culminated in a loss to the lowly Hornets in Chris Paul's return to New Orleans.

There were rumblings of head coach Vinny Del Negro losing the locker room and rumors flying around about Del Negro's imminent firing. An urgent players-only meeting was called to try to get things turned around.

And turn around they did.

The Clips reeled off six-straight impressive victories against tough competition, capped by a beatdown of the defending champion Mavericks in Dallas.

It was the team's longest winning streak in several years and all of a sudden everything was back on track in Lob City.

Now the Clippers are looking to ride the momentum of their hot streak to the top of the Pacific Division and deep into the playoffs.