The Clippers are one of the best teams in basketball this year, thanks in large part to a murderous bench led by Jamal Crawford, Eric Bledsoe, Grant Hill, and more. Now, finally, that bench has a nickname. From ESPN:
The Clippers bench left their wallet in El Segundo
The Clippers have the best bench in basketball, so naturally, the bench needed a nickname.
Harry How
... writers asked fans and followers on Twitter what they thought the bench should be called. We all had our own lame ideas. I threw out “Lob Deep,” but was immediately shot down. Dan Woike of the Orange County Register threw out “Mob Deep,” but he found out the New York Knicks had used that nickname last year. Woike then got a tweet from a San Francisco Bay Area follower with the handle @squidwai and “A Tribe Called Bench” was born.
Over the past three games, the Clippers have started to play highlights of the second unit to A Tribe Called Quest’s “Scenario” and the #ATribeCalledBench hashtag has started trending on Twitter in Los Angeles during Clippers games.
Okay, aside from the outrageous contributions on the court that should’ve already gotten our attention (“in four of the past five games, the Clippers haven’t needed to turn to their starters in the final [quarter]”), what an outstanding nickname. As the Clips wage nightly battles with the Knicks and Grizzlies to see which team can be most addictive, this might put L.A. in the lead for good.
So this is just for the record: The L.A. Clippers don't just have (1) the greatest point guard in basketball and (2) big men waging in-game dunk contests, but also ... (3) A TRIBE CALLED BENCH, the most lovable second unit in the league. Can the Clips kick it?
