What it Means to be a Clipper: Montrezl Harrell Calls it a "Sense of Honor"

The word "Clipper" means more to Montrezl Harrell than it does to most people.

The moment Montrezl Harrell hears the word "Clipper", he immediately thinks of "a sense of honor."

Long before the days of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, there were three culture setters for the LA Clippers - Montrezl Harrell, Lou Williams, and Patrick Beverley. The three of them take a certain type of pride in being a Clipper, that very few other players on the team have. It's not some kind of sailboat, or the other LA team, it's a symbol. A symbol for the working class, and the blue collar people of Los Angeles.

"It’s a sense of honor," Harrell said. "It’s a sense of grit, dedication, and hard work. That’s what we come and build our name off of, that’s the type of basketball we play. We look to come in everyday, and just look to work."

For Montrezl Harrell specifically, he wasn't given a legitimate chance to play in the NBA before arriving to the Clippers. He didn't grow up a huge fan of the team, or have any type of preconceived notion about the organization. All he knew, was that the LA Clippers were the team that was going to provide him opportunity, and that was enough.

"At the end of the day, any place that I’m at and can put a jersey on to represent, it means a lot to me," Harrell said. "Coming here, and these guys giving me an opportunity to get out on the floor to help this team win, it’s huge to me."

No matter what, the LA Clippers will hold a special place in Harrell's heart, because of the opportunity they provided him. It's the organization that provided him the biggest pay check of his life, the ability to provide for his family, and freedom to show the world that he belonged in the NBA.

"The Clippers definitely mean a lot to me," Harrell said. "It meant a lot to me then too. I came here with a fresh start, and with the opportunity to come help this team get better. It’s a tremendous opportunity, and I was glad I was able to seek it."

Moving forward, Harrell wants the Clippers to represent everything that he embodies as an NBA player. He wants his style of play to be synonymous with the word Clipper. 

"They’re going to know that we’re a hard-nosed group," Harrell said. "A tough group, guys that come in every day looking to work and get better. We coming in with our hard hats on every day ready to work, that’s what I think our legacy is going to be."

Of course, the Clippers will never overtake the Lakers as Los Angeles' team. That's something Montrezl Harrell is totally fine with, and finds endearing about the culture. They won't receive the same media coverage, or have the same hype, but you'll still be talking about them.

"We’re going to be the boys that not everyone is talking about, but at the end of the day, we’re going to be there."