My apologies for being over a day late on these photos. The Clippers/Sonics game was yesterday early afternoon. Special thanks to Clippers Spirit Kelley for motivating me to put them up ASAP :). I'm going to try and put up more "behind the scenes/before the game" photos so the folks at home and around the world are able to see what other interesting things happen off the court and inside Staples Center.

Here's the very first Chalktalk of the season. A group of VIP members (usually from a company that is sponsoring the Clippers) hang out in what is called the Chairman's Room, which is near the visitor's tunnel. A Clippers assistant coach comes in and gives a talk and then two-three Clippers Spirit come in for some photos, like this one here of Kelley and Melissa with three of the VIP members:

Now back on the court, I caught two referees talking, one of which gave me a "why the heck are you taking a photo of me" stare.

Here's one of the most famous reporters for the NBA and various news companies including his hometown of Israel, Mr. Elie Seckbach aka "The Embedded NBA Correspondent"! Just Google his name and you'll find a ton of NBA content done by him. Elie is such a fun person to talk to and is absolutely hilarious! He's like a star among all the NBA players and coaches. I met him two games ago and am very glad I did. What really stood out about Elie is how he really gives his full attention and cares about whoever he is talking to. He's one of the very, very few people that actually asked me about my education, how I got the Clippers gig, if I had a regular full-time job, and about photography. And in my books, that means the world to me. Alright, enough yapping, now back to the photos :).

Here's Billy Crystal, the biggest (celebrity) Clippers fan. I remember seeing Billy on television back when the Clippers played at the Sports Arena in the late 80s and throughout the 90s. You can say Billy and I go way back in the sense that we've both been Clippers fans for 20+ years :). The person on the left is a gentleman I met last season. He's a personal friend of the owner of the Clippers Donald Sterling and Billy. I took photos of him and his son with some Clippers players during the pre-game warm-ups about a year ago. His son sent me a $100 Amazon gift certificate for the photos, which was a very pleasant surprise to me. It turned out to be the first $ I made in photography!

Onto the game...here's Quinton Ross driving past the Sonics' defense:

The next Rookie Of The Year and superstar Kevin Durant! This kid can seriously ball (duh Henry!).

EB wonders when he he can return to help out his team. Either that or why there's a Clippers game on a Sunday morning when he could be sleeping in.

Thomas was money from inside and outside the 3-point arc:

Ruben Patterson is growing on me as one of my favorite Clippers player. This guy is the epitome of what a hustler is.

No photo weblog is complete without a Spirit performance photo:

Maximus takes it strong to the basket:

Wally "I can't spell his last name" looks to pass the ball as his teammate Chris Wilcox posts up in the background:

I'm sorry to Kaman for putting these photos up but Wilcox had his way with him here:

I wonder what Mobley is telling Maggette here!

Durant's 6'9'' frame lets him easily shoot over even the very best defenders like Ross:

The other Sonics rookie Jeff Green drives past Kaman:

Paul and Mobley give each other a unique high-five:

The #14 pick of the draft defends the #5 pick:

Corey penetrates the weak Sonics defense with ease: