The Clippers starting lineup has one name confirmed and one real battle. Tyronn Lue has named Isaiah Jackson as his starting center for the first week. Darius Garland, Rui Hachimura and Derrick Jones Jr. started every preseason game. That leaves the shooting guard spot, and the leading candidate is rookie Keaton Wagler, the fifth pick in the 2026 draft. Here is a closer look at Wagler’s case, using the official box scores from all three exhibitions, before Wednesday’s opener against the Sacramento Kings.
Our Clippers vs Kings preview covered the matchup and the injury list. This piece is about the rookie.
Clippers Starting Lineup: Three Games, Three Shooting Guards
ESPN’s box scores show three different players starting next to Garland:
- October 4 vs. Golden State (W 104-101): Max Strus started and left after five minutes with the foot injury that has sidelined him since. Wagler came off the bench and played 30 minutes.
- October 10 vs. Toronto (L 114-106): Cameron Christie started, and Brook Lopez started at center.
- October 14 vs. Denver (W 122-110): Wagler started, with Jackson back at center.
Yahoo Sports’ Grant Mona reached the same conclusion: “three different guards started next to Garland in three games.” He projects Wagler as the opening-night starter. That is a projection, not a team announcement.
Keaton Wagler’s Preseason, Game by Game
From the ESPN box scores:
- vs. Golden State: 15 points on 3-of-15 shooting, 1-of-11 from three, 8-of-9 at the line, six rebounds and three assists in 30 minutes.
- vs. Toronto: nine points on 3-of-9 shooting and 2-of-6 from three in 23 minutes.
- vs. Denver: 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting and 3-of-7 from three, with five rebounds and four assists in 28 minutes. He was plus-11, the second-best mark among the starters.
Across the three games, that adds up to 36 points on 10-of-33 shooting (30.3%), 6-of-24 from three and 10-of-13 at the line, with 12 rebounds and nine assists in 81 minutes. Those totals are our own math from ESPN’s numbers. The shooting improved in each game, and his best one came in his only start.
Here is the Clippers’ official clip of Wagler’s threes:
What Garland Sees
Garland has worked with Wagler every day since camp opened. “He helps a lot. Bringing the ball up. A really good floor spacer for me when I’m driving and kicking,” Garland told reporters, per Yahoo Sports.
The numbers support Garland’s point about spacing. Against Denver, with Wagler starting, Garland had seven assists and the Clippers’ starters were all plus players, per ESPN. Hachimura scored 16 points with 3-of-5 from three, and Jones scored 14 on 4-of-6 shooting.
The Case for Kris Dunn
The alternative is Kris Dunn. He started 68 of his 82 games last season, per Yahoo Sports, and he is the Clippers’ best perimeter defender. He played in the first two exhibitions, with six assists in 15 minutes against Toronto. He did not appear in the Denver finale, per ESPN’s box score.
Mona makes the case for Dunn off the bench: “I would rather have his defense leading a young second unit.” Lue has publicly named only Jackson, so the decision may not be known until the starters are announced Wednesday night.
Garland’s Preseason: Ready to Lead
Wagler’s partner looked ready. Garland scored 15, 11 and 14 points, per ESPN, which matches the 13.3-point average that Clipperholics reported, along with 5.7 assists in about 19 minutes a game. He was 4-of-4 from the field and 3-of-3 from three against Golden State. The Times reports he is fully recovered from the toe and foot ligament injuries that limited him to 19 games last season, when he averaged 19.9 points and 6.4 assists. “I think we can surprise a lot of people,” Garland said.
The Rest of the Group
The other confirmed and likely starters had good preseasons too, per ESPN’s box scores:
- Rui Hachimura: 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting and 4-of-5 from three against Golden State in 15 minutes, 14 points with 7-of-7 free throws against Toronto, and 16 points with five rebounds against Denver. That is 51 points in 58 minutes.
- Derrick Jones Jr.: six and five points in the first two games, then 14 points and five rebounds on 4-of-6 shooting against Denver.
- Isaiah Jackson: four points, four rebounds and two blocks in 17 minutes against Golden State. Off the bench against Toronto he had eight points but five turnovers. In the finale he had nine points, five rebounds and three assists while plus-7.
If Wagler starts, the Clippers would have a rookie next to four veterans. He would mostly be asked to space the floor and make quick decisions, not to create offense himself. His 30.3% preseason shooting is a small sample, and his three-point accuracy got better each night.
The Bench Behind Them
- Baba Miller: the rookie forward averaged 11.3 points and 5.0 rebounds in about 19 minutes in the preseason, per Clipperholics and ESPN’s box scores. He had 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting and was plus-14 against Denver. Clipperholics says he has earned a real second-unit role.
- Brook Lopez: expected to back up Jackson, per RotoWire via Yahoo Sports.
- Cameron Christie: on his new two-way deal.
Source Notes
- Jackson’s starts: Yahoo Sports wrote over the weekend that Jackson “was the starter throughout the preseason.” ESPN’s box scores show he started two of the three games, with Lopez starting in Vancouver.
- Garland’s averages: ESPN’s minutes (15, 19 and 23) average out to 19.0 a game. Clipperholics lists 19.1, which is a small rounding difference.
- Our totals: the three-game shooting totals and averages are our own calculations. ESPN does not publish them.
What’s Next
The Clippers host the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday to open the season. Whoever starts at shooting guard, Wagler’s development is the storyline to watch for a franchise that lost five first-round picks in the league penalties that also brought Steve Ballmer a one-year ban, per the Times. The starting five will be confirmed before tip-off.
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