Tyronn Lue insists the Los Angeles Clippers' aims for their NBA season remain the same despite several changes being made to their roster.

Lue's comments came following their 125-122 defeat to the Los Angeles Lakers, with Luka Doncic's 38 points and 11 assists getting the hosts over the line on Friday. 

Kawhi Leonard scored 31 points before missing the final five minutes with an apparent ankle injury for the Clippers, whose record this season stands at 27-29. 

The Clippers started 2025-26 by going 6-21, seeing the likes of Bradley Beal, Chris Paul and Leonard all miss time with injury problems. 

And along the way, the Clippers restructured the roster, trading All-Star James Harden to the Cleveland Cavaliers for guard Darius Garland, who has yet to suit up for LA. 

They also sent Ivica Zubac to the Indiana Pacers for wing Bennedict Mathurin, and after those changes, Lue retains lofty ambitions. 

"Man, we're playing to win," Lue said. "I don't care if it's young, old, toddlers, whoever's on the floor, we're trying to win. There's no other reason to play."

In December, when his team was 15 games under .500, Lue dug in and challenged his group to finish the season 35-20 or better to at least assure an even 41-41 record.

The Clippers took off from there, going 21-8, much to the surprise of Lue, who said: "I didn't think it would be this fast, but I thought we had an opportunity. 

"Once we were able to get [Leonard] healthy, playing more minutes and feeling good, that's when we were able to take off and start stacking wins, which has been good for us."

Final from DTLA. pic.twitter.com/1MERk67q9D

— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) February 21, 2026

Leonard has been a constant during the team's upswing, helping LA to wins over the Minnesota Timberwolves, Houston Rockets and Denver Nuggets since the trade deadline.

He recently caused headlines by saying the franchise's championship hopes were over, though Lue interpreted his comments as an acknowledgement of the way the team has changed.

"I thought he was just saying, as contenders when he first got here, you had PG [Paul George], Kawhi, you have James, you have Russ [Westbrook], you have Zu," Lue said.

"And so now, having a younger team, we've got to play differently. We got to do things differently, we've got to do things better."

Lue was also asked what gave him confidence in his team, especially given the depth of the Western Conference, where his team sit ninth. 

"I just feel confident. I just feel confident in our players. I feel confident in our coaching staff and I just feel confident in the environment, in the culture we've set," he said.

"And why wouldn't you want to play to win? That's our mindset. That's my mindset every single night.

"And as tough as it may be, or you start 6-21 or whatever it may be, you're playing to win. And so, if we make the playoffs, then anything can happen.

"So, our goal is to make the playoffs and so I don't know why somebody would scoff at that."