Oft-injured All-Star Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard has enjoyed a superlative regular season in 2023-24, looking like his typically skilled two-way self for a 51-win Clippers squad that has emerged as the Western Conference’s No. 4 seed.
In playing 68 games this season, the two-time Finals MVP, 32, appeared in more games than he has in any year since 2016-17. The 6-foot-7 San Diego State product averaged 23.7 points on .525/.417/.885 shooting splits, 6.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.9 blocks a night on a starry Clippers club.
What’s all the more impressive is that Leonard has emerged as clearly the best player on a team that also includes two fellow future Hall of Famers still plying their wares at an All-Star-caliber level, Paul George (who made this year’s All-Star team, too) and James Harden (who didn’t quite qualify). Another future Hall of Famer, combo guard Russell Westbrook, is in a different stage of his career as a key reserve.
Unfortunately, it appears that Leonard’s health luck may be running out with the playoffs now upon us, as it often has in recent years. Leonard hasn’t played in the last two weeks due to a mysterious knee injury. Now, per Chris Broussard of Fox Sports 1, it appears the six-time All-Star is dealing with something that could be a longer-term issue.
“If Kawhi Leonard is healthy, then I’ve got a lot of confidence,” Broussard claims. “I just was in contact with someone in the know. They said the Clippers are concerned. They said there’s a lot of swelling in the knee. He hasn’t practiced.”
In 2021, as Broussard goes on to note in the FS1 segment, Leonard was playing like gangbusters for Los Angeles, when he incurred a mysterious knee injury late into the team’s semifinal series against the Utah Jazz. The Clippers would go on to make the conference finals against the Phoenix Suns.
It later came out that Leonard had torn his ACL and would miss the rest of the playoffs (the Clippers, understandably, did not advance past the conference finals without him). Leonard missed the entirety of the 2022 season and postseason as he recuperated. Last year, Leonard tore his meniscus after playing just two games against the Suns in a 4-5 series matchup during the first round of the playoffs.
Now, Los Angeles as a No. 4 seed is set to face the fifth-seeded Dallas Mavericks in what could be a first round playoff duel for the ages. But it will likely need Leonard healthy to truly compete for a deep run.
Uncommon Knowledge
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