December 27, 2024; Inglewood, California, United States; Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) and guard James Harden (1) sit on the bench in the second half against the Golden State Warriors at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Pictures
After missing nearly half the season, Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard will likely make his 2024-25 season debut on Saturday against the visiting Atlanta Hawks, according to NBA reporter Chris Haynes and ESPN.
Right knee inflammation kept Leonard out of the Clippers’ first 34 games. The same ailment kept him out of the final eight games of the 2023-24 general season and four of the six games of Los Angeles’ loss in the first round of the playoffs against the Dallas Mavericks.
The issue also led to Leonard being replaced on the United States Olympic team ahead of the Paris Games.
The Clippers officially listed Leonard as questionable for the matchup against Atlanta.
Leonard, 33, has averaged 58 games played in his previous 12 NBA seasons and has never appeared in more than 74 games in a season.
The forward played in 52 regular season games (50 starts) in 2022-23 and 68 games (all starts) last season, with the latter representing his highest total since 2016-17.
Leonard missed the 2021-22 season due to a torn ACL, and inflammation from surgery to repair that injury caused him to be shut down late last season.
The San Diego State alum is a two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and two-time Finals MVP (with the San Antonio Spurs in 2014 and the Toronto Raptors in 2019).
The six-time All-Star has career averages of 20.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.7 steals in 696 games (667 starts). Last season, he produced 23.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game.
Despite Leonard’s absence, the Clippers (19-15) are in seventh place in the Western Conference, in play-in position. And they are just one game behind the fourth-place Los Angeles Lakers and a half-game behind the Denver Nuggets and Dallas Mavericks.
The Clippers have lost two in a row after winning five of their previous six.
–Media at field level
