A whole section of Los Angeles Clippers fans watched Kawhi Leonard’s pregame warmup with intense interest. The announced sellout crowd of 17,927 fans roared during Leonard’s starting lineup introductions and whenever he made a basket.
Clippers coach Tyronn Lue insisted the team treated Leonard’s first game of the 2024-25 season “like it was a preseason game” both with expectations and workload. Perhaps so. In the Clippers’ 131-105 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night at Intuit Dome, Leonard finished with 12 points while shooting 4-for-11 from the field and 3-for-5 from 3 along with three rebounds, two turnovers, an assist and a steal on a team-imposed minutes restriction (19).
But after not playing in a game for 253 days since Game 3 of the Clippers’ first-round series against the Dallas Mavericks on April 26, 2024, Leonard’s appearance in the Clippers’ 35th regular-season game of the 2024-25 campaign meant more than just an exhibition.
“There was nothing hard about playing tonight,” Leonard said afterward. “We did the right steps to get me to this point. Playing basketball was the easy part of it. This is what I love to do. The hard part is not playing and having to rehab and not competing with my teammates.”
Leonard has experienced that hardship plenty of times during his five seasons with the Clippers, which have been plagued by various injuries. Nothing compares to when Leonard missed the team’s first appearance in the Western Conference finals in 2021 before missing the entire 2021-22 campaign while healing a torn ACL in his right knee. But with Leonard battling inflammation in his right knee for the past 10 months, the Clippers star missed the entire Paris Olympics, all of training camp and the team’s first 34 regular-season games.
Because of that, Lue said neither he nor the Clippers’ medical staff currently knows how long Leonard will need to stay on a minutes restriction. Lue added, “We’re going to take it slow,” to better ensure Leonard doesn’t experience any additional swelling. Leonard also considered himself “day to day” after noting that his knee “flared up” recently and that he “couldn’t move.” Leonard’s initial injury caused him to miss the team’s eight final regular-season games. Against Dallas in the first round of the playoffs, Leonard then missed Game 1 before returning in Games 2 and 3 and then sitting in Games 4, 5 and 6.
What does Leonard need to do to improve his odds that he stays healthy for the rest of the season?
“Just keep playing. Not worried about it,” Leonard said. “Keep doing the things I was doing and been doing to get to this point. That’s it. That’s all I can ask for and do. It’s out of my control. We’ll see what happens.”
Leonard didn’t divulge what that regimen would entail. But he spent about an hour in the locker room after the game, presumably to treat his right knee. During the Clippers’ recent three-game trip in New Orleans, San Antonio and Oklahoma City, Leonard practiced in five-on-five scrimmages with the Clippers’ G League team.
“This is the most serious he’s taken playing five-on-five and pick-up since he’s been here over the course of doing his rehab,” Lue said of Leonard. “But he really went full speed and was really locked in with just testing it out and seeing how he felt. He really did a good job with his rehabbing process and making sure that we checked every box, because if he didn’t go hard, we wouldn’t let him come back. He really did that. He was really serious about his rehab.”
Leonard hardly needed to go that hard in his regular-season debut.
He mostly played off the ball and didn’t take a dribble until midway through the first quarter. He relied more on his outside shooting than drives to the basket, including making his first 3-point attempt with 9:55 left in the first quarter. After playing approximately seven minutes in both the first and second quarters, Leonard played in only four third-quarter minutes before sitting the fourth quarter entirely. The Clippers (20-15) had seven other players that scored in double figures, including Norman Powell (20 points), Ivica Zubac (18), Amir Coffey (17), Kevin Porter Jr. (15), Derrick Jones Jr. (12), Terance Mann (12) and James Harden (10).
“I took the shots that I got. They’re still easing me into the game,” Leonard said. “We’re on nobody’s timetable for anybody watching that wants me to score 20, 30 points or be aggressive. We’re on no one’s time frame. We know what’s ahead of us and we have to keep building in the right direction.”
That’s because the Clippers believe Leonard’s health and depth could largely determine their playoff fortunes. Although they rank seventh in the Western Conference, the Clippers trail the Houston Rockets (22-12) and Memphis Grizzlies (23-13) by only 2½ games for second and third place, respectively.
Because of that reality, Mann and Powell observed the team has been in positive spirits. After exerting their depth during Leonard’s return, the Clippers showcased their playfulness afterward. Both Powell and Jones teased the nearly two dozen reporters that filled the Clippers’ locker room, a vast increase than at the Clippers’ 17 other home games.
“It’s been good. It was good before he even stepped on the floor today,” Powell said of Leonard. “He’s been around. He’s been talking to guys. He’s been encouraging. He’s been in every huddle talking and giving guys information when they come in and out the game. His energy has been really good even before today. But now I think it’s even a little higher. Everybody’s really happy that the team is finally fully healthy.”
Especially Leonard, who promoted his pending return in various ways on his Instagram account.
As a plug for his shoe sponsor (New Balance), Leonard posted a video on Dec. 27 of himself fishing. In the video, Leonard said, “There’s been good days. There’s been bad days. But I keep coming back. It’s the nature of the game.” On Saturday, Leonard shared another New Balance video on Instagram that showed him fishing while birds overlooked from above. In that video, Leonard said, “You hear them? They like to come and watch the fun and chirp. But when I show up, they always quiet.”
Said Leonard, “Just getting creative. I’ve been talking to a few producers, directors and just wanted to tell my story, and it’s a little teaser for a movie, so hopefully y’all see it down the road.”
For now, the Clippers and their fan base hope to just see Leonard on the court. They will soon find out if he can finally stay on it.
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