Kawhi Leonard set to make long-awaited season debut as Clippers take on Hawks
After missing nearly half of the season, Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard likely will make his 2024-25 debut on Saturday (Sunday, January 5, Manila time) 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 last eight games of the 2023-24 regular season and four of the six games of Los Angeles’ first-round playoff loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
The issue also prompted Leonard to be replaced on the U.S. Olympic team ahead of the Paris Games.
The Clippers officially listed Leonard as questionable for the matchup with Atlanta.
Leonard, 33, has averaged 58 games played in his previous 12 NBA seasons, and he has never appeared in more than 74 games in a season.
The small forward played in 52 regular-season games (50 starts) in 2022-23 and in 68 games (all starts) last season, with the latter representing his highest total since 2016-17.
Leonard sat out the 2021-22 season due to of a torn ACL, and inflammation from the operation to repair that injury caused him to be shut down late last season.
The San Diego State alumnus 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 contest.
Despite Leonard’s absence, the Clippers (19-15) sit in seventh place in the Western Conference, in a play-in position. And they are just a 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 the previous six. – Rappler.com