Kawhi Leonard has been under heavy scrutiny since joining the Los Angeles Clippers. Given his string of injuries in recent years, many have even accused him of load management. To put an end to all such speculations, his head coach, Tyronn Lue, spilled the beans on the controversial subject with Shannon Sharpe.
When Leonard decided to sign with the Clippers during his 2019 free agency, fans were ecstatic. All of a sudden, there were championship aspirations. However, the result turned out to be very different as Kawhi dealt with recurrent injuries.
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His relative silence on the subject fueled further narratives, with notable members of the media labeling him the worst superstar in the league. A close witness to Leonard’s situation, Lue gave a clear picture of what was happening behind the scenes.
“I feel sorry for him cause all the work he puts in, we see it every day, and just what it takes to get on the floor on a consistent basis. It takes a lot for him to get out there, and so it’s not like he’s wanting to sit out and miss games. He puts the work in every single day, and the grind that he has to do to even get on the floor to play, it’s just tough,” said Lue.
“So a lot of times it’s coming from us, it’s coming from Lawrence Frank, the medical staff, like we got to protect him from himself because sometimes he wants to play back to backs, but we’ve seen the trend,” revealed the Clippers coach.
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Kawhi’s chronic knee issue
Making his debut with the Clippers in the 2019-20 season, Leonard has played only 56 percent of the total regular-season games so far. He has missed 206 out of the 472 games. As far as the playoffs are concerned, he has missed 15 of the 50 fixtures, including some elimination games.
Leonard has been struggling with a chronic knee issue for the longest time now. He first suffered a partial ACL tear during the 2021 semi-finals against the Utah Jazz. Making his comeback after a one-year rehab, his knee continued to cause problems and made him sit out often.
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A right meniscus tear during the 2023 playoffs made things much worse. Showing perseverance and mental toughness, Leonard managed to make another return. That said, his knee continued to haunt him, as inflammation had set in, leading to calls for retirement from many sections.
Nevertheless, he stunned all his doubters and naysayers in yet another bounce-back towards the end of the 2024-25 season.
Lue on Leonard emulating MJ and Kobe
Given his versatility on both ends of the floor and mid-range prowess, Leonard’s game has earned comparisons to Jordan and Bryant. Having been teammates with both Hall of Famers, Lue had the following to say on Leonard prodding him for insights on their games.
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“Yeah, all the time. So going down to San Diego, you know, a couple summers, and just working with him and just showing him the moves and the routines that me and Jordan did every single morning, we call it the Breakfast Club. Get up, we lift weights, go to breakfast, get to the gym about an hour and a half early. And I went through the same post moves that Jordan went through every single day for two years,” added Lue.
It has been a rough few years for Leonard, who has always had injuries get the better of him despite doing everything in his power. Adding to the misery is the constant chatter in the media around his will to play. Hopefully, with Lue putting all the facts on the table, such conversations will end for good.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Aug 28, 2025, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.