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Clippers Source Suggests it may be Time to Move on From Kawhi Leonard.
When the Los Angeles Clippers last took the court, Kawhi Leonard had an injury scare.
The star forward left the court after facing the Los Angeles Lakers for nearly 31 minutes. He was ruled out for the remainder of the game with an ankle injury. After the game, Clippers’ head coach Ty Lue didn’t have much to say on the matter.
The Clippers were waiting to see how Leonard’s ankle would respond in the following days. When the Clippers revealed their February 22 injury report against the Orlando Magic, Leonard’s name popped up. He was listed as questionable due to ankle soreness.
GettyKawhi Leonard intends to play for the Clippers against the Magic on February 22.
Will Kawhi Leonard Play In The Clippers-Magic Matchup?
The fact that Leonard was listed with a minor ailment was a good initial sign that signaled he would be fine. Now that the Clippers have upgraded him to available, it’s clear that while Leonard might be bothered by the setback, he won’t be taken off the court for an extended period.
Kawhi Leonard (ankle) will play Sunday.
Leonard has a reputation for struggling to stay healthy. This season, that hasn’t been the case much. While the star forward missed a chunk of November, he’s only been out of the lineup three times since then.
During the Clippers’ latest matchup against the Lakers, Leonard left the court with 31 points after shooting 11-19 from the field and 4-6 from three. He’s been thriving all season.
In 43 games, Leonard is averaging 49 percent from the field, along with 38 percent from three, while taking 7.0 shots from deep per game. The veteran forward cracked the All-Star game with averages of 27.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game.
Are The Clippers Competing For A Title?
GettyKawhi Leonard and James Harden wrapped up their time together earlier in February.
After a slow start to the 2025-2026 NBA season, the Clippers caught fire and became one of the hottest teams in the NBA. Despite their initial reluctance to trade away any of their core starters, the Clippers took an unexpected direction at the 2026 trade deadline.
James Harden was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Ivica Zubac was moved to the Indiana Pacers. While teams called for Kawhi, the Clippers made it clear he wasn’t on the block.
The Clippers went younger at the deadline, and Leonard understands that the lack of chemistry could hurt their chances of making a deep and competitive run at this point.
“Just developing over time. I think it’s over now,” Leonard told reporters after the Clippers’ tight victory over the Denver Nuggets earlier this week. “It’s the second half—like fourth of the season left—but every day is a day to grow, a day to learn, and a day to get better. You just got to keep looking over time and we’ll see in two weeks if we get better. We’ll see what happens from there.”
The Clippers are 28-29 going into the matchup against the Magic. They are placed ninth in the Western Conference, trailing the Golden State Warriors by a few games.
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