Clippers' Kawhi Leonard breaks silence after first game back in 254 days

01/05/2025 09:48 AM

INGLEWOOD, CA — The Los Angeles Clippers officially welcomed in Kawhi Leonard back to the lineup on Saturday evening in a win over the Atlanta Hawks.

It was a successful debut for the two-time NBA Finals MVP, who performed well despite being limited.

Kawhi Leonard breaks silence after first game back

Kawhi Leonard played in his first game in 254 days, and performed about how was to be expected. Leonard finished the season debut with 12 points, three rebounds, one assist, and one steal. He shot just 4-of-11 from the field, including 1-of-6 on three-pointers, but he was able make some interesting moves and take some hard falls on the hardwood in the process.

"Just see him on the floor and things are going to happen,” head coach Tyronn Lue said after the win. “Just wanted to ease into it, didn't want to force-feed him. I thought our guys did a good job of just not just sitting around watching him play, and we just continued to play the game. But you see with his presence on the floor, it makes it a lot easier for everybody else. It was good to have him. Now we just got to continue building off of it.”

After the game, Kawhi Leonard took his time before meeting with media, ensuring that he went through his necessary postgame recovery routine.

“It was great,” Kawhi Leonard said of joining his Clippers teammates for his season debut. “They’ve been doing well all year, leading the team. James, Zu has grown a lot with his patience in the post and just by catching the ball in those double teams when we’re getting blitzed in pick-and-roll. And obviously Norm, Norm as well. He’s been waiting for this opportunity for a long time and he’s proven himself right and shown the world that he can be an All-Star player.”

Leonard came into the game with an unpublicized minutes restriction, and ended up playing played 19 minutes, 25 seconds. After the game, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue admitted that Leonard, who took a seat with 8:24 remaining in the third quarter, was not going to return to the game given the restrictions.

Kawhi Leonard also admitted that as of right now, there are no clear tells or indications that he’s looking for after a game to tell him he’s feeling good.

"I don’t know,” Leonard admitted. “Last time, I woke up and it was flared up and I couldn’t move. Now, it’s just keeping it moving. I don’t know, it’s day-to-day."

Kawhi Leonard on what he's looking for in he and his knee are feeling:

"I don't know. Last time, I woke up and it was flared up and I couldn't move. Now, it's just keeping it moving. I don't know, it's day-to-day." pic.twitter.com/Aw7Rnj6GMc

— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) January 5, 2025

Leonard’s return created an instant domino effect and significantly opened up the floor for the rest of his teammates. Eight Clippers scored in double-figures, led by Norman Powell’s 20 points. Ivica Zubac already finished with a mighty 18-point, 10-rebound double-double while James Harden scored 10 points and dished out 15 assists.

“It was nothing hard about playing tonight,” Leonard added. “We did the right steps to get me to this point and playing basketball was the easy part of it. This 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.”

Kawhi Leonard on what was hard about returning tonight:

"It was nothing hard about playing tonight. We did the right steps to get me to this point and playing basketball was the easy part of it. This was the easy part of it. This is what I love to do. The hard part is not… pic.twitter.com/rrOj0MEkdc

— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) January 5, 2025

When given the chance, Leonard also took a stand and sent a message to anyone out there planning on him being a significant stat stuffer.

“We’re still easing me into the game. We’re on nobody’s timetable. Anybody watching that wants to see me score 20, 30 points, or be aggressive, we are not on no one’s time-frame. We know what’s ahead of us and we have to keep building in the right direction.”

Kawhi Leonard on his Clippers' return:

"We're still easing me into the game. We're on nobody's timetable. Anybody watching that. wants to see me score 20, 30 points, or be aggressive, we are not on no one's time-frame. We know what's ahead of us and we have to keep building in… pic.twitter.com/f3fjVj7fRo

— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) January 5, 2025

Kawhi Leonard is coming off the most efficient shooting season of his career last year, and a season in which he finished playing 68 games. With restrictions on back-to-backs throughout the season and a significant numbers of games already missed, Leonard is not going to come anywhere close to that number.

None of that matters to him, however. The only goal at this stage in Leonard’s career is to reach April as healthy as possible and be able to contribute. So far, he and the Clippers are off to a good start.

Whether or not he’ll be able to sustain this is something that remains to be seen.

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