Kawhi Leonard (barring an injury replacement) will not be able to participate in the NBA All-Star Game at his own home arena.
On Sunday, the NBA officially announced the All-Star reserves for the 2026 All-Star Game later this month. Notably, All-Star festivities will be held at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif., the home of the LA Clippers.
The 2026 NBA All-Stars pic.twitter.com/DaOg0TW1Fp
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) February 1, 2026
The biggest name to miss the cut for an All-Star selection was the Clippers star forward Leonard. That was despite Leonard having the best scoring season of his career with 27.7 points per game. Leonard is also leading the entire NBA in both steals per game (2.1) and free throw percentage (93.6) and has had some breathtaking single-game performances along the way.
Fans took to social media to express their displeasure about Leonard’s snub.
Kawhi this season:
— StatMuse (@statmuse) February 1, 2026
— 27.7 PPG (career-high)
— 2.1 SPG
— 50/40/94%
— Leading NBA in SPG
— Leading NBA in FT%
Not an All-Star. pic.twitter.com/xdK3Jt67sq
I’m being completely serious when I say that Kawhi Leonard not making the All-Star game is the single worst non-selection I’ve ever witnessed for any award in sports.
— Tyler (@tylerbritton_) February 1, 2026
All-Star starter
— Josh Eberley 🇨🇦 (@JoshEberley) February 1, 2026
All-Star starter
All-Star
All-Star starter
All-Star starter
All-Star
Kawhi
All-Star starter pic.twitter.com/7kAkUHkDCD
Insane snub to Kawhi Leonard. https://t.co/YL35jNEnvg
— Farbod Esnaashari (@Farbod_E) February 1, 2026
A constant concern for Leonard is obviously games played. However, he has appeared in 34 games thus far for the Clippers this year, which is right on par with 2026 Western Conference All-Star selections like Victor Wembanyama (34), Nikola Jokic (33), LeBron James (30).
With Leonard’s co-star James Harden also failing to make the All-Star team, the Clippers will not have a single representative for the All-Star Game that they are hosting. While some detractors will point to the team’s 22-25 record on the year, there is little debate that Leonard’s individual brilliance merited an NBA All-Star selection.
