Kawhi Leonard is finally ready to drop down through the rafters again.
The injured LA Clippers star forward made a big announcement to social media on Friday. In a post to his Instagram page, Leonard shared a fresh New Balance commercial starring himself.
In the commercial, Leonard steps out of a vehicle and hears an announcer on the radio saying, “Exciting news coming out of Los Angeles — Kawhi Leonard looks to be returning to the court pretty soon.”
Leonard then meets up with an alter ego of himself, who says, “There’s been good days. There’s been bad days. But I keep coming back. It’s the nature of the game.”
The ex-Finals MVP Leonard has not played all year due to inflammation in his surgically-repaired right knee. The same issue sidelined him for almost all of the Clippers’ playoff run last season and ultimately prevented him from playing for Team USA at the Paris Olympics last summer.
But Leonard recently returned to full-contact 5-on-5 practice and looks close to being game-ready. Though the Clippers revealed that Leonard will not be traveling on their upcoming road trip and will instead stay back to practice with their G League affiliate, it appears that a Jan. 4 home game against the Atlanta Hawks may be a realistic date for Leonard to make his season debut.
It is anyone’s guess what Leonard can offer at this point as he is 33 years old now with an extensive injury history and may have to seriously load-manage even if he is available to play. But Leonard has been progressing well lately, and the Clippers, who are a very respectable 17-13 this year (tied for sixth in the West) don’t need to live and die by him. His impending return will likely push Kris Dunn to the bench for the Clippers and possibly boot Kevin Porter Jr. from the regular rotation.
