At the risk of another Charlie Brown and Lucy situation, Kawhi Leonard may actually be nearing a return for the LA Clippers.
On an episode this week of his self-titled podcast, Bill Simmons of The Ringer reported that the injured Clippers star Leonard may be back in action for the team before Christmas.
“My Clippers guy was telling me Kawhi’s coming back before Christmas,” said Simmons. “I think he’s [already] ramped up. He’s ramped up and ready to go.”
The six-time All-Star Leonard, now 33 years ago, has not played at all this season due to inflammation in his right knee. That is the same knee that Leonard suffered a torn ACL to back in 2021, and the inflammation issue also caused him to miss most of the Clippers’ playoff run last year. After a bizarre saga with Leonard and Team USA Basketball in the summer, the Clippers admitted in September that Leonard had undergone another offseason knee procedure to address the issue.
To their credit, the Clippers have managed to hold serve through their first 24 games of the season without Leonard. They currently sit at 14-10, which is sixth in the Western Conference. That has been thanks to increased usage and productivity from James Harden, career years from Norman Powell and Ivica Zubac, and new signings like Derrick Jones Jr. and Kris Dunn helping to replicate Leonard’s defensive impact.
The Clippers only have six games to play before Christmas, so if Simmons’ information is right (he has been a longtime Clippers season-ticket holder), Leonard’s return might not be far off at all. But given Leonard’s troublesome history of injuries (which was the subject of a recently-filed lawsuit against the Clippers), we may have to see him actually take the court first before we can believe it.
