Paul George isn’t happy with how Stephen A. Smith has spoken about Kawhi Leonard recently, even taking a shot at Kawhi during coverage of the NBA Finals when George appeared as a special guest on ESPN. The nine-time All-Star made it clear he has no ill will towards Smith but called him out for his repeated attacks on Leonard’s availability.
“I didn’t like that moment. I rock with Stephen A. obviously, but just let it go. Kawhi wants to play. I’ll keep beating that over the head until I am out of breath. He wants to play, but he keeps making it something that Kawhi doesn’t want to play or be there. I think we rode on Kawhi a lot this year to where it got to the point that it’s like, ‘It’s only so much my body can take right now.'”
George further explained that the Clippers know they asked Kawhi to do a lot this season and that the two-time Finals MVP broke down by the end of the year.
“We exhausted a lot out of Kawhi this season. So at some point, I think your body breaks you down and I think that was the case there. I didn’t appreciate that moment. I know I laughed because the situation was lighthearted, but deep down it was like you gotta let that go, Stephen A.”
Paul George on Stephen A. Smith’s Kawhi Leonard jab:
“I didn’t like that moment… Kawhi wants to play… We exhausted a lot out of Kawhi this season. So at some point your body breaks you down… I didn’t appreciate that moment. I know I laughed because the situation was… pic.twitter.com/JCJIUh4HT1
— Joey Linn (@joeylinn_) June 19, 2024
Kawhi missed just six games all season until a mysterious knee injury resurfaced at the start of April 2024 that Leonard just couldn’t push through. He’d end the season missing eight games for the Clippers before sitting out of Game 1 of their first-round matchup against the Mavericks.
Leonard played two games in that series but was unable to make any real contributions, with the Clippers shutting him down before being eliminated in six games by the Mavs. He averaged 23.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.6 assists this season but will endure another summer’s worth of chatter about his constant injuries.
Stephen A. Smith Has Called Leonard The Worst Superstar In NBA History
Stephen A. Smith seems to have a massive problem with Leonard’s inability to finish out seasons due to injuries, claiming last season that not only is Leonard the worst superstar in NBA history due to his unavailability but even said the Clippers need to make the two-time champion retire from the NBA.
“He is the absolute worst superstar you could possibly have on your team. He’s barely ever there, and on top of it all, he does nothing to market or promote your franchise… Steve Ballmer and the Los Angeles Clippers should force Kawhi Leonard to retire.”
Smith has made his points about Leonard being the worst superstar in NBA history repeatedly, proving it’s a talking point he believes in. While it’s fair to criticize Leonard when he’s intentionally missing games and trying to overuse his load-management strategy, he wasn’t load-managing this season and played as many games as he could without taking breaks.
At this point in his career, Kawhi is just extremely injury-prone. All he and the Clippers could do is try to minimize the chances of him getting hurt, but that entails missing games, which would just restart this vicious cycle Leonard finds him in.
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